AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Joined: 11/15/2004
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Most have probably found a digital TV solution for their LTV FreeSpirits. But if you are like me and not satisfied with your solution, I thought I would share what I think is an excellent TV for the purpose. We bought a ViewSonic to initially upgrade to a digital TV but it has a very narrow field of view that makes it less than optimal. I ran across this Vizio TV at Costco.
Here it is installed in our LTV. It has an excellent picture and a wide viewing angle. It has an LED lit LCD so it is low power enough to be 12V powered. This allows removing the inverter that LTV used to allow the original 110V TV to run on battery power. The picture on the TV is being received with the RV in its garage in the NC mountains with the antenna down. That is quite a trick.
It mounts on the original LTV mount and fits within the available space with no problem.
It has the additional advantage of being a very thin TV, well suited to a class B.
Since it is a 12V TV, it comes with a rather clunky 110V plug that does the 12v generation.
I cut the power cord at the plug and added crimp connectors ready to connect it directly to the 12V cable that did go to the LTV inverter.
Here is the TV DC power cable crimped to the original 12V cable (held up here with tape to make it visible). All this tucks down into the box that contains the DVD player.
And here it is all zipped up with the inverter removed (was attached with velcro to the cabinet side) so there is a little more space for storage and the noise of the inverter fan is no longer an annoyance when watching TV.
I would have liked to have a TV with a built in DVD player so the rather chunky DVD player and enclosure box could be removed but TVs with built in DVD players that I have found are not sized to fit in the space in our LTV or have the TV features that we wanted. I would like to find a really small DVD player to velcro to the cabinet that would reduce the space used for the DVD player. But this TV solution to me is about as good as it gets.
* This post was
edited 03/22/10 06:26am by AsheGuy *
David & Margaret - 2005 LTV 210B 3S
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nosebreaker
Boston
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Looks nice! I didn't think HDTV's were 12V!
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booster
Minnesota
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One of the satellite tv providers had one of those models at the local RV show, and we immediately fell in love with it. Got home to look it up for cost and availability, ready to order one, and ran into a bunch of reviews that were talking about tuner and remote control problems, so we have waited (it has been a about a month). I would guess you have read the same reviews along the way, have you seen any of the issues they were talking about? We would have one in the 190P in heartbeat if the issues have been taken care of, or didn't exist in the first place (always possible with online reviews).
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VernM
Marion County, AR
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And don't forget it, like all "this generation" TVs has a residual 12 volt current draw. Find a way to switch it off when in storage or unused for a time or it'll contribute to a dead battery.
VernM
GMC Conversion van/Wells Cargo MiniWagon trailer
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AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Thanks, you may be right about the 12V. But I did consider the voltage issue and I know the TV plug is a transformer/rectifier/etc. I was referring to this as an inverter.
This is what LTV installs for powering the original TV and the cooling fan sound level on it makes me willing to take the risk. This TV is certainly usable with its 110V plug and this existing inverter, I tried the TV plug in it first to be sure there was room, considering the plug's size. This is an option for those that might not be willing to risk going the 12V route.
My other TVs/monitors are all Samsungs, this is my first Vizio and the price does make you wonder about the quality but its features and the look of it all seem up to par. But this Vizio's features still make it a good fit for our LTV.
And you are right about the warranty, but at this price point I am not too concerned. We spend more eating out each month than this TV cost and replacing the TV might be a good motivator to eat less. 
If this TV goes out while we are traveling, my DWs reaction may be a bigger consideration than the warranty.
* This post was
edited 03/22/10 01:53pm by AsheGuy *
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WVvan
Home
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I don't know if this matters or not but doesn't the RV 12 volt system actually go from 14 volts, when the engine alternator is running, down to 11 volts, as your house batteries run down? Could this have an effect on the life of the TV?
Open the pod bay doors Hal.
Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
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burlmart
Baton Rouge
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How many amps does it draw per hour? A deep cycle battery may have a 100 amp-hour capacity, so am wondering how much it will draw down a 12 V battery.
2005 Trail Lite 213 B-Plus w/ 6.0 Chevy
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AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Some good questions.
To booster, yes I saw the same reviews before I bought it. I tend to discount the extremes in these online reviews unless they are prevalent. We haven't used the TV much yet but I don't detect tuner problems. I remember review comments about how slow it is to change channels, but I don't find it any different than any of our digital TVs (we have 4, well actually 5 including the one I took out of the RV). They all have a slight pause in moving from one channel to another. It does have unique manual controls (on the TV). The whole front of the TV is glass and the controls are touch type on the lower left of the bezel. They work fine but take a little getting used to. It is easy to turn off the TV just by adjusting its position if you are not aware. The On/Off "button" is near the left bottom corner. I should also mention that the available viewing angle on this TV is such that there is no need to adjust its position. The ViewSonic we had previous had such a narrow viewing angle that you had to sit directly in front of it or adjust its position. For two watching TV it was less than "optimal" as I said.
Also reviews mentioned this glass screen face as being reflective. It is reflective, but in practice it does not seem to be a problem in the RV. The display is so bright that it overwhelms any reflection that there might be.
Regarding the remote, it seems to be functional with no problems. It does have one quirk, an OK button where most would probably call it Select. And the tips of the "+" are the arrow functions surrounding the "OK" button. The Menu that the OK button brings up on the TV is as nice as any I have seen. Large, easy to read, and navigable once you figure out the remote. Real men don't read the manual.
To VernM and WVvan regarding 12V power issues, I considered putting a switch in the circuit due to the power draw but I decided for us it would not be necessary since usually we have 110 power when we travel and when we don't I'm not concerned. This 12V TV should draw less when not on the grid. LTV's use of an inverter to generate 110V from 12V had to be less efficient due to inverter loss. When the RV is not in use and in the garage, I always turn off the DC power so there is no drain on the coach batteries.
As far as the variation in DC voltage, I also wondered about this because it obviously goes higher on 110, generator, or alternator. However, this issue is there when you use any of the 12V outlets on an RV, whether it is the one with the van chassis or in the LTV case one of the two similar 12V outlets in the coach. There are so many electronic 12V accessories that people use in this way (including GPS devices) that I don't believe it is a problem. Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but time will tell. Maybe someone can enligthen me on this.
* This post was
edited 03/22/10 11:34am by AsheGuy *
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burlmart
Baton Rouge
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Does anyone know how long a small (19-22") flatscreen TV can run on a typical deep cycle 12 V house battery?
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My Roadtrek
Tucson, AZ.
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I think you may find your warranty has been voided, which is 2 years from Costco. Hopefully you wont have a problem, or they wont check the box if you do.
You have to think about amps. The transformer, (which you called an inverter) puts out the exact right amperage so as not to overload the circuits. Many manufactures provide a car adapter which matches the exact amperage of their TV's. I would not recommend just cutting the cord, and adding a car plug.
I had 2 Vizio's in the stick house, both went out after a little over a year, they were on a lot, but still should have lasted longer. No more Vizio's for me. Not trying to rain on your parade, just giving my opinion.
We now have 2 Panasonic Viera plasmas in the house, but plasmas put off a lot of heat, and I don't recommend them for a Class B.
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