Wanna buy a Television??

[Hollybee]

Looking to buy a smalish TV /DVD combo for our E21, which we pick up in late April. What really works and so on?? What size, brand etc did you buy which you love..or hate??

[steve dunham]

We went to Walmart , the only store in our area that sells TVs
They had one TV in stock with a built in VCR
It was on sale so we bought it
It works as well as most Walmart products

[rubicon327]

We have an Insignia from Best Buy that works well. Unfortunately they don’t make it anymore and small, “household” TV/DVD combos that can run on 12 volts are getting very hard to find. I would check out venues like this:
https://www.my12voltstore.com/12_volt_tv_s/79.htm

[Oldtimer]

We got this one and love it

[cpaharley2008]

Both of the above are good sources as is https://www.12volt-travel.com/12-vol...ons-c-684.html
I always get a 12v tv with dvd as a lot of places have no reception and we carry dvd movies. Jensen, Skyworth are both good brands I have purchased in the past.

[Jim Bennett]

I just bought a Samsung Smart TV. It works great though has seen very little use lately. If we want to watch a DVD I just use one that plugs into my laptop, though this too is a rarity.

[Buckyver]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

We got this one and love it

I just got this TV and ETI Will be installing it on May 5 when I pick up my NEW 5.0. Looking forward to many adventures and this TT. Great info on this site, thanks.

[Cleta]

I would like to expand on this question. I am getting the solar panel with the transfer switch on my 5.0. Won't I be able to use a tv regardless of whether it is designed for 12v or not? Is there a significant loss of efficiency in using 120 volt when boondocking? And finally, if said tv is not a smart tv, can't I just add a streaming device (ie roku)? I realize it too draws power but I don't know if the tv/streaming device draws more power than a smart tv. These maybe dumb questions but I am still easily confused by power options so thanks in advance for any advice.

[Hollybee]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

We got this one and love it

We were looking at that one too..what mount did you order??

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Cleta

I would like to expand on this question. I am getting the solar panel with the transfer switch on my 5.0. Won't I be able to use a tv regardless of whether it is designed for 12v or not? Is there a significant loss of efficiency in using 120 volt when boondocking? And finally, if said tv is not a smart tv, can't I just add a streaming device (ie roku)? I realize it too draws power but I don't know if the tv/streaming device draws more power than a smart tv. These maybe dumb questions but I am still easily confused by power options so thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm guessing that you ordered the inverter with all outlets option. With that option, you can use any television you like. Yes, there is some conversion loss but it is not enough to worry about.

Adding a Roku, Firestick, etc. make a standard TV a smart TV. Power used by the stick is about 1 amp.

There's a problem with streaming. Any streaming device (Roku, Fire TV stick, or smart TV) needs wifi/ethernet to operate. Extremely few RV parks have the bandwidth to be able to handle streaming and most ban it anyway. If you are boondocking, there is little to no chance of having a wifi that could handle streaming so it's out too.

If you are wanting to watch movies, copy them to a USB stick and plug it into the TV. Other than that, local TV stations with an antenna.

Maybe just watch the sunset?

[Cleta]

Yes to the sunset, Thank you for that clear and easy-to-understand explanation.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Cleta

Yes to the sunset, Thank you for that clear and easy-to-understand explanation.

I left out that a number of RV parks (if you're into that) have cable connections. Some are pretty good - some not so much.

Still worth getting the "TV/Cable Ready with 120V Outlet" option to be able to use the perk.

[Oldtimer]

This is the mounting bracket we use. It comes with 2 brackets so you can move the tv from bed area to diner table area with ease

[Cleta]

Did you do it yourself after getting the camper or take it with the TV to have it installed when picking up the camper?

[Oldtimer]

I had the walls reinforced. I installed the mounting bracket myself

[Ronn]

Originally Posted by Cleta

I would like to expand on this question. I am getting the solar panel with the transfer switch on my 5.0. Won't I be able to use a tv regardless of whether it is designed for 12v or not? Is there a significant loss of efficiency in using 120 volt when boondocking? And finally, if said tv is not a smart tv, can't I just add a streaming device (ie roku)? I realize it too draws power but I don't know if the tv/streaming device draws more power than a smart tv. These maybe dumb questions but I am still easily confused by power options so thanks in advance for any advice.

We have the inverter with the all outlet option and we use a regular television and a roku stick. We have solar and neither streaming nor our computers seem to have much draw on the batteries.

We also have an unlimited Verizon plan (yes, it is unlimited but they can cut the speed when the tower is "stressed"). We have had a few instances where it has happened but very few and generally it is when we are in metropolitan areas. This plan is different than a "hot spot" on the phone, we have a MiFi JetPack
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cutting the speed does not seem to affect our computer, as we have not noticed it. We have noticed it a few times when streaming and it causes temporary buffering.

We also have a WeBoost, but have not seen the value in it at least the way we use our trailer. I have not permanently installed it and will likely not. I may see how this years travels go, but will likely sell it. We spent 5 weeks traveling in February (Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas,Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska) and never needed a booster.

We do have and do see a benefit with an MiMo antenna and that seems to work great.
https://www.amazon.com/Netgear-60004...s%2C211&sr=1-3

Verizon costs us $65 month, Colleen works in the computer on the road, so we can justify the costs. The Verizon plans availability seems to come and go, we were lucky to have gotten onto it as the next day it was no longer available. It is my understanding they offer it or similar on a limited basis.

We have boondocked in some out of the way places and gotten Verizon most places. Last year at Logan State Park we needed to drive up the Mountain 17 miles to get a signal in order for Colleen to work. The WeBoost seemed to pick up a 3G signal sooner, but apparently she needed to have 4G for her work and from what we have seen the WeBoost hasn't been a help with the 4G signal. Another place we had trouble was in the Shenandoah were we overnighted, it was raining and our streaming was continually buffering.

This has been our experience, others may be different.

[Ronn]

As an added note, we decided not to mount our television onto the wall. Before adding a television we streamed onto a larger laptop that we setup on the kitchen counter. When we added the 24" television we found we liked watching it better there as well. Storage of the television has not been a problem for us as we store Colleens computer setup above the Microwave cabinet and the television fits into that cabinet as well laying it down (so far we haven't noticed any ill affects by storing it flat).

[Cleta]

Thank you for such through information. That really helps me.

[marsman]

We were in a Walmart 2 weeks ago and came across a $99 RCA 24" 12v tvwe bought, it's 720p resolution. We actually found one in an open box and they decided to charge us $70 for it so we got it. The picture is awesome, the sound terrible (in my opinion); so what I did was purchase a plugin Bluetooth transmitter with a simple audio Jack which I plug into the headphone Jack on the TV and transmit the sound to my Bose wireless speaker; the sound is absolutely beautiful! We had the Kingjack antennae installed when we purchased our TA and find that we are usually able to get several channels over the air.

We have also been able to stream on our Amazon prime and Netflix in numerous RV parks we've stayed at. If were going to a park that doesnot have this, or we know we'll be in the boonies for some days we simply download Netflix or watch content I downloaded onto my laptop before leaving home: I downloaded about 20 movies and 5 or 6 complete new television series, hook up to the TV with an hdmi cable from the laptop, so we always have entertainment if we want it. Also down a lot of reading on this trip which is always nice,

Cheers

[Hollybee]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

I had the walls reinforced. I installed the mounting bracket myself

where did you put a mount in the dinette area?