# Forest River 12 volt TV



## Samuel28 (Apr 12, 2008)

We have a 06 Rockwood 8272S.  The issue is with the 12 volt TV, it will not power up and keeps blowing its fuse.   According to Forest River customer service, they put a bunch of bad 15 in. Concertone TV's in these trailers which have since crapped out.  This TV has been used maybe a half dozen times since we have had it and now since the camper is out of warranty, they want $420 for a replacement.  Any ideas on what else I can try or where I can find a cheaper 12 volt TV?


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## hertig (Apr 13, 2008)

Re: Forest River 12 volt TV

12v TVs tend to be pretty small.  I found a 13" RCA with VCR for my old trailer which worked off of both 12v and 120V at a pretty good price, but that was a few years back.

Probably your best bet now is to go for a LCD TV which works off a 12V 'wall wart'.  Then you can wire the 12v from the RV in.  Make sure you get one with a digital tuner, or it will stop working next year when analog broadcasting is outlawed.

If Forest River won't fix the admitted 'bad' TV's, how about Concerttone?


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## TexasClodhopper (Apr 13, 2008)

Re: Forest River 12 volt TV

There's really no advantage to having a "12v TV". All that means is that the TV manufacturer built an inverter circuit into the TV. You can do the same thing to any TV. Just add an inverter on the outside! (An inverter converts 12v DC to 120v AC.)

Find a really efficient (low wattage) TV (maybe it's an LCD TV) and find a really efficient inverter. You'll have the same thing as a "12 v TV."

Good efficient inverters are not necessarily cheap either, but if you look hard enough you will find enough models and manufacturers that have common specifications that you can choose from.  They can be small enough to mount right on the TV, too.

You won't need an inverter that has enough wattage to run your microwave, but you do need one that will run more than a light bulb. Just determine the wattage specs of the new TV and add 20% - 50% extra and find an inverter that is capable of powering that. More power is better, but you'll pay for it too, so there's a trade off.

I think you'll find an inverter at the price you are willing to pay for the combination of TV and inverter.


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## DL Rupper (Apr 13, 2008)

Re: Forest River 12 volt TV

Hmm, Forest River customer service.  The weather sure is bad today.  Just my opinion. :laugh:   I know I'll try harder.


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2008)

Re: Forest River 12 volt TV

DL , my weather is cold ,, :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

But for the OP ,, listen to tex ,, he knows his stuff when it comes to electroincs ,, he ran that type of business for years    :approve:  :approve:  :approve:


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## hertig (Apr 13, 2008)

Re: Forest River 12 volt TV

Keep in mind that the 'cheap' inverters do not provide a clean waveform (called square wave (really, really, cheap) or modified sine wave) which can annoy some electronic devices so that they don't work well or even self destruct.  If you can manage it, you should get the best results from a 'true sine wave' inverter.  But I don't know if they make any small enough for what you need.

Actually, with the LCD tvs, often they are designed to run off of a DC voltage, and only work from 120 AC by having an internal  or external power supply which provides the DC they need.  So your really, really best choice would seem to be finding a LCD TV which works off of an external 12 volt wall wart.


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