I need a TV for the truck... HELP!

wow, you got surround sound and woofer too eh!? I didn't think i was the only one but at least that makes me feel better that I am not!
Can't use mine while driving yet though. Waiting for my company (J.B. Hunt) to start wheeling in the new Cascadia's by the end of year will be equipped with RigMaster APU and Inverter.

As for T.V. I bought the VIZIO 22" HD LCD TV at wal-mart for 287 bucks. It fits perfect in cubby hole strait in and strapped down and when using it, it can be leaned up against the rim of the cubby hole at an angle and can be perfectly viewed from bed while lying down. 22" is a perfect size for your truck and if you have a Century like myself, this is a great investment. If you are looking for a DVD player, just use your laptop to play dvds and if you have HDMI built into your laptop, you can dual screen your laptop with the VIZIO and watch movies through that just fine. The TV uses one of the 200watt P.I. I bought at wal-mart as well. Runs 4+ hours without truck idling.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, the APU is a crucial part of my whole setup or else I would be idling all the time. That's just a speaker up there, not a sub-woofer. But I get plenty of bass through the two speakers with the amp. I'm using a dvd player, instead of laptop, because sometimes after 11 hours driving I'm so tired I just want to lay down and hit a couple of remotes. I use an HDMI cord for the dvd player. My laptop does not have HDMI so I use VGA for streaming video when it's plugged into the tv.

If you have satellite radio, you can plug it directly into your stereo if you have an amp or AV outlets, not the truck stereo (though that may be possible also). What I did is ran a splitter from the headphones jack and ran the wires up to my amp. The small black square is a mini audio amplifier. I use it for volume control so I don't have to reach up to the amp. I also had to get a "ground loop isolater" (not pictured) because I was getting a buzz. It took a lot of work running all the wires around and behind the paneling. I have four different components running sound through the amp (computer, sat. radio, tv, and dvd player).

Anyway, hope it works well for you. There are a few of us electronic hacks out here. I'm really just an audiophile. I was raised amongst excellent stereo systems and feel starved without great sound quality whether it's a movie, music, or talk radio.

 

Biscuit,

Thanks for starting this very informative thread. It helped answer some of my questions.

Zero, is there any other way to mount a TV besides the way you did it? I have a good idea that ET did and was wondering if a mini nightstand would do?

KH

 

Fullspeedahead in the previous post said he fit a 22" LCD into the cubby hole. I don't know how he did that. Maybe he will post a picture.

I'm sure there are other ways, but I was really worried about all the bounce and vibration so wanted to design something that would absorb that. Some drivers keep it stowed away, and then set it up when they stop and are ready to watch.

 

Who has time to watch TV ?
Yall need more miles . . . . .

 

When my flat screen was new in the box it was supported by styrofoam ends...I kept those and use them in the cubby when it is put up...I also got a small piece of carpet pad material to set the TV on to help with the vibes....sofari so goody...

 

Here are the examples. I don't need to jimmy my satellite radio, I have an aftermarket stereo installed now (No wire splicing done, Freightliner intermediate harness used).
No mounting was required for the T.V. it just leans right against the cubby
hole just as in the pictures. view from lying down on bed is perfect! i have 3.5mm headphone output on TV so I use a Male to Male 3.5mm Headphone extension cable and run that from the T.V> to the auxilery port on the front of my new Stereo. Ta Da!! rear stock 6x9's in the centuries have a lot more bass than you think they do especially if you use an aftermarket radio such as the one i have installed. WARNING: Do not move vehicle with T.V. it the position unstrapped! Flat Screen T.V.s are "Top-Heavy" and is guaranteed to fall at any vehicle movement. Heavy Winds during a storm while parked doesn't effect the tv. Just make sure it has a good posture when it is leaning.
Don't worry about the Box in the Cubby hole, before I found that specific box size to store all my Xbox360 stuff and Console, there was no box in the cubby hole and the T.V. sat "Dead Center" and "Strait in".

 

Nice setup. The stereo in my truck is not that good, and the Aux power jack does not work. I tried that before putting in my own stereo. But looks like it works good for you. Movies are so much more enjoyable with full stereo sound. I'm sure it's good for XBOX also.