TV/VCR combo for fishing trip

[Tim]

As my family and I are heading to Voyaguers National Park in a few days (first full week in June to be exact), we were wondering about buying a tv/vcr combo to keep my 18 mo daughter occupied for the trip. She loves to watch Barney. We also thought this would help grandma (and my wife, when it is her turn) to keep my daughter entertained while the rest of us are fishing. Can a regular tv/vcr combo work in the motor home while we are on the road. The regular one is much cheaper than the one that specifies ac/dc power? Is there a special type of plug in so that we can adapt to use in the cigarete lighter?
Just wondering because the ac/dc tv/vcr is $250.

Thanks,

Tim

[camper]

Voyaguers National Park to watch Barney? Come on. If you need that artificial stimulus, go to Jellystone Park -- better yet, go to Wisconsin Dells.

[John N]

Hi Tim. Camper above must not have kids, or his are a bit less fussy than mine. I'm taking mine for a week to northern Wisconsin in July, and I won't depend solely on mother nature to keep them interested the whole time, though there will be plenty of that. On to the tv/vcr combo...when I shopped around, best deal I found was around $220 for one that ran on dc. These typically seem to have 9" screens, which just fits on the floor between the front seats on my Chrysler van. While the ac-only units are less expensive (and most seem to have 13" screens which wouldn't fit where I put it), I believe you'd need a power converter, sold at Cabela's, Target, etc. They come in varying sizes (may take more wattage to run a coffee pot than a tv, or more yet for both, etc.), and are designed for just this purpose, running ac appliances out of the 12v cigarette lighter. I haven't any idea whether the average car produces enough surplus so there's adequate extra power to run these things, that would likely vary from car to car, and certainly would vary from outboard to outboard in a boat application, and part of the equation would be the size of the converter you get. The product specialists at Cabela's would likely be able to help with that. Good luck on the trip. John.

[Stacker]

I bought one for the kids for our last trip. I got mine from Walmart for $250 and it is all ready to use with adapter and everything you need to go. It has a 9 inch screen and fits perfect between the front 2 seats of our dodge van. It also come with remote so the kids or you can control volume and on/off with remote and not having to get up or unbuckle. This one also records. We went on 7 hour trip and they watched it most of the way there. Good color quality also.

Now for the real reason I bought it! I'm going to use it for the monitor for my underwater camera that is being built as we read. I can mount this television right next to my console and watch the lures underwater as I troll. The best part is that I can record and watch it at home later if I chose. Tell mom it is for the kids.

[Gunga Din]

These are great for long trips and help keep the kids happy in the car. We put ours on the center console of my car, pointing backwards. A few tips: Buy velcro to attach the remote to the top of the TV--otherwise you'll be losing it all the time. Also, most of the speakers are on the side, which blast mom and dad with Barney tunes when turned up loud enough to reach the kids in the back-back. I'd buy headphones for the kids and a 1:2/3/4/etc headphone outlet so mom and dad can enjoy some peace & quiet while the kids watch Land Before Time. For several weeks prior to leaving my wife tapes the kids favorite TV shows--provides a little variety.

[John N]

Hi Tim. I, like Gunga Din, put velcro on the remote. Good idea. Also, as he noted, when the sound is loud enough for the kid(s), due to the location of the speakers on the TV, it will blow you and mom out of the car. My solution to this was a bit different...purchased one of those deals at Target/WalMart that plugs into the earphone jack on the tv, then a fake tape attached to it goes into the car's tape deck. Then the sound travels through the car's speakers, and I just pipe the sound through to the back speakers only. Works great. Unless you want to listen to the radio. You can't, because it's busy playing Barney. Might be an alternative to Gunga's multiple headset idea. You choose. But he's sure right about the darned thing being loud up front if you just play it through the tv speakers. Good luck. John.

[AquaMan]

Yup, go with the 9" AC/DC. It sits in our bedroom when not traveling and fits perfectly between the two fronts seats of the burb. Plug-n-Play! I am currently on a quest to find some remote amplified speakers (the ones with their own volume control) though. The speaker on our TV/VCR is right at my elbow and those movies are famous for low speaking and LOUD music. I have my daughter trained to mute the sound or pause it at stops, but sometimes it get really irritating in trafic. She will use the headphones occasionally, but with a little friend or when the boys are with, the volume goes up.

The one important thing is to secure the unit down to avoid injury from one of those little sports cars that are unaware of the stopping distance, require when towing,I leave between me and the car they just jumped between. I used a couple of tight bunge cords and velcro the remote as well.

Enjoy the journey in peace!


AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Scott_in_kc]

Got mine at Circuit City $219 ac/dc. It's a knock off of the Zenith sitting right next to it on the shelf for $289. Total life saver on our trip to Colorado with my 2 year old. Get the ac/dc unit that way you can use in your other vehicles too. The DC to AC converter for the AC only unit is expensive too.

[Jeff reed]

LOL.... Hope you didn't buy the extended warranty, by the time it breaks you kids will have graduated from college like mine.