Welcome to the fourth entry in August’s Mini Mod-Ster Contest. One Mini Mod will be published in every Email Alert in August. At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine August’s winner. For information about the Mod-Ster Contest, including how to enter, click here.
Frank Poole, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
TV Mounted On Dinette Wall
2016 Ram 5500
2016 Arctic Fox 990
I am a solo full-time newbie with more than three years now on the road. Admittedly, I am a TV addict. My original camper had a 32-inch installed in the bedroom area with a swing-out bracket. It was like viewing a drive-in movie from the last row.
I wanted the television closer and bigger, like a mid-row movie theater. Using the wall across from me at the table would be perfect. So, I mounted the 32-inch television on it.
It worked until I got the 43-inch television. I might have been able to go a little larger, but not much, to have it fit. Now works great especially for the Xbox gaming, which I’m getting into again.
The biggest problem was mounting it on the refrigerator wall. Trying to find something solid to screw into on that wall was the biggest challenge. I tried the dry wall bolts, but it is shallow behind the wall.
I had to be careful not to screw into the refrigerator. This apparently been done before, according the camper dealer I talked to. After several attempts, I found a corner stud, or something solid, and was able to screw into that.
I wanted to make sure it would hold the 22-pound TV, so I velcroed across the rack holding line. It had to be level. I put the velcro on the wall and on the rack-plate. The plate is a simple ledge and the TV hangs on that.
Since it’s not moving, it doesn’t need a whole lot of tie-downs. When I’m traveling I simple lift off the television, rest it on the seat, and put on a small bungee cord to hold the back in place. When I’m stopped at a site, I simply lift it back up.
I also got a sound bar which makes a big difference. Again, I travel solo, so that bench seat is more for storing stuff like my copy machine and DISH. I run power cords from an inverter I had in the old cabinet with an extension cord.
I love it! It works great. I am still looking for ideas and the next phase. It might be a swing rack like I had in the bed area for the 32-inch (which is back there now). I have to figure out how to support it. Maybe a wood sheet or something between the wall and bracket.
So basically, all I did was find a simple TV rack, screw it into the wall studs (hard to find), velcro both the wall plate and the TV hook, and run the DISH and power to it. I like it because it’s easy to remove if I wanted to run it outside like you see the Class As do.
It took me 30-minutes once the studs were found and cost me the price of the rack and velcro. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is easy.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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