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Overhead Support for Large TV

24K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  la5rocks 
#1 ·
I have looked around and only found some side mounts for large TVs and some smaller overhead units. Has anyone mounted a 32" ish... size TV from the roof with additional support? I think I have a plan but would like to see any ideas others have come up with. Medium Roof XLT 350 148"
 
#3 ·
A 32" LED TV is unbelievably light and thin. A few weeks ago I was spending lots of time trying to decide what kind of mount to buy and where I could mount the TV so we could make use of the swivel passenger seat or watch the TV from where the bed will be. It was frustrating and crazy making.

Finally the light bulb went off. I don't need no stinking mount. The TV will fit inside a very slim cabinet that I can hang or place anywhere I want in the van. When not used it will easily store out of sight. I just need to be sure of having suitable electrical supply connections in all the potential places to use it. At the same time I came to the realization I will also incorporate a sound bar that is similarly portable, possibly all combined into a single unit.

Having arrived at this realization I now consider permanent TV mounts ludicrous anachronistic pieces of junk no one should spend money on.


Amen
 
#4 ·
I've looked at one of these: https://www.mount-it.net/mount-it-l...binet-mount-for-23-to-37-inches-tv-black.html I'm thinking I would mount a 49 inch 4K TV on it. Might have to put additional straps on the ceiling to hold it up. One of my hobbies is photography and editing using a TV like this would be great. I have a theater in my house with a 92 inch screen and love big screens. As long as the TV stores away on the ceiling the large size will make no difference.
 
#5 ·
What bugged me most when I was still considering using a ceiling mount is knowing you'd always have to be concerned about having such a big floppy thing hanging from the ceiling of a moving vehicle. Maybe it can be folded up, maybe some straps could be used to make it more secure...but why? If it can be slid away someplace out of sight then brought out and hung or stood up at your convenience, where is the downside?
 
#8 ·
there are uses for a screen in a van, and everyone has their preferences and comfort zones.

I've taken along a monitor to look at trailcam video in more detail, or to show instructional video when hosting or assisting an expedition. I have a little digital projector, but it is weak in the light, and detail is not nearly as good as a monitor.

As for overhead mounting, I agree that it's dangerous when you just wing it; a purpose built mount should be used so you at least have someone to sue when it goes flying and injures someone. But, I can see that a mount that allows the monitor to fold flat to or IN the ceiling could be made safe.

Also, for those with windowless vans, a large monitor in the window sapce connected to a quality camera on the outside could provide the illusion of windows...
 
#9 ·
Also, for those with windowless vans, a large monitor in the window sapce connected to a quality camera on the outside could provide the illusion of windows...
Got it. 6 monitors with cameras mounted at the 6 positions where windows are installed on a window van. Cool. Definite improvement because the window indents could be fully insulated.
 
#10 ·
Use a real projector with LED bulbs and use a pull down screen. Modern ones are wireless capable with connection to your phone/laptop. They weigh 3 lbs and you could put it outside on the side of the van for camping or get a blow-up screen for audience display.
Spin it around for swivel seat viewing or side viewing.

There are easier ways to do this than mount a cumbersome TV.

LG mini beam makes a perfect one. I have one on my home theater.
 
#12 ·
Wow! The valuable things I've learned from this forum. Never heard of projectors used in this way and have been exploring since reading your post.

A few things I need to learn more about: evidently they aren't silent? How much power do they use? Everything I see touts the size of their projected image but what if I don't want anything more than 30 to 40 inches? Can they be kept to smaller sizes without causing some undesirable compromise? What worries me most is how noisy they are. All in all it seems like an awesome way to go but would need to know more about getting decent sound.
 
#13 ·
The LED projectors use very little power, but you get what you pay for. If you want a watchable picture without near darkness inside, you need at LEAST 1500 lumen, and preferable 3500+ so you can see the image even when it's light outside. There are even little ones called pico projectors that are as small as a deck of cards, but they aren't very bright. I have a cheap 800 lumen 720p projector that does the job if it's kind of dark, but I wouldn't recommend it for daily use. One cool feature, which I assume most have, is that I can just plug in a thumbdrive with video or pictures on it and it will play. Needs some powered external speakers, though.
 
#14 · (Edited)
The projectors are very quiet. They have a small fan like a computer but with a speaker playing you won't hear them at all.

The LED ones are absolutely necessary especially in a low power environment. Bulbs are old tech and burn out whereas LED will last many years of daily use.

Most current year models have bluetooth output meaning you can connect a Bluetooth speaker to it and put that speaker next to you or anywhere you want wirelessly.

They also have wireless screen share so your phone can be the source video or pictures. You can mirror your screen so that the projector shows what's on the phone/tablet screen.

