A good Android based tablet for GPS navigation
- Thread starter Corey
- Start date
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
No tablet yet, but I picked out some mounts after talking with a guy from Ram Mounts, and this is what I have coming tomorrow.
RAM Mounts (RAM-B-316-1-202U) Pod I Universal No-Drill Vehicle Mount with 18" Rigid Aluminum Rod and Round Adapter Base
Ram Mount Twist 9-Inch Lock Suction Cup Mount with Long Double Socket Arm and Diamond Adapter
RAM MOUNTS RAM-HOL-TAB2U Tab-Tite Holder for Small Tablets including the Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple iPad mini, Google Nexus 7 & Motorola XYBOARD 8.2
Going to try two different mounting methods and see what works the best in the FJ Cruiser.
They do make a much heavier duty floor mount too for off-road he said, but I will see how this one works first.
Then I need to learn about how the apps work with no signal to download maps when in the field to keep track of where I am going, and to make waypoints.
This is something I have been wanting to get into for quite sometime, as I often find nice spots to camp when exploring the Greenwater area.
Will be making a decision on a tablet this weekend.
Maybe an 8", or step up to a 10", not sure yet.
I have a first gen Kindle Fire which I no longer use, I will use that as a mock-up in the mount to see how it looks in the rig.
I cannot remember the screen size on it, but I think it is smaller than my iPad Air.
RAM Mounts (RAM-B-316-1-202U) Pod I Universal No-Drill Vehicle Mount with 18" Rigid Aluminum Rod and Round Adapter Base
Ram Mount Twist 9-Inch Lock Suction Cup Mount with Long Double Socket Arm and Diamond Adapter
RAM MOUNTS RAM-HOL-TAB2U Tab-Tite Holder for Small Tablets including the Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple iPad mini, Google Nexus 7 & Motorola XYBOARD 8.2
Going to try two different mounting methods and see what works the best in the FJ Cruiser.
They do make a much heavier duty floor mount too for off-road he said, but I will see how this one works first.
Then I need to learn about how the apps work with no signal to download maps when in the field to keep track of where I am going, and to make waypoints.
This is something I have been wanting to get into for quite sometime, as I often find nice spots to camp when exploring the Greenwater area.
Will be making a decision on a tablet this weekend.
Maybe an 8", or step up to a 10", not sure yet.
I have a first gen Kindle Fire which I no longer use, I will use that as a mock-up in the mount to see how it looks in the rig.
I cannot remember the screen size on it, but I think it is smaller than my iPad Air.
I have that RAM mount suction cup and was very impressed with how well it held on to the windshield. For holding the tablet, I have the RAM Universal X-Grip.
Chad
Chad
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Chad, glad to hear that suction mount works good for you.
I wonder how this compares to the NVIDIA Shield.
Acer Predator 8 GT-810-15NC 8-inch Full HD Gaming Tablet (Android Lollipop)
It has the goodshiip Lollipop on it, where as the NVIDIA Shield you can get Android 6.0 Marshmallow over the air on it.
PS< looks like the NVIDIA has a bigger CPU, and the 16 GB hardrive, where as the ACER has no internal storage.
I wonder how this compares to the NVIDIA Shield.
Acer Predator 8 GT-810-15NC 8-inch Full HD Gaming Tablet (Android Lollipop)
It has the goodshiip Lollipop on it, where as the NVIDIA Shield you can get Android 6.0 Marshmallow over the air on it.
PS< looks like the NVIDIA has a bigger CPU, and the 16 GB hardrive, where as the ACER has no internal storage.
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plh
Explorer
Lenovo TAB A2 - rock solid, paired with a Ram X-mount. (Here - off line, Google Maps, BCN). If I were to buy now I'd sure take a look at that Freedom Pop 8gb LG G pad. Pair that with a Google fi data only sim @ $10 dollars / 1 gig ... might be interesting.
http://slickdeals.net/f/9161947-100...rb-freedompop-50-free-shipping?src=SiteSearch
http://slickdeals.net/f/9161947-100...rb-freedompop-50-free-shipping?src=SiteSearch
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robert
Expedition Leader
Yep, me too. I've also got the lighter weight and the heavier weight rod style mounts from Ram. The heavier one is definitely more solid, I bought it to use with a netbook. Traveling by myself it's fine but passengers don't seem to care for it and honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the way it looks. When the vehicle starts swaying off-road both will move though. The windshield mount has less movement in my experience and it's generally what I use.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Both Ram mounts and the backing plate for a tablet showed up yesterday, and today my NVIDIA Shield and a 64 GB SanDisk card show up.
