TV/VCR combos?

[mom42860]

Any ideas are appreciated, we are driving from Mass in April with 3 ch. (10, 12 and baby 18 mnths). We will be travelling in a truck with 2 full seats and am wondering if this combo will fit. I heard there is a new 8" size but have no experience at all with these other than a friend's advice which was "you buy it for your sanity not for the kids!"

 

[Spinning]

Waiting to hear replies too! We are driving also and want to get one but not sure about the size and all. Getting ready to look. My FIL has a small TV/VCR combo with an adaptor but not sure how to secure it. We have a mini van
there was a great post awhile back about all different kinds of tv's I do remember many liked the TV/VCR in a bag from Target. It hangs on the back of the front seats.

 

[sha_lyn]

target has a bag to secure the 9 in tv/vcr combos. it is made by steele horse.

 

[Spinning]

Shy-lay I am confussed....do you mean the regular TV/VCR combo and then you just but this bag to put it in? does it hang over the seats? between the seats? that would be great! Cheaper too I could just browor the TV from FIL!

 

[BounceyOne]

We have the TV/VCP in a bag. We bought it a few years ago and it has come in handy over the years. We've used it i the car and even taken it on the autotrain with us.
I don't know which brand it is, just a basic model, hangs between the 2 front seats plays videos, but not regular TV. Screen is bout 4 or 5 inches.
We usually don't hang it up right away, we give the children an hour or 2 to get bored ten take it out and surprise them.

 

[sha_lyn]

spinning, yes it hold the "standrd" 9 in TV/VCR combos. It appears to have straps that attach it to 2 bucket type seats around the bottom and the head rest. I really didn't look too close since I had already purchased a TV to be installed into the van but thought how I wish I had the bag when we did travel with the 9 in. Someone also posted a link to the steel horse site back during Christmas when target had it on sale. It runs aroun $50 I think. If the TV/VCR you have does not have a car adpater you can buy a power converter (inverter?) at target for around 30 (I think). I bought one at Big Lots for 20 and we use it for the nintendo.

 

[Belle1962]

I've been thinking of purchasing one for my car. We expect to be taking trips with the new grandson soon. Here's a link to Target and the vcr in a bag from them.

http://www.target.com/common/catalog/product.jhtml?prodid=78496&navAction=jump&navCount=1

 

[welovemickey]

We bought a TV/VCR combo a couple of years ago. We also have a mini van. Target carries a "TV Stand" for the TV/VCR combo. It has velcro straps to secure the TV and sits on an angle so the the little ones can see. It's worked out well for us.

 

[sha_lyn]

welovemickey... We have the stand also. It could not hold the tv down in a car accident.

 

[Spinning]

Hi went to Target, saw the TV/VCR stand welovemickey was talking about but Shy-la is right you can't secure to the car and it says not to use while car is in motion. It looks great though. I couldn't find the bag Shy-la spoke of. they didn't know anything about it. May check the other store. I really don't want to but the tv in a bag the screen is so small, seems hardly worth it. They did have a consol, tv/vcr for mini vans but it was almost $400 and had a 9 inch screen but I don't really want that either. you can't really remove it easily or hid it....so maybe we don't need a TV in the car! well still have a few more weeks to look and see.

 

[Flheiny]

Just a thought about the tv in the car.....prior to moving down to Florida we drove from Colorado 6-7 times. I will never take another car vacation with out a tv in the car. It saved the sanity of all involved!! We never heard the "I'm bored", or the "are we there yet". I started about 3 weeks prior to the trip, taping tv shows that the kids missed because they were busy doing other things. They were very happy to watch their favorite shows. Plus, they enjoyed the short 30 minute shows at times as apposed to the 2 hour movies. That's my two cents worth!

 

[2boys'mom]

I bought a small TV/VCR combo in a bag for $250 or so from BestBuy around labor day for a 10 hour long car trip. It hangs the screen between the two headrests while the bulk of it sits on the rear floor. I think the straps would hold the sac in place so it wouldn't fly all over the car in a collision. It has a small screen, but it works. Good luck.

 

[cinlee3]

Hi,

We bought the bag by Steele Horse from Target. It was around 79.00. It holds a 9" TV/VCR combo and straps to the front seats. This worked great between the seats of our Taurus believe it or not. I wouldn't have bought the TV/VCR if it wasn't going to work with the bag. In my opinion the safety is worth the extra money we paid for the bag and we still have a TV that the kids can use in their room or anywhere else instead of the TV/VCR in a bag combo.

You can easily unlatch the bag and leave the straps attached in the car to take the TV out when you visit the parks or when you check into your hotel. It took DH about 5 minutes to hook it back up and it is very secure.

Like I said I would not use the TV in the car unless it was secure.

 

[DJBounce]

When we drove down last Feb. I took one of those plastic crates that you can get almost anywhere and took a rubber strap with the hooks on the end and secured our 13" TV/VCR combo to the crate. It was a snug fit between the two front seats in our Mercury Villager. In terms of being secure, it barely budged unless you lifted it straight up and out. We are going down in June and driving again. The ol' TV/VCR combo will be making a second trip with us for sure.

 

[SueM in MN]

Rubber straps with hooks on the ends are not a safe way to fasten something down. In an accident, anything in the car will be traveling forward with a force equal to its weight times the speed you are going. So if you were going 30 miles an an hour, your 10 pound TV will be moving with a force of 300 pounds. Rubber straps or bungee cords won't hold that much weight. If you can move the TV up by lifting it straight up (even if it's wedged and won't move any other direction), it will come out if your car rolls over.
Please, please, if you are traveling with a TV in your car, get one made for that purpose or use straps made to fasten things down in a vehicle. There are tie down straps that are made for securing things. They have non-stretchable straps and are made to be attached to a secure part of your car/van and cinched down into position so they can't stretch and won't move in an accident.

 

[mom42860]

Thanks for all the replies, we went to check out a few over the weekend. Have to say after seing some of the TV/VCR units we opted for a VCR in a bag at Target. We'll be travelling in a truck with a full back seat and some of the units were just too big. This is very lightweight and straps around the base of the front seats and also around the headrests. The size and safety factor was a big part of the choice.

 

[Belle1962]

Mom42860--I have been looking at the one at Target. The picture shows everyone using headphones---do you HAVE to use headphones or does it have a little speaker? I can't see my 1 1/2 y.o. DGS wearing headphones.

 

[mom42860]

Yes, you can hear it. The earphones aren't necessary, we have a 17 month old and she'd never wear them either. We will pobably know every word of Bear in the Big Blue House by the time we get home!

 

[Belle1962]

Thanks. I really think the vcr in a bag is the way we'll go too. I went to Best Buy and they were out of them but the clerk said they were expecting some. I just want to do some comparison shopping before purchasing.

 

[sgtpet]

I am going to purchase a 9" tv/vcr for our travels for our 16 month old. You can purchase the bag for the 9" tv/vcr over the internet, go to yahoo shopping and type in steel horse 9" bag. Besides the decent size, he will have use for it in his bedroom.