Anyone have experience with 12V TVs?

[Joel Gambino]

I’m looking for a 12V TV for my truck camper. I need to get rid of the 110 unit I currently have because the inverter causes interference with my ham radio setup. I’ve found several units including Skyworth and RCA. My main question is what input voltage range can they tolerate? My solar charge controller can go as high as 15 volts. The websites I’ve seen don’t list the input voltage range, so I was hoping that someone is using one with solar power and can confirm the input voltage range.

Thanks in advance,
Joel

[ardvark]

Hi Joel,

We have had a number of 12-volt TVs over the years. We have generally found the cheapest flat screens to not be worth the purchase price and the audio often does not have enough volume to be heard over the air conditioner.

We broke down and spent the bucks on a Jensen because they are designed for the rough roads RVs often travel and the speakers face forward rather than in the back of the TV. Jensens come in several sizes and we have a 28″ which takes up all the available wall space in our Northstar on the fridge wall. Given its size a standard swing-out did not work so I fabbed one that sits flush to the wall and swings around so it can be viewed from the living area as well as the bedroom.

The Jensens are relatively pricey, but they have a full assortment of ports so we jack our ROKU into the HDMI and run the Aux to the Aux on our Pioneer receiver so we can listen through the ceiling speaker system. I did not blue tooth it given the potential for delay between video and audio in some models. They are available in several sizes.

The picture is really good quality and I think it matches our Samsung and Sony at our house. The amp draw is 4 amps so it does suck power. As a rule the 12-volt TVs will operate in the same range as other RV appliances which is 10.5-16 VDC so should have no problem with your power, however, there may be variations so check any model you are considering to be sure check before buying.

https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=jensen+TV

Steve and Andra
2012 F350 6.2 gasser SRW LB
Fab Fours front and rear in case we run into a rhino
2019 Northstar Laredo SC

[Joel Gambino]

Thanks Steve. That’s great information since I heard negative things about the Jensen units on the web. One 12V truck vendor website even said they stopped selling them completely because the return rate was so high. I tried installing a Samsung unit that had an in-line transformer which provided 14V to the TV. I thought I could get away with running it on 12volts, but I fried it when I hooked it up to the camper power.

Joel

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