Will try out the NVIDIA for awhile, but this looks interesting too, and it has a cool menu when you mark a waypoint for a site you drive into.
http://expeditionportal.com/first-look-magellan-explorist-trx7/
Christophe knows how to spend my money
I have seen that item "liked" by a few friends on Facebook, and I have read a little about it, but Christophe's article goes into more detail.
Will try out the NVIDIA for awhile, but this looks interesting too, and it has a cool menu when you mark a waypoint for a site you drive into.
http://expeditionportal.com/first-look-magellan-explorist-trx7/
Christophe knows how to spend my money
I have seen that item "liked" by a few friends on Facebook, and I have read a little about it, but Christophe's article goes into more detail.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...erland-amp-daily-driver?p=2184096#post2184096
Up and running, but not happy with the suction mount, so today or tomorrow I will installed the floor mount.
Up and running, but not happy with the suction mount, so today or tomorrow I will installed the floor mount.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Nice!
Taking a short break from mine as mother nature has not offered any rain free weekends for me to work on it.
But I am going to be drilling into the side of the dash and mounting my RAM arm to the side of my Yaesu faceplate.
A guy on fjcruiserforums.com did his that way, and it turned out nice.
Taking a short break from mine as mother nature has not offered any rain free weekends for me to work on it.
But I am going to be drilling into the side of the dash and mounting my RAM arm to the side of my Yaesu faceplate.
A guy on fjcruiserforums.com did his that way, and it turned out nice.
rayra
Expedition Leader
Those look real nice together. Can you post a wider angle shot so we / I can see how large it looks on the dash overall? Any problems with it obscuring forward vision, or does it fit below the eyeline to the outer edges of the hood?
My setup, older pic, been experimenting with the phone and dashcam mount locations and now have a better arrangement that's tucked up much higher and sort of overlapping like your panels. Mine was a Samsung 7" Tab 3 Lite (?). The GPS and offline street and topo off-road nav apps are working great.
My setup, older pic, been experimenting with the phone and dashcam mount locations and now have a better arrangement that's tucked up much higher and sort of overlapping like your panels. Mine was a Samsung 7" Tab 3 Lite (?). The GPS and offline street and topo off-road nav apps are working great.
TrailBadger
Banned
Like how some of these are turning out and we're considering a tablet in the near future.. till then, I believe we'll purchase a vent mounted smart phone holder and place it right beside the steering wheel.. Only to be used when in location mode and for the Zello instant walkie talkie option. If we do opt for a tablet, the mount would end up lower and more on the passenger side. I can't see placing anymore device mounts dangling from the windshield..
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
This is how my finished project will look when it is done.
The tablet and RAM arm will be mounted lower than my Yaesu faceplate though.
I borrowed this picture from Zero, a member over on fjcruiserforums site where there is a mounting discussion in my build thread.
When not using the tablet, I can swing it flat and all the way to the right butting up against the panel above the glovebox.
The dash has to be torn down some to gain access inside to put the nuts on the bolts, and to not blindly drill into any wires.
It is just a matter when I am going to get some free time and good weather to do this.
Looks like rain most of the weekend again
The tablet and RAM arm will be mounted lower than my Yaesu faceplate though.
I borrowed this picture from Zero, a member over on fjcruiserforums site where there is a mounting discussion in my build thread.
When not using the tablet, I can swing it flat and all the way to the right butting up against the panel above the glovebox.
The dash has to be torn down some to gain access inside to put the nuts on the bolts, and to not blindly drill into any wires.
It is just a matter when I am going to get some free time and good weather to do this.
Looks like rain most of the weekend again