What's behind the front TV?

I have a clanking noise that comes and goes but now mostly is constant.  It sounds like something is loose and it is behind the front TV on our 2350 .   I am wondering if it is a loose support or bolt in the cowling behind the TV and above the cockpit headboard where the PC is mated to the Ford or something else up there banging away.   I searched the forum and found out how to remove the TV on a different model but I suspect  it is the same on the 2350 since all the PCs tend to be so similar up front.   

It is NOT the squeak/noise that emanates from improper screws in the side cabinets that Ron described some time ago in a thread.   It is also not the most immediate thought I had which was that the TV antenna was flopping up and down and it would certainly cause a noise from about the same location.  Clearly, it is behind the TV in the cowling.

My question is this:  with the TV removed do you have access to  space behind it?   I am sure wiring for the TV and perhaps much more may be up there and something is flopping around. 

I once had a Gulfstream Cruiser and the forums back fifteen years ago talked about "The Noise".   It was in that area and was always the same thing: a bolt holding the BT front to the top of the original Ford .   Seems the factory had not used lock washers!!

I had The Noise and had to take the whole shebang apart to get to the bolts.    Isn't it amazing how a small screw up on the production line can cause so much trouble?    Our Phoenix Cruiser has been wonderful and we have found very few    on it.   I want to work on this in a couple of weeks when I have time and hope someone can tell me what awaits me for discovery behind the TV and how to access it once I remove the TV. 

Paul

Hi Doneworking Paul,

Your PC 2350 is a 2013.  Ours is a 2007 2350.  I assume nothing changed during those years with regards to the cabinetry supporting the front TV.

We ordered our PC without a front TV because MSRP for a front TV was $1500 if my memory serves me right.  Not just a steep price back then, but the TV was a small 20" with an aspect ratio of 4:3.  Back in 2007, I bought a larger 26" wide screen for far less and installed it myself.  So I have experience with the area of cabinetry you wonder about.

In our PC purchased with NO TV, there were two layers of finished wood in that area.  The first layer was a very thin plywood.  The deeper layer was a much thicker structural particle board, also with a nice matching finish.  I removed the front thin layer and worked exclusively with the inner thick layer primarily to set the TV as deep as possible so it would not interfere with the opening of the two side glass-panel doors.

What may be interesting to you is that I was able to get my hand behind the thick inner panel via access from the side cabinets.  The space is narrow, my hand could barely get behind there to bolt our TV to it from behind.  I recall shaving off some wood material to get my hand to the back side more easily.

I don't know if any of this helps you, but maybe it will.


For reference...
Here is our TV, mounted by me back in 2007.  Admittedly it was not an easy project.  I had to make a wedge shaped panel for the TV to mount to (to get the maximum downward angle) and bolt that to the thicker particle board of the PC.



This bottom-side view shows two large holes the the bottom in the cabinet.  I installed two computer fans there to cool down the TV because it ran hot and I was concerned of trapped heat.  You can see some of the thickness of the finished particle board.  Also seen is a bottom bracket I added to support the TV better and prevent it from moving so much on rougher roads.

This picture also shows how much I was able to angle the TV downward, yet still able to open the side glass doors.


When I was all done, the TV was physically stable, but inside the TV was a lot of funny squeaking and such.  I ended up taking out the TV, taking the back of it off, and adding thick felt pads in strategic places throughout the internals, especially where there were large sheet metal plates installed for electronic shielding.  That really did the trick.  Our TV has not rattled since.

Ron, thanks.   I appreciate the information and I suspect the build on our two 2350s is identical.  I am going to get on this project in the near future and I'll report what I find. 

Who knows?   Could be pirate's treasure up there behind those panels!

Paul

Doneworking......Here is a wild one that happen tome with my 2012 2552.   I had a noise above the drivers seat that drove me crazy. I finally took the head liner down and found when PC cut the “cutaway” chassis roof they left one piece of metal (long sliver) that kept flopping around hitting other metal surfaces.  I cut the metal off and the rattle was gone.  Worth a try.  Thanks Ron G. 

Ron, thanks.   That makes a lot of sense and would explain my noise almost perfectly.   I have said it before and I will say it again:  it is amazing how just some small failure in building a RV can cause so much misery for the owner later on.   I won't be able to work on  my PC for a couple of weeks, but that sure sounds like a highly probable source of the banging. 

Paul

My previous PC, a 2351, had an intermittent squeak that drove me nuts. So Have had the TV down several times. My TV was mounted by six long screws, three per side that are accessed in the front cabinets. They remove easily using a drill with a square head driver. Caution!!, get someone to hold the TV up  while you remove the screws. The TV is not very heavy and once it is loose, just remove the wires  and it is loose. This will expose paneling that is stapled and runs left and right into the cabinets. To remove this paneling, you must take the trim from the rear panel of the cabinets. It looks like wood but is styrofoam and breaks easily. My panel had a joint in the middle and was easy to remove. And what do you find behind the panel. Not Much. Some 120 volt Romex, 12 volt wires and some insulation. I wrapped all of my wiring in pipe insulation and glued the insulation. I didn't find my squeak on this side of the cap. As I posted in the past, It was the rubber seals outside on the cap and the Ford cab rubbing together. While you have the panel off, this exposes the top of the A pillar which is the post from the hood to the cab in front of the door. I had a mouse in the camper and found the critter came up from the engine compartment and into the front right cabinet. So shoot  some foam down into the hollow to keep critters out. Some wires also travel down these spaces and foam will keep them from rattling. good hunting.

Hope this is not your problem: I had a 2010 2350 that developed a small noise above driver that gradually got louder.  Took it to factory, they found the front shell that connects to the cutaway ford cab was loose.  After many additional screws, the noise was gone.