We have TV!

This all happened around Thanksgiving last year. I am woefully behind updating this blog but as I am currently stuck home in the middle of an ice storm, I decided that catching up a little would be a good thing!

I know there are purists out there that turn their noses up at having a television in a vintage rig,  but my husband and I LIKE watching movies in the Airstream. We are not content to just play cards or cribbage when the weather won't cooperate, so a TV was on the MUST list.  When I built the front cabinet, I even made one bulkhead wall out of 1/2 inch baltic birch (all the other walls are 1/4 inch BB) to provide a more secure, stable mount for the TV.

This is the TV we bought, it is both 12 volt and 110. It's LED and has both computer input and USB input.

This is the the MorRyde TV mount we bought which was frankly overkill.  It can hold a TV of up to 25 pounds and the one above only weighs 6.61 pounds! However, it was the only one we found that that had an 24 inch reach and a 320 degree swivel that means we can watch it lying in bed....

 
from the front recliners....

and it can even swivel around and be pointed out the curbside window if someone needs to keep track of a certain sporting event!

We had a bit of an issue with the MorRyde mount. The unit was obviously heavy duty and well made, and the "snick" it makes when it locks into place is sweet.......  but for the life of me I couldn't get it level.

The cabinet was level,

 the TV when latched was level

the top of the bracket was level

but the first arm coming out of the bracket was drastically out of level so over the 24 inches the TV was drooping at least 3/4 of an inch.  This wasn't super noticeable to the eye, but it definitely bugged me.

I was going to just live with it as I figured it was that was the nature of hanging a heavy item off of a long arm.... then I thought maybe I should just call the company and see what they say.   I'm happy to report that my experience with this company was phenomenal.  I called them and explained the issue I was having and then sent the above photos to their customer service representative..... who spoke English without an accent, and was in the US! And was super nice and understanding to boot!

He agreed with me that this was not normal, sent me out a new unit very promptly and emailed a free shipping label for me to send this unit back. He sent me emails confirming his actions and offering any additional help.  In short, one of the best customer experiences I've ever had!  This company stands behind their product 100%.

The new unit was installed and the issue was fixed.  No more sag!  I'm looking forward to many cozy nights curled up watching movies. The recliners ROCK!

As a side note, we mounted it with bolts instead of the included screws, and used fender washers to spread the load out a little (see the second picture above).

I added this antenna from VTS,   it seems to work very well.   I'm still on the hunt for one of the vintage antennas but for now we have TV!

And I just have to say this.... GO PATRIOTS!!!!