Many small ones even have batteries so you can watch a full movie on a charge meaning a simple mount for when you use it then tuck it away when not needed. The smaller ones won't be as bright as mentioned but at night and with a 40" wide picture you'll be very close to the projector so it will be brighter than in a home on a wall that's ten ft away.

A brighter one will draw more power but we're talking about maybe 200-300w on average for LED lit ones.(for non-battery powered ones) The battery powered ones are all small in size and some are the size of a phone but thicker like a point and shoot digital camera.

You need to measure the distance of the projector to your main viewing wall and make sure the "throw" is applicable. Some have zoom lenses that allow close or far and some are limited. If you get one that's out of your range you won't be able to focus it properly. They all have these specs readily available on the documentation so it's easy to find.

As for sound, many have a built-in speaker because these are used in office presentations and such. They are small speakers like a pocket radio but would be fine inside a van. I would use the Bluetooth output to connect to a soundbar wirelessly which would be able to blast your van or entire campsite with good sound. Check out Oontz Bluetooth speakers. Battery powered and will play for 12 hours easily. The sound that comes out of one will amaze you.

There's a lot of specs and info on projectorpeople.com
 
#15 ·
Wow, thanks for all the replays, as normal some great suggestions, interesting alternatives and some flat against it. Yep, on long trips, we like to watch a little tv, projector is a great idea but already committed and bought the tv. I kind of like the idea of moving it around as well as the second row will swivel. I might think more about that concept but don't want it flopping around. Will probably look into the under cabinet mount or secure it in the box like a stereo so I can incorporate a few speakers. Thanks for all your comments!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
I have a RIF6 Cube Mobile Projector and it works great for showing movies on the side of the van at night, in fact it's the best one I've ever used but it's got to be dark or they suffer from irritating washout. With my front windows covered and the doors closed I can see it just fine day or night. Most of the time I just use my 10.1 Notepad for TV and Movies but since you already have the TV you might as well use it.
 
#18 ·
Are these 12v?

Can someone post a link to a nicer one, how much $ are we talking about? It seems the way to go as you only need the projector and a screen. Watching inside or out is a plus too.
 
#19 · (Edited)
#20 ·
I also would like a modern 4k TV in my 350 HD tall roof 15 passenger, to play movies for customers etc. I am planning on fabricating a removable bolt in tubular frame mounted to the front seats and possibly tied into the side bolts mounting the rack above the dash, with a Curved 4k Samsung Ju7500 40" TV fitting just behind the driver area. Put in a house Stereo with a Sound Bar and Subwoofer in the far back, and being a smart TV, run it off a 4g hotspot with Netflix or what ever. Loop video adverts with USB stick...





http://www.samsung.com/us/televisio...d-smart-tv-40-class-40-0-diag-un40ju7500fxza/
 
#21 ·
Wow, my projector was about $70!
I took a quick look on ebay, and there must be a breakthrough in the last 2 years or a lot of lying going on. 5000 lumen projectors for $100-125. One I inspected was more realistic, claimed 1500 lumen for $150, but only had native resolution of 480 (old non-HD definition, like a TV from the 80's).

Be very careful buying a digital projector with too-good-to-be-true claims of brightness and resolution, look up the brand for reviews and real specs. If they try to fool you with candlepower instead of lumens, 1 candlepower is about 12.5 lumens. You want 1000+ lumens for a projector.

For shopping comparison: resolution is the 2nd number listed, for example a 1900x1080 resolution is called "1080". To be considered high definition, the resolution should be 1080 or 720. The higher the resolution the clearer the picture, especially large screens or projections. Those 1080 lines get spread farther apart the bigger the screen/projection. 720 is perfectly fine for screen smaller than 40", but you might want 1080 for anything bigger. And if you're going bigger than 60", 4k has become the gold standard. BUT, there are still limited blurays and few broadcasts in 4k resolution, so you can't actually USE it very often! But to future-proof, you may want 4k because it will become the standard after a while.

My little projector is 12vdc, one of the reasons I got it. It came with a 12vdc adapter and a car power point cord. I've run it off a small 12v battery in remote locations. Even a large projector can be operated with a 400 watt inverter ($25 Harbor Freight) if 110ac is required.
 
#22 · (Edited)
:s:s:s Well that is weird. eBay appears to be an alternative universe compared to what is presented on projectorpeople.com.


The disparity in prices is a chasm. On eBay if you search for LED Projector you will see dozens of supposedly 5000 lumen or better 1080 devices for less than $200, most often less than $100 and yet search for a brand like Optoma and you are zoomed into the $700 and above zone. WTF? Can you trust the inexpensive products?
 
