Out with the old; In with the new.

For the past couple of years, I've been wanting to upgrade the front television in our coach. The 32" Sharp was ok and serviceable but it just didn't have the "pop" and the advantages of the new smart televisions. We've also started streaming a lot of movies as sports have pretty much fallen to the wayside and may stay there for awhile. With that in mind, the largest television that would kinda fit in the existing opening was a 40" flatty. Below are some pictures of the install and what it entailed. It took me about three days to complete the changeover. I could have done it quicker but with temperatures hovering around 105 degrees, I just didn't feel like overdoing it. I did have the a/c on but I only spent a few hours each day. Total cost was about $320. TV $189. Sound Bar $70 Then about $60 in misc parts and HDMI cables. Here are the pictures: Hope you enjoy....Dennis

This is the original TV. 32" Sharp with side speakers. The cabinet is 19"X 38 5/8". The new TV is a 40" Vizio with speakers in the rear. It measures 21.5" X 35.5". In order to fit, I must cut 1 1/2" off the top and narrow the cabinet by 3 1/8". Since the Vizio has rear speakers I decided on using a 2" sound bar alongside the TV for sound. This meant I only needed to narrow the cabinet by 1 1/8". 

Next is the tuner for the Sharp. This unit runs all the other audio visual stuff in the coach. The new television won't be needing this extra stuff. All in all, I'll be removing almost 60 pounds of extra weight.

Tuner is removed and look at all that mess. Wires here, wires there. Nothing is tie wrapped either. What a mess. Time for my lineman's pliers and start snipping.

There! That looks better and much cleaner. The new television will use only one HDMI cable for the DirecTV box and another for the DVD player. I pulled those two cables thru the top cabinet and tied them off. 

With the old TV removed, you'll see the access panel off the back of the cabinet. This allows access to remove the old TV. Notice the blue box on the left. That's the power supply and ignition shut off so the TV can't be used while driving. The cable you see is from the Winegard antenna on the roof which goes to  the DirecTV box. Since there's only a single outlet, I added a three outlet pigtail as the sound bar needs power too.

With the cabinet cut away along the top,  I salvaged the piece I cut off and repurposed it along the right side of the opening. Since it's part of the same cabinetry, it matches so it looks like it belongs there. Notice the pull string for the HDMI cables. I decided to leave it in place should I need to pull more cables in the future. The small speaker on the lower left of the cabinet is part of the Bose surround system and will only be used for the DVD player.

I purchased a 48" slotted 14 ga. angle bar to be used for the TV mount. I wanted the slots to be able to slide and adjust the TV once it's in the opening so it fits flush with the cabinetry. I cut it in half and cut and bent the ends, top and bottom. They are held in place by 1/4" lag bolts. You can see I've already mounted the sound bar in place using a couple pieces of aluminum from my scrap pile.

 And here's the final result! You can see the sound bar along the right side of the TV. Debi is happy and you know what they say, "A happy wife is a happy life"  Ahhh!  Life is good.