Structural Engineers requested...

[Classicvibe]

I have been kicking around an idea for some time, and it is coming around to using a cantilever flat screen mount for my 24" monitor, mounted on the post behind the passenger door. The requirements for this project are as follows:

* TV for kids (road trips)
* Viewable from all positions in the rear area (bench and jump seats -weekender)
* Viewable outside the van
* (Obviously) Strong mount supporting 2x or 3x weight (to survive road bumps w/tv attached), can be tucked away (folds up?), easily removed (as well as the TV), does not hinder space, low power (TV) blah yada yada
* Smaller things regarding the actual mount (tilt vert & hor so I can (permanently) mount anywhere along the beam and still have it viewable, multiple connections on the beam to reduce stress, lever must extend farther than 1/2 width of the screen (so over 12" for a 24" screen), 1st lever to extend beyond the sliding door jam so I can wrap it outside.
* Enough roll to compensate for the angle of the B-pillar (not sure what that angle is)
* Concealable cordage (this would be nice, but not necessary)
* Mount not to exceed 8.75" length, narrow width = better
* Price Man!

So anyway, grabbing something like this is what I am thinking (not exactly sure which one):
http://www.overstock.com/search?keywords=cantilever&SearchType=Header

But something like this:

Mounting into the beam behind the passengers right ear, that way you can open the sliding door and swing the screen out when parked, or even swing it over in front of the sliding door while rolling if need be for all to view. There is a good one at Costco right now, although it is pretty spendy for all but us Fat Wallet Syncro Types (stolen from another thread). I don't know much about what that beam can support, and I could use some input. Pix of your own set-up would be nice, especially if you plan to flame here...

I do have a good solution on surround sound as well. This would be implemented for tailgating and generally showing off my Vanagonabilities. You can PM me if you are interested in that. I will share as I get it installed over the coming weeks.
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter

[PDXWesty]

Take a look at the threads on how spare tire carriers are attached to the body. Usually a backing plate and some thru bolts. Gary Lee also has some info on his site on how he does it too. He uses a flat bar to help spread the load with multiple small anchor points. I'm sure something similar could be fabricated to fit the slider jamb and wrap around the pillar.

_________________
89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[joetiger]

This thread might give you some ideas:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=345889&highlight=flat+screen
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[82WestyMan]

gee...
i was going to reply to this with a link to my thread about doing exactly what you had in mind,
but someone beat me to it
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[Classicvibe]

holy crap nice find, and very humble considering that is pretty much what I am talking about! Not sure how I missed that. Studying now, thanks! I think a PM is due to gauge performance after a few months. Looks clean and good though!
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter

[Classicvibe]

82westyman, how did this perform, what would you do different? Can you offer some postmortem perspective?
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter

[Classicvibe]

In the end I bought this puppy:

Here are the specs:
http://www.peerlessmounts.com/pcattachments/SELL%20SHEET-LIT0236-1-1.PDF

This has a little higher load rating of 80lbs, they claim cord management but I don't even think that is possible (they have another model that is twice as much that appears to be this same model with plastic covers that make it look better and contain cords). This can swivel 180 degrees and roll 7, weighs 5 pounds, tilts, jives and shimmies all over, and extends out 15+" and was shipped for under $60 from buy.com

For those interested, I entertained these as well:

* Omnimount CL-s 13"-24" (30lb max otherwise awesome)
* Peerless SA740p 22"-40" (too much dough, otherwise perfect)
* Sanus SF213 -27" (awesome but no roll that I could find)
* Chief FWD 10-32" (also awesome but no roll)
* Nexus by AVF LCD554 14-40" (same)
* Peerless SA730P (25 lb max)
* Eco-mount EL104B-A 12"-25" Black (can't remember about this one)
* Chief iCSPDA2T02 (ditto-forgot)

The Roll thing is not that big of a deal. You should compensate for the angle of the b-pillar somehow, which you can do with roll functionality or a shim at the pillar mount area.

I was also considering where this thing would fold up when not in use. After studying 82westyman's post (holy crap what a great write up) http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=345889&highlight=flat+screen and measuring the width of that pillar I realized that it is not possible to get a mount to fold up and lay parallel to the side without hindering either the passenger door or the sliding door or both. It does appear to rest up against the pack of the passenger seat however. This model (as well as 82westyman's (I think) removes easily to stow away.

I will work on the mount this weekend and post.
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter

[82WestyMan]

[Classicvibe]

I finished the project today, and I thought I would offer an update.

The specs mysteriously changed while the unit was in the mail. It showed up with 2 mount holes instead of 3, and the moutning base is like 9 inches instead of 8.25 (I got this info from the company site). You can compare the mounted piece to the "representation" above.

Anyway, my install was very similar to 82westyman. A $3 metal bit from the big orange story, a level, some flat ground. I got some metal scrap and build the back brace to go inside the B pillar. I did the full rust coating treatment and JB welded the nuts on the backside. I did not however JB weld the brace to the B pillar. I had every intention to do so, but lining the bolts up to the nuts was a pain and I would have had the stuff smeared all over in there. Thanks to my wife for her loverly skinny arms to hold that backing plate in place. I will check it in a few days and see if it has loosened up.
You can see in the pics that I made rubber gaskets for both the outside and inside. I did this because, going back to the 9" base, it creeps up on to the angled part of the B pillar. The gasket helps even that out. It is some thick rubber I got from a local rubber and hose shop (free).
This is just the next size bigger (mount) than 82westyman's, but his requirements were pretty much identical to mine so not much else is different. The mount is very sturdy. I am hanging a 24" monitor on the and it is no problem. The arm will support up to 80 lbs and the monitor is like 14 lbs. I think even on bumps it will all be fine even @ 4x its own weight.