#24 ·
Answer is: Sometimes.

Often these things shipped directly from China ARE the brand-name devices, without the name emblem. Made in the same factory by the same workers from the same parts. One clue to finding out is to look at the no-name device and compare it to the brand name device; if they LOOK exactly the same (case shape, button layout, etc) they probably ARE the same thing. I have heard that China itself doesn't have very strict copyright or patent laws, so knock-offs are common. Many forgeries of shoes, clothing, and electronic products are from "off the books" shifts at the factories that make the real products.

I think a lot of the ebay stuff is misrepresented on purpose; such as "supports" 1080p (meaning it will play 1080 resolution video), but the native resolution is 480, and the image you see is 480, but they list it as a 1080 projector! I'm also skeptical on the lumen claims. I have a 1000 lumen flashlight that I bought for $20, so there ARE cheap 1000 lumen LED bulbs available. And are they measuring lumens at 1 meter, 1mm, or just making claims based on wattage draw of the bulb? Caveat Emptor, but I do believe some good projectors can be had for under $200 if you do a little research.

Amazon also has many of the same ones and you can read reviews.
 
#23 ·
Here is the mounting of my 24" 1080i TV with built-in DVD player, HDMI inputs and digital audio out. It has been awesome, I was going to add digital surround sound but wifey said enough is enough so I used audio out to a wireless headphone transmitter with 8 headphones. I got a deal on the TV for just $139 at a wholesale club and it weighs less than my laptop, so mounting it solidly was a piece of cake.

The mount is a Monoprice arm I had laying around, bolted into the driver door pillar and I have a rubber bungee cord keeping it close to the driver headrest - it is rock solid when driving down the road and still allows for seat adjustment. I'm so glad it did not spend much more $ on more complicated installation, inferior picture quality, and less convenience.

(the power cable was later run behind the trim panel)
 
#25 ·
My DVD Dual Screen Setup

I wanted to have a set up that allowed for dual monitor set up so my kids can watch different movies. So I have a blueray player under passanger rear seat (note: a separate power outlet and audio connections are run to the side panel). I had a audio customizer install it and it works ok, but I think I will need a better DVD player (single DIN) - mounted in the front shelf. I also need to go through and secure everything. The workmanship was not as good as I would have liked. The power supply assembly for the external DVD, power outlet and screens is located under the drivers seat, wedged in the dual battery compartment. I do not like how it sits and will probably secure that differently too. I did want a hi-resolution flip down screen but could not find any options for that. I maybe needed to research mounding a flat screen LCD dvd compo. Anyway, here is my design (see attached pictures).
 

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#26 · (Edited)
Not sure if that was a question but……...
If you are looking for a new mount Chief was always my go-to brand. A little bit more expensive but what a versatile line and good quality. Also a program called MakeMKV will easily transfer any blu ray titles to a solid state medium that any computer or streamer worth it's salt will play on an HDMI driven screen. This will eliminate the constant mechanical problems and wait times for the boot up, menus & previews associated with optical disc players, especially in a vehicle.
 
#27 ·
I will run audio through the van. My aftermarket head unit will be powered directly from house batteries and will accept inputs from BT or wired RCA etc.

Love the projector idea but I'll probably use my PC monitor as a media screen since I'll have to have that for video editing etc.

I just am not sure what to do with my desktop, it's a very powerful computer that I dont' want to give up. Thinking about installing it in a cabinet or just laying the whole case on it's side, reinforcing the GPU mount so it doesn't break the mobo and seeing how long it lasts.
 
#28 ·
I've just recently tackled this project with our van. Finding a good method to secure an overhead mount proved to be a bit more complex than anticipated. The overhead crossbeam may be strong enough, but I though it too narrow to support a 22" screen without resulting in a lot of forward/aft jiggle.

There's an oval port in the beam, and I made some tapered blocks out of HDPE, inset a nut, and fished them inside that beam to use as a clamping mechanism to mount a 3/4" ply surface to support the TV mount. I added support blocks that fit to the beam flange to further strengthen the system. A small opening needed to be cut in the headliner to allow the mount to be fastened directly to the mounting plate.

Now to finish the wiring and get the system operational!

There might be a better way to do this, but this is what I came up with. Hope it helps!
 

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#29 ·
Here is roof latch & mount that stores the tv up and out of the way and unlatches to swing down for use. My kids play PS3/4 games on long road trips with nothing to see outside. First pic is latched up in storage and second is it unlatched and ready to use. It is a simple push of the finger to move from one position to the other. Inexpensive mount from amazon. Completely clear space to move from driver area to rear area when latched in the up position.
 

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