Computers monitors in caravan

[SteveB69]

Hi, new to this forum so hello & I apologise of the bat if I have posted in the wrong section...

Just bought myself a nice fixed bed caravan and I want to have the front area set up as a permenent office. I use 2 screens plus my laptop and I want to somehow mount the screens in a position so I'm ready to switch on & start working.

Preferably they can stay in place whilst driving.
Has anyone else done something similar? I've googled & found various monitor mounts but not sure about screwing these into the thin walls of a caravan?

 

[Thingy]

I think you have picked up on potential problems with screwing anything into these caravans.

Three vans back I had a Swift with a wall mounted TV arm, with VESA mount, and used it with my Avtex TV. It caused no problems at all, but I never did trust it enough to travel with the TV in place, preferring to mount it on arrival. The sheer thought of the weight of the TV bouncing up and down sent shivers down my spine. Granted most monitors are lighter than TVs, you may get away with it.

I would perhaps look at mounting monitor arms under the cupoards, and try to find something with a quick release mount.

 

[Anseo]

Welcome SteveB69

You can safely fit TV mounts on existing panels if you securely fix a stiffening board behind the panel that hosts the Vesa mount receiver, I would suggest that 12mm plywood of 250mmX250mm would suffice, but larger will certainly do no harm.

If you prefer to avoid numerous screw holes then an adhesive such as the 'no-more-nails' type makes a perfectly good fixing for the support board.

I'm very much of the same view as Thingy on this, leave the monitors dismounted when travelling, it is not at all a big issue to removereplace them at will, very easy, just slide on-and slide off the Vesa mount

Anseo

 

[CustardAvenger]

For my home office I have a single monitor bracket with a laptop stand. It mounts quite happily to my IKEA desk... but I don't think it would be secure bouncing around the van.

What van is it specifically?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Typical office type mounts are fin in an office where its isn't subjected to 4G accelerations. But in a caravan and from data collected at MIRA during some testing we did, 4G accelerations are entirely possible during normal towing, and in extreme circumstances 8G or more were detected. That means you 5Kg monitor will instantaneously impose a 20Kg or more, load on the mounts.

Most Monitor mounts are cantilevered designs, and this means the weight of the monitor imposes a considerable leverage on the mounts screws.

Unless the mounts were properly bolted to a very solid part of the caravan, its highly likely the surface the mounts are screwed to will give up and the screw become loose.

Many panels in caravans are fabricated from very thin boards which are barely held in place, So even if teh mounting screws hold up, the panel to which its fixed is likely to be unstable.

I think you could be onto a looser with your plan. Go for demountable screens and keep them safely stowed whilst in transit.

 

[Raywood]

Most caravans now have mounts for televisions so assuming your monitor has the holes to take a mount and is light enough I see no problem. These will normally be mounted into an internal panel i.e. the side of a wardrobe or cupboard. You will need to check the side is thick enough though as not all are and there is power near enough to the location.
Can you tell us the make and model as someone might have a decent knowledge of that caravan.

 

[chrisn7]

Quite apart form the mounting issues, isn't the presence of 3 monitors and perhaps a laptop visible right at the front of the van going to attract some unwanted attention?

 

[Thingy]

Quite apart form the mounting issues, isn't the presence of 3 monitors and perhaps a laptop visible right at the front of the van going to attract some unwanted attention?

Not least the warden :lol:

 

[Woodentop]

Most caravans now have mounts for televisions so assuming your monitor has the holes to take a mount and is light enough I see no problem. These will normally be mounted into an internal panel i.e. the side of a wardrobe or cupboard. You will need to check the side is thick enough though as not all are and there is power near enough to the location.
Can you tell us the make and model as someone might have a decent knowledge of that caravan.

Could you give make model etc of "most" caravans that have wall mounts for TVs? We have never had a caravan yet that has a wall mount as standard fitting.

What is more on the thread in general, remember that if you are fitting a mount to an internal panel with a backing piece, many internal panels are actually mostly hollow with a strip of timber - maybe 2" wide - around the edge. You stand a good chance of crushing the panel even before the TV is hung on it!