I should add that I put the rubber on to also help that much more in distributing the force on the B-pillar. The mount is not obtrusive at all. It mostly hides under my drapes, and folds up nicely. The mounting was easy and took little time, just two holes and then monkeying the backing plate into place. The JB weld takes 24 hours for the most part to harden. Sourcing the right bolts and nuts took some time as well. But overall, this is the kind of work I like to do. Clean, very effective, good investment and lots of use out of it.

Pix:
Here is the back of the mount, the backing plate, the rubber and my rusty wipers and the rust proofing kit.

Here is this puppy mounted. I seemed to have loft out some pix, I will look for them:

Here is a close-up of the mount. You can see toward the top where the pillar gets some angle. This worked out fine but I was pretty Pist when the mount showed up. In the end, the rubber is beneficial so I am down. I don't have a pictue, but this is where the "roll" becomes important. The pillar is at an angle even if you don't creep up as high as I did so it is important that your mount has the ability to roll to allow you to get the tv horizontally balanced.

I found a pic of the "roll" feature, whcih is those two bolts on the upper back side of the mount. Most of the mounts that offer roll allow for up to 7 degrees either way. Oh yeah, this mount also claimed it rotated 90 degrees (which I have not been able to do). This is important because I wanted to turn the face towards the back of the passenger seat and rotate 90 degrees to get it out of the way so the screen isn't always exposed.

Some above action:

Viewable from all the back seats (weekender). If you close the slider it articulates out to fit right in the middle. Yes, a little neck cramping, but they're kids!

The belts runs smoothly behind the mount arm.

When folded up, the arm can either sit against the back of the passenger seat, or parrellel to the sidewall as shown in this picture. The seat is moved forward. I sat in it tonight and moved the seat back and did not feel the mount on my elbow (the armrest keeps you off it). You can also get some perspective on accessing the backside of the mount...it takes a skinny arm get reach up there and align the mount to meet the top bolt. I think I lucked out.

Great easy project. I derived my requirements on my own, and loved seeing that 82westyman y had done the same thing. Great reassurance for me. OK, now I gotta go clean the van, those pics are embarrassing!
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter

[82WestyMan]

Just wanted to compliment you on your installation... extremely nice work
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[PDXWesty]

Looks great and seemed like an easy install. I'm just curious how the tv and bracket hold up to bumps and bouncing while driving. It seems like it might be subject to some extreme jolts that might not be good for it.
_________________
89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[Classicvibe]

Thanks 82westy! Your post was an awesome resource!

UPDATE

I mounted the TV and drove it around and here are the things I still need to do"

* When the mount came in the mail, it took a significant amount of energy to extend the cantilever, so I thought it would stay in place. That is totally not the case (82westy mentioned this as well). When driving my TV flops around everywhere. THE FIX - is likely some combination of hooks, bungy and velcro. This is starting to sound ghetto if I have to monkey all that crap together to keep it in place. Still working on a good fix. I am sure I will find a good solution.

* Strength of mount while driving - rock solid, seriously. I could mount a 40" screen on there and it would be fine. I think the strength of all the systems are beyond the forces I will put on them, so I have no idea what the weak link would be. Really nice action in the arm though. Brings smiles to all!

* My newest concerns are people seeing the screen and wanting to steal it, and scratching up the screen surface. I am creating a top secret mysterious material that will mask the screen from both scratches and would-be-robbers. it is called,

A pillow case! Not just any pillow case. Probably an ugly brown one to match my interior. I am going to stitch in some flimsy thin cutting board material and fluffy padding. Better make is king size so it extends to the pillar.

* Cord management ended up being some holes drilled in the arm and zip ties. Whatever. I will make some slick little thing for that as well.

The screen (24") does fit perfectly behind the passenger seat, and does not hamper space at all. I will post some pix again once I get the secret pillow case, cables and ghetto mounts sorted.
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter

[Spinal Tap]

Pics?

[Classicvibe]

[Spinal Tap]

Point taken!
_________________
'85 Westy
'74 MG-B

[EL31415]

I'm using this on my desk and thinking to get one and install in my westy
these mount are kind of spring loaded and can be height adjusted
they have also a blocking screw to hold it in fix position
Ergotron lcd mount

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1985 Westy

[82WestyMan]

the above seems a little pricey for the $160 range and a capacity of only 20#
http://www.ergotron.com/Products/tabid/65/PRDID/2/language/en-US/default.aspx
got to say I got my mount for less than a quarter of that with a greater capacity
might be a good choice if you're hanging a thin, lcd monitor (no TV) only
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[Classicvibe]

I meant to post something similar (82 westy)...I could not find a mount that had any decent load range from that company, although they are very cool looking.
IMHO the mount arm is going to be the weak link in the set, and for just a couple of extra bucks you can really get a decent one. Mine, which is just a larger version than 82westy, is almost the perfect mount, because it can support 80lbs, and fold up nicely among other things (see requirements at first of post). If I could change it I would:
* Make the mount at least 1/2" shorter (so it did not extend onto the angle on the b-pillar)
* Actual cord management
* Rotate 180 Degrees
* Have a greater pitch angle (so I could angle the screen up or down a bit more)
_________________
On a mission, the destination is just an excuse.

Syncro Solstice 2022...see you there!

1986.5 Wolfsburg Syncro Westfalia Poptop Weekender Transporter