Adding a television to the Scamp

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TEbacher
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Joined: 11/02/2013 - 20:08
Adding a television to the Scamp

When I purchased my 16’ side dinette model Scamp we also ordered the preinstalled TV antennae. After researching the options available for a television that would work for our small camper we settled on a Venturer model KLV3915. (This unit is available from Amazon.com) We chose this model because it was designed to compactly fit under a kitchen cabinet and to allow for countertop workspace, The 15.4" screen folds up. The screen was the largest under the cabinet type available. It plays DVD’s and music CD’s. It has an AM/FM radio and has a clock. A large number of useful features in a compact unit. 

We decided to mount the unit under the small cabinet over the side dinette.  That cabinet is not deep enough to accommodate the mounting screws on the top side of the unit so we mounted the unit onto a couple of rails and then attached the rails to the underside of the cabinet with screws mounted through the bottom of the cabinet.  The unit comes with a mounting template to make the positioning easier.

Once it was mounted on the cabinet we covered the exposed front of the unit with a wooden cover to protect it from spills and debris. When I was reading reviews on the unit, I noted that some people were having trouble with the screen attachment failing.  Being mounted in a camper that bounces down the road, I was concerned. So, I fabricated a strap that snaps onto the wooden cover with the other end snapping behind the unit.  With this snap in place it provides support for the screen while traveling.

The only other issue that needed to be resolved was that this is a 120 volt unit.  Workable if our camper is plugged into power.  Mostly where we camp, we are not plugged into power.  So I installed a power converter next to the on board battery charger.  The Venturer only draws 38 watts so it can run on battery power quite a while.  We have a 120 volt power outlet under the dinette table that we planned on plugging the Venturer into.  That outlet is accessible from the same cubby that houses the battery charger and now the power converter.  I removed the wires that feed that outlet from the fuse box and replaced them with a more flexible wire cut from a 15 amp extension cord that had a male 120 volt end on it.  I plugged this into the 400 watt power converter which is supplied power from the 12 volt side of the fuse box in the same cubby..

The unit works well in this setting. We end up mostly using the CD player.  Many of the places we camp don’t have a lot of available over the air television.  The sound quality if OK but not great due to the small size of the speakers.  The volume is loud enough to enjoy even when sitting outside the camper.  The picture quality is quite good when using DVD’s. 

Tom Ebacher

Kensington, MN