 

[Thingy]

Could you give make model etc of "most" caravans that have wall mounts for TVs? We have never had a caravan yet that has a wall mount as standard fitting.

I had one in the Swift Celebration 470 and wouldnt have trusted its strength for a TV in transit.

Another thing to consider is that whilst the potential mounting points in a caravan are very limited, so is he acceptable viewing angle of most monitors. I realy think you are going to stuggle to find an acceptable solution.

 

[steve2019]

I have 2 TVs in my van (not monitors) both wall mounted, I worried about the same thing, leaving them attached while moving, however the one in the living area is on a household type bracket and does not have an easily removable plate so would need to be unscrewed each time if i wanted to detach it, and the one in the bedroom has a Nintendo Wii (for the grandkids lol) and a HD reciever/pvr plugged into it so has numerous cables hidden behind cable tied to the bracket,
My solution knowing that the bracket and its fixings are strong enough to take the weight was to fix some small brackets on the walls just hidden behind the TVs at either end and use bungee straps to stop them moving around during transit. Its works a treat, I have used the van twice so far and the TVs dont move an inch.

 

[otherclive]

I have 2 TVs in my van (not monitors) both wall mounted, I worried about the same thing, leaving them attached while moving, however the one in the living area is on a household type bracket and does not have an easily removable plate so would need to be unscrewed each time if i wanted to detach it, and the one in the bedroom has a Nintendo Wii (for the grandkids lol) and a HD reciever/pvr plugged into it so has numerous cables hidden behind cable tied to the bracket,
My solution knowing that the bracket and its fixings are strong enough to take the weight was to fix some small brackets on the walls just hidden behind the TVs at either end and use bungee straps to stop them moving around during transit. Its works a treat, I have used the van twice so far and the TVs dont move an inch.

Try giving Shropshire a miss though :evil: Roads can be dire.

 

[steve2019]

Lol..duly noted..
My other slight ponder was the rubber mounted van suspension opposed to proper springs/torsion bar set up..Id imagine its a little stiffer than I'd like..
I got one of the tvs on fb marketplace with built in dvd player for 25 quid so not the end of the world if the worst happens.

 

[xtrailman]

I would suggest adjusting the furniture so the monitors are supported by the floor.

I have two factory fit TV brackets in my 2017 Swift, one I don't use the other holds a 32" TV, but I never travel with it fitted, the travelling could cause PCB's to be dislodged etc.

If you intend towing I recommend you get the wheels balanced if required.

 

[xtrailman]

Lol..duly noted..
My other slight ponder was the rubber mounted van suspension opposed to proper springs/torsion bar set up..Id imagine its a little stiffer than I'd like..
I got one of the tvs on fb marketplace with built in dvd player for 25 quid so not the end of the world if the worst happens.

Fit dampers if not already fitted, they do make a noticeable difference.

 

[Ironduke2018]

Your desire is a bit advanced for me, as I sense some video editing, Andrew Ditton life style here.....however I have also moved into a lounge computer system. Unlike you, I have decided to use the standard lounge TV to do my computing viewing. Brackets? wow, do the math here. The leverage will rip a bracket of the wall panel, so you have to mount on the furniture. Like you, my telly stays permanently fixed. I went for a Bauhn 12V / 230V for the obvious reasons here, but my rational was also based around overall weight performance and not viewing performance, its unbelievably light, and for £125 for a 21" telly....!!! Our telly doubles up as a telly....if that makes sense? By this I mean to say we use the ROKU stick to beam in all the tv we want. I bashed a hole through the roof and installed one of those external antenna's. Highly recommended that kit. E-bay! The real issue is the price of giga bites of data as we all know. So we simply told our Roku to only run at 720p instead of 1080p or even 4K!!! This saves on loads of data and the picture is more than fine. But you see what I mean?, we are not so focused on outright performance as we are in the level of entertainment and pleasure we get back.