Securing TV in Chevy Venture

[momofmikey]

Hi. Does anyone have any experience with securely putting a 9" TV/DVD combo into a Chevy Venture? We're renting a Venture, and bought a TV for the long car ride down. I'm not sure how to attach it safely in - I've heard people mention some sort of straps around the seats?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Aryn]

I have been looking for these as well and I have found a bunch on Ebay. I think I searched under TV tote and checked titles and descriptions. They are about 80 bucks in the stores (if you can find them) On Ebay they were running about 20 or under.

HTH
Aryn

 

[goeagles]

We have a windstar. We bungi (sp?) cord the TV to a milk crate then bungi the crate to one of the front seats. The TV sits in the middle of the van just ahead of the middle row so all the kids can see. I bring the remote too, that way I'm not doing yoga quite as often to operate the thing!!!!

Sometimes we remove one bucket seat from the middle row (we only have 3 kids) and bungi the crate to the hooks where that seat was.

I just couldn't see spending extra $$ to buy a stand or handing bag type thing.

 

[lindaso]

BJ's has TV totes for 9 inch TV's. We also have a Venture and it worked great.

 

[SueM in MN]

Bungie cords are not a good choice for keeping a TV secured in your vehicle. Most of them that I have seen are rated for about 5-15 pounds. That might be OK to keep the TV in place when you are not moving. In case of an accident or sudden stop, the TV will keep going in whatever direction you were traveling at a force of its weight times the speed the car was going. So, in a sudden stop from 30 miles an hour, your 10 pound TV would be putting 300 pounds of force on the bungie cord; way more than the cord is designed for. If you've ever had a rubber band shot at you or break and snap you, you can imagine what sorts of things would happen if a bungie cord stretches too much. I know of someone who lost an eye from a bungie cord that let go, so I try to warn people about the hazards.
If you want to use straps to hold a TV down, you can find appropriate tie down straps (with ratchet arrangements for tightening them down) in the hardware department of Target, Walmart and building supply stores.

 

[TiffJ]

I would definately recommend a tv bag. We have a Windstar & got the bag at Target. It straps the tv safely to the 2 front seats. In the event of a crash, it isnt going anywhere. As heavy as it is, it could be very dangerous for the kids flying through the air. It is easy to install & worth every penny

 

[momofmikey]

Thanks for yor replies. Best Buy sells a bag for about $40 which apparently also holds the tv, and then straps around the front seats. How much was the one at Target?

Thanks again!

 

[scoggs]

Well, maybe what we do isn't the safest, but it's worked well for us for the past 2 years! We just have an elevated mat type thing that velcro's to the floor of our Venture, props up the TV for easier viewing, and has a strap that goes around the top of the TV, securing it to the mat. Then we move one of the front bucket seats all the way forward, put the TV between the 2 bucket seats, and move the one seat back in place. The TV is very secure between the 2 seats...it is a bit tight, but we've never had a problem. We have a 9" TV/VCR combo, so it may be a bit different than TV/DVD combo?? Just another idea for you!!

 

[safetymom]

I would use approved devices for restraining the TV. You don't have to have a very fast stop for the TV to go flying with some of these ideas.

I am sure no one wants to see family members get hurt just because they needed a TV in the car.

 

[momof4boys]

We too have a venture and they do sell bags that the 9 inch tv's fit into. I think that we got ours at either target or wal mart. It was about $40.