Reflection 297RSTS Living Room TV Mount - Maximum Weight

[Timothy]

My 2023 reflection came with a TCL Series 3 1080P TV. I plan to replace it with a 55 inch TCL 4K TV. My question is, what is the maximum weight that the wall in the living room will handle? I have been told 50 pounds. Does that sound right? My plan is to replace the mounting bracket and the TV with something that weighs about 35 pounds. I know the TV will be larger than the designated space and will live with it. I plan to take the TV down when traveling. Thank you.

[howson]

My 2023 reflection came with a TCL Series 3 1080P TV. I plan to replace it with a 55 inch TCL 4K TV. My question is, what is the maximum weight that the wall in the living room will handle? I have been told 50 pounds. Does that sound right? My plan is to replace the mounting bracket and the TV with something that weighs about 35 pounds. I know the TV will be larger than the designated space and will live with it. I plan to take the TV down when traveling. Thank you.

Yes, 50 lbs. See https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...tvs-tv-prepped

Howard

[JBill9694]

A couple of items learned the hard way when going to a larger TV.

First, make sure that the new TV is compatible with the RV mount before leaving the store. There are ways to adapt the TV to a mount, but if you're some distance away from the nearest supply of screws, brackets, and whatnot taking care of this before hitting the road again will eliminate another run to the hardware store.

Second, it is likely that the larger TV will require relocating that base of the mount, and the base will no longer land completely or not at all on the blocking in the wall. Grab a piece of wood and some long screws while in town and the screw that piece of wood securely to the blocking in the wall. If aesthetics is important, grab some stain or paint, too.

[Timothy]

John, Thanks for the excellent advice. I am actually going to replace the mount as well because I don't know the weight capacity of the existing mount. And I also don't like how it attaches to the existing TV. From my research, I plan to get a piece of plywood and first mount it to the wall and then mount the new bracket to that.

It's been confusing on another front as I have had different people describe the mounting block as being wood and some say it is steel. I know it doesn't attract a magnet, so steel is out. I actually have an endoscopic USB camera I bought years ago to try and find a water leak in a wall. I used it yesterday and the mounting block looks like wood to me.

[Jnick]

I’m having to replace tv as graphic card is failing. My 2020 240 RL has tcl 50” has been removed but the bolt pattern on existing bracket is so small no new tv or adapter I can find will fit it. So all new brackets will not line up with mounting bolts of original.

In preparing to mount new bracket, the original mounting wood screws do not seem to go into anything other than the thin decorative paneling. So I’m thinking to take advice in this thread and mount plywood in original holes and install new mount to plywood.

I do not want to remove tv every time we’re on the road. I need a strong mount. Does it seem like there should have been a backing plate? Could it have slid down the wall when I removed the 4 original mounting screws?

any suggestions on how to proceed?

[TucsonJim]

John, Thanks for the excellent advice. I am actually going to replace the mount as well because I don't know the weight capacity of the existing mount. And I also don't like how it attaches to the existing TV. From my research, I plan to get a piece of plywood and first mount it to the wall and then mount the new bracket to that.

It's been confusing on another front as I have had different people describe the mounting block as being wood and some say it is steel. I know it doesn't attract a magnet, so steel is out. I actually have an endoscopic USB camera I bought years ago to try and find a water leak in a wall. I used it yesterday and the mounting block looks like wood to me.

I missed this when you posted it a couple of months ago. If Grand Design places the mount in an exterior wall, it's done when the wall is laminated. In this case, it's a piece of galvanized sheet metal that is very thin, but has good holding ability. If the backing plate is installed after the fact in an exterior wall or a cabinet, they use wood. You are correct when you state to use a magnet when checking location on an exterior wall.

Jim

[JBill9694]

It has been stated elsewhere that if GD intended to mount a TV on an exterior wall, they installed galvanized sheet metal as backing. For an interior wall, wood.

[Timothy]

To restate my original post, the TV mount in question was over the fireplace in the living room. The surface wall is thin (maybe 1/8 inch?) finish material. I now know that the backing for this interior wall is, in fact, a piece of plywood (one - quarter to three - eighth inch). The plywood is not attached to any structure (studs). With that said, the 55 inch TV I installed with a new mount (maybe 30 pounds total weight) held just fine.