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09-04-2017, 04:56 PM #1
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Solitude 310GK Blu-ray and Soundbar Install
I was disappointed with the Furrion DVD/Radio setup in my Solitude so I took the bull by the horns and upgraded to Blu-ray and soundbar.
The Blu-ray was super easy. I removed the Furrion DVD from the cabinet, pulled the HDMI cable out of the back, and fished it into the adjacent cabinet. Plugged the Blu-ray into the existing AC outlet and the HDMI into the back of the Blu-ray. I did put the Furrion back in its place, but in the long run, I think I'm going to permanently remove it and put the Blu-ray in its place. I really don't listen to the radio and I now have the sound bar that I can pair up with my phone for music.
That literally took minutes to complete. The soundbar required a lot more time and effort. Fortunately, the TCL TV had a digital optical output. The benefit is that both TV audio and Blu-ray audio would be routed to the soundbar without additional intervention. My last motorhome I did a similar install and fabricated a bracket to mount the soundbar under the popup TV. The TV in the Solitude is much bigger and didn't leave any room to mount the soundbar in that location. I was considering mounting the soundbar to the crown molding between the fireplace and the TV but wasn't happy with it sticking out that far from the cabinet.
Then I thought, why don't I just remove the molding and attach it directly to the cabinet? While inspecting the molding to figure out how I would remove it, I discovered that it was hinged and there was a secret compartment hidden back there! I've had the Solitude since May now and never knew that was there!
Perfect! Now I have a place for the soundbar. There's an outlet right behind the TV to power the soundbar. I screwed in a velcro strap to keep the optical and power cables from snagging on the TV when it goes up and down. I used a hole saw to drill a hole in the cabinet to pass the cables through to the secret compartment.
2018 Solitude 310GK
2017 RAM 3500 Crew Cab, Short Box, 4x4, SRW, Cummins 6.7
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Oth...dStatesMap.gif
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09-04-2017, 05:10 PM #2
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I didn't want to just lay the soundbar in there and I wanted to mount it near the top and extend it out to be flush with the cabinet. I stacked some 3.5"x0.75"x8" red oak with some scrap 0.5" pressed board I had laying around to get the 2" total depth I needed. Screwed them together and spray painted flat black. In the picture below, you can see the spacers installed, the cable hole, and the soundbar with the wall mount brackets installed. The soundbar brackets hangs off of a pair of grooved plastic donuts and slides down and to the right to lock in place.
The backer board is pretty flimsy so I used same sized red oak pieces to sandwich the backer board and distribute the load.
Soundbar installed! It is awesome! I forgot to take pictures of the subwoofer. I ended up placing it under the sleeper sofa. It was the perfect height that it fits and bed cushion touches it just enough to hold it in place. There's an AC outlet in the cabinet aside of the sofa that was convenient to plug the subwoofer into, and it's bluetooth so there's no cable to run.
2018 Solitude 310GK
2017 RAM 3500 Crew Cab, Short Box, 4x4, SRW, Cummins 6.7
https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Oth...dStatesMap.gif
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09-04-2017, 05:45 PM #3
LOL........you had me running around trying to get my mantle to open up. Hasn't opened yet.
2018 Momentum 376TH
2016 RAM 3500 Dually
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11-14-2017, 08:13 PM #4
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Wow! Nice job Terry, We pick our 310 up this week and planning to follow in ur footsteps as we get time to do it.
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11-19-2017, 10:11 AM #5
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This is awesome. I agree, the Furrion system truly is a let down for sound quality. I intend on doing this as well. Thank you for the inspiration!
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11-19-2017, 10:32 AM #6
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We went with a Bose SoundTouch 300 + sub-woofer. My TV is attached to the wall with a swing-out mount, so I just needed to raise the TV about 1" to make room for the soundbar. IN addition to OTA TV, we have a DirecTV HD DVR, Sony Blu-Ray player, and an Apple TV all connected to the TV/Bose. I also installed a manual HDMI switch to switch the DirecTV to either the lounge TV or the outside TV, which is directly behind the lounge TV. I use the Furrion radio to tell what time it is.
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12-09-2017, 02:23 PM #7
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- Brantford, Ontario, Canada
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klenger, have you got any pictures of your setup. I have a 315RLTS and definitely want to upgrade from the Furrion. I may take the OEM TV and install it into the storage area with a sliding tv mount.
G and J
Ontario, Canada
2018 Reflection 315RLTS
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12-13-2017, 08:12 AM #8
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Sorry it took so long to post these. Been really busy. These are not the best shots as one of the slides was in making it difficult to get good angles, but you can get the idea.
Page 11 and 12 of the drawings at the link below show the wiring details.
http://nebula.wsimg.com/c95e37b1e614...&alloworigin=1
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12-14-2017, 06:50 PM #9
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Thanks, klenger. Got the schematics but the photos didn't work.
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12-14-2017, 07:46 PM #10
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The photos show up fine for me on my phone and laptop. You may have a problem with your forum account.
Can anyone else confirm the pictures are OK?
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