New to all this..

[Northwest]

So in efforts to save a little bit of money in the crazy real estate market that is Oregon right now I decided to go out and buy a travel trailer. I found a 2012 Evergreen everlite 31 foot trailer.
I found out recently that the company shut down in 2016 and i can't get any skimatics on the trailer so I'm looking for advice on how i should go about hanging a tv mount. All the walls in the cabin area feel very soft other than the walls between the outside and the inside. I would really appreciate any help or suggestions with this.
Thanks all!

[Edd505]

Lynnmor wrote:
Make your best guess as to where the studs are using a stud finder. Drill a tiny hole and insert a bent paper clip and probe side to side to see if you are in a stud or if there is one nearby. If it is a no go, fill the tiny hole and try again.

They use steel plate backers, try using a magnet and looking for the plate in the area you would mount a TV. They are not always where you would think, I had one at 90 angle to the couch. I have found inspection scopes to be a handy tool for "looking inside."

Scope

[lane_hog]

If you have a wood framed trailer, the wall panels aren't that difficult to remove. Find the seams, and you can probably get a flat 90* pry bar underneath the panel and pop the staples loose. Same thing should go for interior walls on a lightweight trailer. With the wall open, you have other options and could put in a cripple stud or a plywood sheet to help carry the weight of the TV mount.

If it's aluminum framed, 99% chance the wall panels are laminated around the actual frame so don't even think of removing... An infrared camera might help show where the studs are because there won't be any styrofoam insulation on the studs.

[afidel]

Lynnmor wrote:
Water lines in exterior walls??? What keeps them from freezing? Not many electrical lines in exterior walls, if there are any there should be an outlet of some sort in the area.

Nothing keeps them from freezing, that's why you have to winterize a trailer, as far as electrical, they run it wherever they please, watch a video on how RVs are made, there's no code like in residential housing so they run them in flooring, ceiling, and outside walls.

[Northwest]

Thank you guys for all of your help. I'm a welder by trade so I'm going to make add onto the existing mount and make it a bit longer. It says it can hold up to 25 pounds and the tv is 8.9 so i should be ok.

[Boomerweps]

Just press in along the wall. You will find where it bows in the most and the least/not at all. Do not use screws longer than 1&1/2” except to allow for any mounting board depth.
Most mount a board across at least two studs to allow more positioning options.
I mounted an articulated arm mount for a 21” LED lightweight television. So I used two short lag screws into an exterior wall stud.
That was my second location. First location, with same arm, was on the end of the kitchen cabinet. I reinforced the panel & frame inside but people kept hitting their heads on theTV ;(

[Lynnmor]

Water lines in exterior walls??? What keeps them from freezing? Not many electrical lines in exterior walls, if there are any there should be an outlet of some sort in the area.

[jdc1]

Follow Bob's advice. Use the plywood and you'll be fine.

[bgum]

Lynnmor
While what you say is correct, they know where the studs or plates are, he does not. I would rather not read another post where someone has drilled into a water or electrical line or worse the outside wall of their unit.

[Lynnmor]

bgum wrote:
Do not consider mounting anything to the 4 outside walls, ceiling, floor, or any wall shared with the shower. You may be able to use a square of plywood as a backing to one of the flimsy inside walls.

Many TV mounts are on the outside walls. Some trailer manufacturers use sheet metal just behind the paneling and that can be found using a strong magnet. Sheet metal screws are used for mounting in this case.

[Lynnmor]

Make your best guess as to where the studs are using a stud finder. Drill a tiny hole and insert a bent paper clip and probe side to side to see if you are in a stud or if there is one nearby. If it is a no go, fill the tiny hole and try again.

[bgum]

Do not consider mounting anything to the 4 outside walls, ceiling, floor, or any wall shared with the shower. You may be able to use a square of plywood as a backing to one of the flimsy inside walls.

[Northwest]

I believe it has an aluminum body to be lighter weight. I have a stud finder and if this was a house wall i would be perfectly ok having framed and finished homes. I just dont want to start drilling holes and not knowing what behind there haha from all the searching ive done that kinda seems to be the way things go. Would pictures help? I could take some after work

[mobeewan]

Do the interior walls have wood or metal framing. If wood you might look close and find vertical rows of thin gage staples where the paneling is stapled to the studs. An electronic stud finder is also useful. It senses the difference density of the wall with a row of LEDs lighting up to indicate the studs under the paneling. The walls feel soft becuse they are only made using 1 inch thick studs and thin paneling on each side with no filler material between the studs. Depending on the wall location and support needed the studs vary in width.

I used an electronic stud finder and spotting the staples to locate the wood studs. The stud finder also allowed me to determine the width of the wall studs. It also helped me to determine there was a piece of plywood between studs where the 2 tv shelves were located that the shelf brackets were attached to.

I lowered the shelf on the wall between the dinette and bunk house about 2 to 3 inches allowing me to place a DVD player and satellite receiver on the shelf and still be able to open the cabinet door next to the shelf. I found the edge of the wall had a 1x3 and allowed me to drill through it and mount a narrow based articulating mount using 2 bolts, 2 fender washers and 2 lock nuts. The normal position for the 21 inch flat panel tv was against the wall above the DVD player and satellite receiver. I can swing the tv around the end of the wall to face the bunkhouse and also have full access to the cabinet.

I used an identical tv mount, bolts fender washers and nuts for another 21 inch and later a 29 inch flat panel in the bedroom. I drilled through a 2-1/2 inch wide stud I located in the wall and mounted it with the fender washers and lock nuts on the living room side of the wall. I repurposed the bedroom tv shelf since it was too low and in a corner blocking me from scooting around the bed to use as a counter extension in the galley. The formica top was an exact match for the kitchen counter.

[BobsYourUncle]

Welcome to the forum!

It is imperative that you mount to the studs in the wall. No fastener will hold a TV to the thin panel board on the walls.

I have a TV on the bedroom wall in our TT. I didn't mount it, it was there when we bought it.

They utilized a stout piece of plywood, 3/4" I think, which is securely screwed to the wall studs in multiple places, bridging 2 studs. The TV mounting frame is very securely mounted to the plywood, using lots of screws.

The TV is a flat screen, doesnt weigh a huge amount, but has to be solid anyways to withstand all the bouncing going down the road.