Laptop mount problems

[jnelson4x4taco]

I just built a laptop mount similar to the one offered here:

www.mobilelaptopmount.com

When i mounted it i use the existing bolt hole from the seat bracket and that made it pretty sturdy but i would like to strengthen it up some. I tried using some self drilling screws through the floor and into the side of the tranny hump, but they dont grab enough. Should i try a thicker screw? bolt and nut? lag bolt? butterfly nut? i just cant figure out why the sef drilling screws arent biting. ill post up some pics asap.

Also, any ideas of how to tie it into another point for added stability would be good.

thanks in advance

 

[PCRover]

What do you mean don't grab enough? Maybe they are not actually going into any metal. Are you threading them through a rug?

 

[Scott Brady]

First, roll under the truck to check clearances, and you should have access for a nut on the underside. Use one with nylock and put a dab of silicon to prevent leaking

 

[RoundOut]

I just built a laptop mount similar to the one offered here:

www.mobilelaptopmount.com

When i mounted it i use the existing bolt hole from the seat bracket and that made it pretty sturdy but i would like to strengthen it up some. I tried using some self drilling screws through the floor and into the side of the tranny hump, but they dont grab enough. Should i try a thicker screw? bolt and nut? lag bolt? butterfly nut? i just cant figure out why the sef drilling screws arent biting. ill post up some pics asap.

ME TOO! I saw a thread on ExPo about that laptop mount about a week ago, and went straight to Home Depot to get 1/2" pipe fittings, flanges, etc. to assemble the pedistle and wood to make the top. It's raining outside now, so I'll have to wait to get some pics to post up.

Also, any ideas of how to tie it into another point for added stability would be good.

thanks in advance

The Tundra has a strange way of mounting the forward bolts securing the front seat, compared to other installations I saw on that website. The forward seat-mount bolts are parallel to the ground, rather than perpendicular to it. My solution was to drill through the floor from under the carpet and secure it directly to the floor with some hefty #12 stainless steel sheet metal screws.

Since I wasn't able to utilize the seat-mount bolt and I still wanted a very secure pedistle (I have always heard that anything worth doing is worth overdoing), I decided to reinforce the mount by having two flanges secured to the floorboard. Figuring that the most stress would be from forward and reverse motion while a laptop was in place above, I put the two flanges in front and behind one another. This also makes less of an intrusion into the leg room on the passenger side than if they were say, at a 45 degree angle from the drive shaft line.

After the foundation part of the project is complete, however, I still notice a little too much wiggling at the table portion and was contemplating why this could be after having such a beefy pedistle system. Then it hit me...

When I pulled back the carpet to mount the flanges to the floorboard, there was some sound barrier/insulation, maybe 1/16" to 3/32" thick, on the floor. I noticed this, because I contemplated putting down some Dynomat (sp?) or similar material as additional sound insulation while having the carpet pulled back. For my first stab at this, I didn't scrape away that material before securing the flanges with sheet metal screws. One possible solution to the wiggle may be to remove the insulation from under the flanges in order to get flange against the metal floorboard directly.

In my Tundra, there is one more convenient way of stabilizing the setup, too. The forward, passenger side of the console, down below the glove box, has a single plastic fastener securing that portion of the console to a metal bracket behind it. I could fabricate a small bracket to connect the two points, adding some side-to-side stability as well.

Anyhow, there's two or three ideas... make sure the insulation is not allowing some flex under the flange, secure it with two flanges, and add lateral stability if possible.

I may go back in at some point in the future and use Scott's suggestion of using bolts and nylock nuts instead of sheet metal screws, but in order to access the area where the nuts would be located, I must temporarily remove a heat shield above my exhaust pipe. This looked very difficult at first glance. There is a buddy of mine with a lift at his shop, so I may go over there and do this another day soon.

A question for you... How are you covering the pipe and fittings? I used the insulation for water lines and wrapped electrical tape around it as evenly as possible. Eventually, I want to get some vinyl that matches my seats and sew some sleeves to cover it up. This will make it look like an OEM install. Until then, the black electrical tape will serve as my finish for the pedistle. Before I finish that, I was going to purchase a second laptop power supply and run the cable up on the inside of the insulation, making it a more clean hook-up. I may also try to conceal the cable of my USB GPS, the same way. I even thought of getting a hands-free kit for my Treo 650 and securing it to the left side of the laptop mount, freeing up my cupholder.

Good luck with your laptop mount. I'll get some pics up as things dry out in Houston and the project progresses.

