By Russ and Tiña De Maris
RV TV wall mounts are great. Their swing feature allows users to turn the TV in multiple directions, great for the rather strange seating arrangements RV manufacturers often use. They also allow the TV to be pushed back out of the way when not in use.
The trouble is, these articulating mounts typically require the use of wall studs for a safe and secure install. If the desired wall doesn’t have studs—typical of most fiberglass or composite exterior RV walls—what’s to be done? Here’s one way to get the job done.
Screws right out through the side of your RV?
Our travel trailer’s TV nest was in a cabinet that nestled into a corner of the rig. One wall was the sidewall; the other, the rear wall. Neither of these walls were studded, so here we were. We could leave the television on “feet” in the cabinet, and run the risk of having it topple out while underway. And if we wanted to turn the set on at an angle that could be seen from our dinette, we were at a dead end. The TV would have teetered on the edge of the cabinet.
We ordered an articulated wall mount from Amazon. On arrival, we learned it needed to be mounted with long lag bolts, or some kind of wall expansion bolts. Neither would work. The lags would have screwed right out through the fiberglass exterior, and the solid block insulation prevented the use of expansion bolts.
Stymied, we had to think outside of the box. We finally hit on using a solid wood block to which to attach the wall mount. And to make the wood block hang on the wall? A liberal dose of construction adhesive.
If you’re not familiar with the stuff, construction adhesive is like very strong glue that bonds on a molecular level. You’ll need to pick an adhesive based on the surfaces to be bonded when you do your shopping. It used to be the stuff was only available in big tubes, the kind you’d dispense the contents with a caulking gun. You probably won’t need that much and, happily, many construction adhesives are sold in small, handheld tubes.
Wall prep may be required
In our case, we were bonding a wood mount to the wallboard material inside the existing RV TV cabinet. For us, Gorilla brand Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive was appropriate, and set us back about $8. If there’s wallpaper over the surface of the wallboard, you’ll want to remove it from the backing board first. A utility knife, scraper, and maybe even sandpaper are in order. Here’s how our project worked.
RV TV wall mount to pine block
Our relatively lightweight TV required an RV TV mount that impacts a relatively small wall surface. For us, we were able use a length of 1 x 4 pine board for our block. We saw to it that the board was clean. We then measured out the wall area and determined we wanted to mount the block at the center of the cabinet back.
First, we pre-drilled pilot holes for the screws that would give additional strength to our installation, and that would hold the block in place until the adhesive dried and cured. Here’s another shopping point. Some construction adhesives take a LONG time to cure to strength, others take less. Take this into account when buying. The pilot holes looked good, but we had our own set of “boobers” with that.
We marked out the spot where the block would need to be mounted. We then applied a liberal amount of construction adhesive, following the manufacturer’s instructions. The block was then stuck up on the wall, and we set in screws to hold it in place while the glue cured. Hey, presto!
But here’s the boober: Our pilot holes weren’t quite large enough, and, sure enough, we got a couple of very unwelcome cracks in the block. Since the block was now glued to the wall, there was no real way of going back. Happily, while the cracks look super-unprofessional, once the adhesive cured, there was no issue with holding power. Loss of pride, yes; but not loss of strength. Happily, the TV hides the minor mess.
Pilot hole size?
After the cure time, we then used heavy screws to mount the TV wall mount to the block. This time we used adequate pilot holes! How do you determine what size pilot hole to drill? The bit should be the same size as the body of the screw, but not the threads. Since screw sizes are by number, not width, here’s a good chart to help you determine the hole size.
With the business end of the TV mount screwed down tight, we completed assembling the mount follow the instructions. We hung the TV on the mount, and we now have a TV we can pull out of the cabinet and point in whatever direction we need.
One issue we’re still working on is this: When we’re underway, the TV likes to “hunt” its way around in the cabinet. We’re hoping something less clobbered up than a bungee cord with two eyebolts will come to mind!
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RVDT2904
Had to do this ourselves to mount our 24″ TV in a small TT. Supposedly there was a backing board inside the wall to do this, but if so, nowhere near where the mount had to go.
Use one of the electronic stud finders to identify structures behind your RV walls. Modern units detect density and work on both wood and metal studs. Some will even detect the path of AC wiring. It helped me determine the size of the backer board. I was able to anchor one side to a 2X2 stud, shorter ‘holder’ screws in the unsupported wall cavity and as suggested, construction adhesive.
Could you perhaps use some of the “super strong” magnets along the articulating arms of the mount in order to keep the TV in place while traveling?
Velcro is your solution.
Why would anyone want to put a TV in an RV?
Just look out the window or better yet, go outside.
If you need to watch TV in your RV, you’re not doing it right.
https://amzn.to/4nuKNpT
Could have used this and just screwed into the wood underneath.
Mounting a TV inside an RV can be a real challenge. There is no one solution. Considerations are for cabling and accessories as well as a suitable viewing angle. Most residential mounts won’t tolerate the bouncing and vibrations inside an RV. You may also need to get behind the TV to check on its connections. I have used these “TV Grips” in our prior motorhome and not just for TVs, available here: https://www.rvpartscenter.com/product/tv-hold-down-grip-kit-black-ready-americ-mrv-100bk/