? About t.v./vcr combo + nintendo for long drive from Iowa

[IowaGirl]

I was looking at a t.v./vcr combo, a 13 inch for 119.00.

Then I would buy a cigarette lighter adapter with two outlets, so

I would be able to hook up a nintendo/and or sega system too, would'nt I?

Do you bring this stuff with you for that long drive and does it work for your family?

I really need to figure out yet exactly how long it is, but I believe about 21 hours of driving from the center of Iowa.

Can it be done with your sanity intact when you arrive?

 

[mum4jenn]

They work out great!! Just make sure the machines are VERY secure. I have read of folks being in wrecks and these machines become missles and I believe there have been serious if not fatal injuries due to them not being bolted down.

 

[sha_lyn]

I would suggest wither a 9 in. tv vcr combo that plugs into a car outlet and the steel horse bag that will secure it to the car, or a TV in a bag. Both should have jacks for nintendo/sega. You can buy a special "brand" specific converter for either or you can buy a power inverter and plug the game system into that.

 

[SandraC]

9" sounds great. The smallest I've seen are 13". I would have to jam it between the car seats. I married "MacGyver" so he can rig bolts to secure it to the consol I guess. The TV/VCR combos I've seen just say AC/DC ~ they don't say anything about using in a car. So I have to buy a separate cord for the lighter? THX S

 

[dizliz]

We travel alot and will not do a long drive without the tv/vcr for the kids. Make sure you get one with it's own cord for the cig. lighter. I had 2 tv's before this one and I always had a problem getting the tv to work all the time. My friends have had this porblem too. When we had the mini van we took out a passenger seat and used a bungee cord to hold the tv in place, my one friend still does this. Now we have a durango and we have the 2 boys sit in the back row and seatbelt the tv in the middle of the second row on the fold down part. They don't ask how long a trip is any more they ask how many movies do they get too watch. I haven't tried the nintendo yet, but if I was doing a 21 hour drive it would be a definite yes.

What we haven't tried yet is headphones for the tv - that's going to be the new thing for us this year. The tv/vcr combos have the speakers going around the sides and back of the tv - so we hear it louder than they do - a little annoying, but not nearly as bad as whining and fighting. Hope this helps!

 

[SueM in MN]

A bungee cord is not a safe way to secure a TV in a car or van. It's not made to hold that much weight and will stretch or even snap in an accident.
Here's a link to a thread about securing TVs in cars.

 

[sha_lyn]

we have 3 sets of wireless headphones for the tv in our van. They are great. It works a lot better than having the cords running all over the place.

 

[laureng]

I think it's a great idea and I'm sure the kids will, too. We've done the tv/vcr before but haven't tried the game with it. Just make sure the adapter you get has enough power for the tv and game. The adapter we used worked fine for our tv/vcr but my brother had problems with it on their tv.

 

[Rpsemont]

We bought a 9"TV/VCR combo. It came with the cigaretter lighter cord. The other thing it's great for is to take in the room and watch videos - usually too busy at WDW but we've done this at other hotels. The other thing you can buy is an adaptor that converts the DC to AC. So you plug it into the Cigarette lighter and it has an electrical outlet on it. We've used this for everything from cell phones to boom boxes. YOu could probably use this for the nintendo. How old are your children? As a family we all enjoy listening to the Harry Potter books on tape. YOu can purchase or check out of the library. We've found those are great for passing the time.

 

[SandraC]

Where did you get the 9" TV/VCR? That would be perfect for us! Thanks! S

 

[kilroys]

We have a 9" combo also. Works great. We have a full size van and put the tv between the front seats on a stand I built. Bought a set of power spreaker and ran them to the back so that the kids can hear but not blow out my ears. Bring the remote also. We camp, so after our trip I can bring the tv inside the trailer. We got our at Sam's Club, but I've seem them at Best Buy. Bring lot of movies, and maybe a new one. Makes for a eazy trip.

Have fun.

 

[4disneyfans]

9" tv/vcr combo can be bought at most Wal Marts and Sam's. Also at Best Buy ETC. Hope this helped the person that needed to know where to get one.

 

[2minnies]

I borrowed a friend's van with tv for a few days and look a long road trip to be sure the kids wouldn't be car sick from the motion. Better safe than sorry

 

[ALostBoy]

Hi all,

I have done this with a playstation and the
hook up should be the same for other game
systems.

What we have:
1- 9"TV/VCR AC/DC combo
the AC/DC is the one that
works in the car or the house
1- 400W power converter
DC to AC
1- Playstation Game system
1- Dual lighter plug

How we do it:
1. Plug dual lighter plug into
lighter.
2. Plug TV into one lighter
socket.
3. Plug power converter into
other lighter socket.
4. Plug the game unit into the
power converter
5. On the TV there will be a
yellow and a white RCA plug.
use the cable from the game
unit that has the Red, Yellow,
and White plugs on it, but only
use the yellow and white and
plug them into the TV.
6. Cut the power on to everything
and turn the TV to Video and it
should work.

It took us a couple of times but it finally worked
and the kids played Gran Turismo. It was nice for
them to do something other than watch a movie.
Just gave them something different to do.

Also, if you have power points or other auxilary
lighter sockets you will not need the dual lighter
plug. Good luck

 

[Rpsemont]

I think I got the 9" TV/VCR at Costco. YOu should not that the 9" is more expensive than the 13" but it fits better and is easier to carry. We wedge ours in between the from seats of the van with a block underneath to tilt it up. Works great.

 

[Deb8821]

We also have 9" tv/vcr combo - have a full size van so DH build box that bolts to floor. Works great!! Last trip I taped a some new shows off cable and then they had something new to watch. It is a life saver for our car trips and almost stops the whining are we there yet!!