 

[jnelson4x4taco]

What i mean by dont grab is that the screws dont tighten up when they get all the way through. I am using 1.5" self drilling screws and they do go all the way through but it seems as if the drilling head is larger than the diameter of the screw body, if that makes any sense.



For covering i am doing the same and using water insulation padding so its not as uncomfortable for the passenger and it looks a little cleaner as well. Here are some pics of the setup so far, any ideas on sturdying (sp) it up would be good. thanks guys

 

[RoundOut]

Here are some pics of the project to date

Like I explained in my previous post, I went through the carpet to the floorboard, using two flanges. There was no good way to assemble it from above the flanges once the flanges were secured, so I had to assemble it and then screw in the flanges. This sucked, because I had to cut through the carpet all the way to the console. It won't be a very noticable problem, though.

The first pic is pretty much a view of the whole shebang. Pic #2 shows where I (read: tried to) solder the pipes together using a propane burner tip. The blemishes will definitely be covered up, but there is enough grip there to keep the pipes from flexing over time.

In the third photo, notice the hole in the forward end of the right side of the console. There is a metal bracket behind it. Before I button this project up, I will run a bracket from the forward pipe to the console bracket, giving added lateral support.

Picture #4 shows the table top part, unpainted as of yet. I plan to prime it, and paint it with a beige satin color. I have a 3' velcro strap to secure to the back allowing me to strap on the laptop. Notice the cut out area of the lip edge of the table. That is where the microphone and headset jacks are located on my laptop, so I had to provide a cutout.

More later.

 

[HongerVenture]

Hey guys, I had an idea for covering. Rather than insulation and electrical tape...

Try using a shop-vac hose...

You'd have to thread it over the pipeing and be clever in the way you did it to avoid cutting it down the length... but it can be done I think.

 

[rusty_tlc]

PEM Nuts
Self clinching nuts are what you need.

(That didn't sound righteepwall: )

I love these for wood.
T-Nuts

 

[RoundOut]

Hey guys, I had an idea for covering. Rather than insulation and electrical tape...

Try using a shop-vac hose...

You'd have to thread it over the pipeing and be clever in the way you did it to avoid cutting it down the length... but it can be done I think.

I considered that, in fact... I almost bought one. Then decided I would go to the aftermarket leather installer that my dealership uses and get a set of the "oak" interior vinyl seat covers (coming off a vehicle they are putting leather on) and use the vinyl to sew a sleeve with a zipper to cover the pipe insulation/electrical tape. Think of an arm-rest as a similar size piece. This will perfectly match the leather interior of my vehicle. The insulation/electrical tape will just act like the foam under the upholstery.

Status update: I have primed and painted the wooden table and will work on the velcro and remaining foam/insulation sometime today. I have to visit the auto parts store to get an additional cigarette lighter outlet, since the 12 volt adapter that I have has its fuse in the plug, and I didn't want to permanently conceal the fuse (so that I would have to take the seats and console out to replace it). There is a wiring harness with two such outlets on the console, right next to this, but I figure one of those for my cell phone and one for something else (gps, radar, whatever) -- I need a third. The watts drawn by the adapter is minimal, i.e. +/- 90, less than half what an inverter would draw at 250+. Hopefully, by the end of today, I'll have the foam, power, and velcro done.

 

[offroadchef]

http://www.stealitback.com/itemdetails.aspx?l=5326


check this out it is only the plate for the laptop not the stand


this may be the stand for it

http://www.stealitback.com/itemdetails.aspx?l=5589

 

[eugene]

For covering i am doing the same and using water insulation padding so its not as uncomfortable for the passenger and it looks a little cleaner as well. Here are some pics of the setup so far, any ideas on sturdying (sp) it up would be good. thanks guys

What about putting a T right above the 45degree elbow and then run a pipe across the console and then turn down to the drivers side seat mount. It looks like it would go right across the section between the shift levers and the storage behind it. Might even be able to drill a hole in each side of the center console plastic and slide your pipe through it. Then you could drill a hole into the pipe where its inside the console and feed wires into the pipe and up to the plaform.

 

[jnelson4x4taco]

eugene, good idea about going across to the other seat mount. I was trying to keep this relatively easy to remove and unnoticeable so i didnt want to drill through the console. If i did put the tube up over the console i could maybe attach some other goodies to it (i.e. gps mount, ipod mount, small basket for little odds and ends) its definately something worth lookin into

 

[eugene]

That could work, put another T or two right above the console with the center pointing up then you cold screw in different lengths of pipe for other mounts.