TVs in caravans
Hi all,
We are thinking of getting a TV in our caravan but have a few questions first.
The caravan is a 2016 Sterling Ecccles 640 which has its own ariel. Is it as simple as buying a TV and plugging it in, then when on site extending the roof mounted ariel and tuning the TV? Will any TV work or does it have to be a TV specific for caravans?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks. Rob
Comments
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As long as you’re on mains hook up, any telly will do. If you're not, you'll need a set capable of running on 12v.
You may need an aerial booster but you've probably got one fitted. You'll need a coax cable if connecting to a site booster system.
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For many tears we used a small SONY mains powered TV, even though 90 plus % of our camping was not on an EHU.
We ran it via a small but high quality inverter using 12 volts DC to create the required 230 v AC; not the most efficient way but effective.
We now have an Avtex but only because it came prefitted; if buying today I would get an LG, Samsung or SONY domestic TV, and again use our inverter. I just feel the quality of the product £ for £ on these massive production run products is way better than a niche market offering.
Things to watch for in our case are:
Avoid reflective screens .
Get one with satellite decoder built in ideally a true Freesat ™.
Check the sensitivity of the viewing angle.
Be happy with the speakers.
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Make sure any TV you buy is compatible with your existing aerial, for example some aerials require a 5 amp supply from the TV to work - that’s the case with some recent Avtex aerials.
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Some domestic tellys, though plugged into the 240v mains are actually 12 volt and are powered via a transformer. The telly we had in our last caravan was such a telly & I just bought a suitable plug/cable & powered it via the ciggy lighter socket in the caravan. Though it was rare that we did not have EHU, a 12 volt telly was handy every now & then.
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You pay a lot more for a 12 volt TV so no point unless you want to use it without mains hook-up. Then if you use it a lot on battery you will end up with two batteries and a big solar panel. Then you will want a satellite dish so will need to buy an inverter for the Sky box .... and so it goes on. We used the TV once in 30 years and now take lots of books to read. Gadgets can be fun though.
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Some are indeed 12v via a transformer which is why I said "capable of running on 12v". We've had such TVs ourselves bought from the likes of Currys.
As for inverters, Freesat and so on mentioned by others, that’s all down to personal preference and is not essential kit.
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"Then you will want a satellite dish so will need to buy an inverter for the Sky box .... and so it goes on. We used the TV once in 30 years and now take lots of books to read. "
True up to a point, but for those not wanting to limit the use of a TV to just the once in 30 years don't see books as a direct and up to date replacement for some of what TVs can offer.
Modern TVs frequently have built in satellite decoders, though not Sky, there being other options, thus not requiring a "box" or mains powering.
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The Aerial will be directional and can be adjusted vertically and horizontally and have a RF amp fitted, we use the "antenna aligner" phone app as this will give a compass bearing, polarisation and signal strength of the TV transmitting aerials in the area, as pointed out some sites have boosters points on the bollards so check if your van is fitted with an external TV aerial socket if so get a coax lead
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Agree that reading is not to everybody’s taste and on club sites I have been to most people seem to have TVs. Not much use in Southern France and Italy where we go unless you have a very large dish. It doesn’t stop the Dutch though.
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A couple of points worth considering about TVs specifically designed to work from a 12v battery. Firstly, they werre designed to be portable and as such were more robustly built than a domestic TV. Whether this is true of the latest versions built for caravans like Avtex I don't know. Secondly being specifically design for 12v, they accept a much wider variation of voltage encountered by the charge and discharge cycle. The TVs with the external 12volt transformer are not capable of that and when run off a battery would very often cut out once the 12v dropped off.
As OC highlights running from an inverter is not a very efficient usage of battery power. If you are going to be off grid and want a TV buy one designed to run off 12v.
peedee
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Thanks everyone for the replies. We have only ever been on electric hook up so a normal TV should be fine. What exactly is the 25m cable called that I will need to plug into the bollard when on site? And where will this plug into the caravan? I’ll try and source one from Amazon this weekend.
Thanks again. Rob
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