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Where Can I Get A 12 Volt Digital TV For My Conversion Van?

by Bob Gawron
(Honesdale, PA . USA)

Naxa 19

Naxa 19" 12 Volt Widescreen LCD TV with DVD Player and Remote

Where can I get a Digital TV for my conversion van?

ANSWER Greetings Bob thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

I am going to assume that you want a 12 Volt DC Digital TV for your Conversion Van. Amazon.com has a good selection of 12 Volt Digital TVs. They also have a good selection of 12 Volt DVD Players. I am sure that one of these 12 volt TVs and 12 volt DVD Players will fit your needs.


I also have another suggestion for you. You might want to look into buying a 12 Volt Inverter for your van. An inverter takes the 12 Volt DC current from your Van's battery and turns it into 120 Volt AC power. Depending on the power inverter you buy; installing it can be as simple as plugging it into the cigarette lighter. Let's say you are going to be running an LCD TV and a DVD player. LCD TVs depending on screen size use 75 to 270 watts of power; a DVD player uses around 35 Watts of power. So a 400 Watt Inverter would be perfect for your needs. Again Amazon.com has an excellent selection of highly rated and well priced 400 Watt Inverters.

Using an inverter also gives you the flexibility of plugging other items in such as laptop computers, an Xbox Game System or a Blender to make Margaritas :-) An inverter will also give you a larger selection of LCD TVs and DVD Players to choose from.

Leave your RV repair bills to us—Good Sam Extended Service Plan

You will notice that I only recommend using an LCD TV in an RV or Van. Read the answer to this question to find out why I only recommend LCDs. Should I Put A Plasma or LCD TV In My RV?

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If any of our visitors have further suggestions for you they can add them by clicking on the add a comment link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

Comments for Where Can I Get A 12 Volt Digital TV For My Conversion Van?

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Vintage conversion tvs
by: Anonymous

Please remember that there are still tv repair shops thes folks can fix so much and frequently can make them good as new. 😀
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Conversion Van TV Volume Spikes Anytime
by: Anonymous

There is presently a tv in the van. The reason we are looking into other tvs is because the volume spikes to full volume intermittently. We are thinking it's the tv because it's not a flat screen - it's an old one. Any suggestions on fixing this or should it be replaced?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Conversion van tv
by: Anonymous

Looking to replace the flip down tv in my van with one that receives digital signal. Is there an easier solution and if not, what should I be looking for? All of the products I find on line appear to just be ‘monitors’ and not actual televisions that can receive/display tv broadcasts?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Or you could go small..
by: Bob

Haven't tried this myself so you might want to check the comments (mixed reviews).

RCA Android 4.0 8 inch tablet & television

http://www.amazon.com/RCA-MobileTV-DMT580DU-8-Inch-Tablet/dp/B00D6KFYTI
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		tv
by: Anonymous

I just purchased a 1999 Chemavy ExpNotre conversion Van. It has a flip down tv with no controls on it.
I think its connected to the broke vcr. I have no idea how to turn the tv on.If I can get it to power on maybe I can change the vcr to a DVD. There is also a remote.in the dash. After some inspection I discovered its not connected to anything. Please help.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Tv/dvd replacement
by: Jenny

Where can we get a replacement tv/dvd player to fit 1999 ford e150 van?We would like for it to fit in same spot as old one which is 13".
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		question please help
by: James

Hi I just purchase a conversion van to go cross country and I plan on sleeping in the van. My question is what type of TV LCD or LED would be better. Right now there is just a big hole where the TV was. Thank you so much
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		12 VDC TV
by: Bob Morley

The suggestion to use a 12 VDC to 120 VAC converter would work and provides for powering other 120 VAC devices such as phone and computer battery chargers.

I use truck stops such as Petro, Flying J and TA for fuel when possible especially Flying J using their fuel discount card. Flying J and other popular truck stops offer many 12 VDC devices including TV's, coffee makers and more. Their prices are great.

As for TV types, plasma, LCD or LED my experience over the past nine years is that the plasma and LCD take the heat and cold related to storing my RV in central Kansas. The TV's have been trouble free. I have not owned a LED TV however giving that LED technology is robust a LED TV could be a good choice for mobile/RV applications.

Now to put on my electrical engineering hat (retired) I lean toward the 12 VDC to 120 VAC converter. The converter "cleans up" some power issues that travel through automotive wiring and could extend the life of sensitive electronics such as digital TV's.

One other note - when possible purchase a digital TV that has the over the air digital converter build in to save having to add the device for receiving local digital TV broadcast. I have one digital TV that does include the over the air digital converter and one that does not and both purchased about the same time. (My oversight!!)

Wishing you great times in your conversion van.
Bob
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		inversion
by: Anonymous

the inefficiency of an inverter and using 110VAC appliances instead of 12VDC ones in a conversion van is basically irrelevant unless you are using more equipment than your alternator can power. If it's an amount of equipment that your alternator can handle, then your basically using surplus power... if you weren't sending that power through the inverter, then where would it go? most of the electric power your vehicle generates goes unused.

Also, if we're talking efficiency, the most energy efficient solution for a recreational vehicle (even a smaller conversion van) is to have an inverter for use while driving and using the vehicle, and a small generator for when it's parked. a 12VDC specific TV goes from being a better solution while rolling down the road, to being a massive waste of fuel when you park and have to leave a large vehicle engine running just to turn the alternator...

a small 1 or 2 KW generator takes up very little room, can be offloaded easily or even roof mounted, and will use a very small fraction of the fuel a vehicle does, and will allow you to enjoy your TV, DVD, Xbox, and marguerita blender while parked/camping/tailgating without having to run the vehicle engine.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Adding an Xbox to a conversion van
by: Jay Marks

I have purchased a 1500/3000 and a 750/1500 power inverters to try and power up my xbox and connect it to the existing tv. how do i run the wires for it? does the negative go to the battery or to the chassis?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		many tvs are already 12 volt
by: rocketman

Don't even think about converting 12v to 120v, it's extremely inefficient! Many TVs, not listed as 12v, have a 12v input. If they have an external power brick (converter) they are most likely 12 volt. you can even check walmart.com
icon and tell from the pictures the actual input voltage.

I just bought a 19" vizio for about $140, much cheaper than the advertised "12v" version. made a wire to eliminate the standard converter, and added a 12v plug (be sure you get the polarity right) and it works great. Digital, less weight, less power, cheaper, awesome!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		tv for conversion van
by: Susan

I am also looking for a replacement t.v. for my 1995 chevy conversion van. My question is, how do you mount it? My current, broken t.v. sits in a 14inch by 13 inch 'box' in the ceiling. How can I be sure that I can fit a new HDTV DVD player into this space? Will I be able to access the DVD player? Should I get a 'flip down' model?
What are my best options? Thank you so much for your advice. By the way, our van is old, but it has only 70,000 miles.
Rating
starstarstarstar 		But Won't a 12v TV Use Less Power
by: Anonymous

Hi,

It seems to me that if you take power from your 12v RV battery pack, convert it to 110v ac for the input on a regular TV, then internally the TV converts it back to DC .... well there have got to be measurable losses in power plus it seem kinda silly when the doggone electronics all run on DC anyway.

Please comment.

Comment from RVing Al Yes a 12 volt TV will actually use less power, but by using an inverter it will give you a larger selection of TVs, DVD Players, etc. to choose from. There are far fewer TVs, DVD Players, etc. commercially available that are designed to run directly off of a 12 volt DC power source.

Happy RVing
RVing Al

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