Show off you Laptop/Tablet/GPS mounts please
- Thread starter AFBronco235
- Start date
Retired Tanker
Explorer
Here's what I installed today on my 80 series Landcruiser.
I ordered the following:
- Tab-Tite Cradle fits 10" Tablets Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 & Tab S 10.5 [ RAM-HOL-TAB26U ]
- Ram Mount RAM-B-101U 1-Inch Diameter Ball Mount with 2/2.5-Inch Round Base (Black) [ RAM-B-101U ]
Took some figuring out and trial and error but ended up ripping out the unreadably faded/scratched dash clock and using the mounting point to attach the Ram ball mount.
I have yet to test this off-road but I expect some shaking. The nice thing is the bezel it's attached to has multiple attachment points to the dash so it's supported very well. The best part is I didn't have to drill any holes in the dash or use tape. I'll report back when it's been used for it's purpose though.
I ordered the following:
- Tab-Tite Cradle fits 10" Tablets Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 & Tab S 10.5 [ RAM-HOL-TAB26U ]
- Ram Mount RAM-B-101U 1-Inch Diameter Ball Mount with 2/2.5-Inch Round Base (Black) [ RAM-B-101U ]
Took some figuring out and trial and error but ended up ripping out the unreadably faded/scratched dash clock and using the mounting point to attach the Ram ball mount.
I have yet to test this off-road but I expect some shaking. The nice thing is the bezel it's attached to has multiple attachment points to the dash so it's supported very well. The best part is I didn't have to drill any holes in the dash or use tape. I'll report back when it's been used for it's purpose though.
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jalbrecht55
Member
Could you provide a few details on this? Did you modify the dash, or use 2003+ bezel or did you find a "bolt in" kit?
Thanks!
rayra
Expedition Leader
All of the above. I scavenged the interior dash chassis (but that's not strictly necessary, you have to hack up either one to get a good fit in the rear) partly to ease the downward relocation of my air contorls to line up wtih the 2003-2006 bezel that I also got from the junkyard. Then it was the usual Metra double din aftermarket bracket, antenna adapter, A Metra wiring harness adapter, some heavy googling to find the wiring trick to get the factory amp to turn on. (you have to hook the pink on the aux CD / cassette deck harness, which is orphaned by the aftermarket install and connect it to the blue/white signal wire on the new stereo chassis. Same blue/wht I tied to the aftermarket 'MicroBypass' kit so the DVD would play in Drive)
PM me if you need more details.
edit - six months later, while I was farting around getting my Transmission Temp to display in the full Torque app
PM me if you need more details.
edit - six months later, while I was farting around getting my Transmission Temp to display in the full Torque app
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JBThompson
Adventurer
I'm testing out this mount location for our G Pad. It's a bit low but it's also out of the way. Probably going to try out some other locations before I do any kind of permenant solution. Downloaded Maps.Me to see how well the internal GPS works, seems to be fairly decent.
Retired Tanker
Explorer
Using what I had around the house:
Digiland 7" tablet (about $35 at Best Buy), 10 year old eTrex, an old CD-Player car mount from Radio Shack (has rubber shock isolaters in it), and an extra articulating mount for the eTrex.
Mounted it to the tray in the console. Tried to keep it down low to reduce the momentum during vehicle movement.
The tablet and eTrex are both within reach and are readable. The mount will let me pivot them to a co-pilot if needed.
Digiland 7" tablet (about $35 at Best Buy), 10 year old eTrex, an old CD-Player car mount from Radio Shack (has rubber shock isolaters in it), and an extra articulating mount for the eTrex.
Mounted it to the tray in the console. Tried to keep it down low to reduce the momentum during vehicle movement.
The tablet and eTrex are both within reach and are readable. The mount will let me pivot them to a co-pilot if needed.
jprovence01
Member
Garmin Montana with AMPS Motorcycle mount bolted to Panavice mount on the truck hardwired to ignition.
johlman
New member
What software programs do you all mostly use? I'm just getting started and would love a moving map display like I used on my Trawler. Lots of programs for boats. Havn't seen much for overland except Map Tech. Would love to hear all your opinions on moving map land navigation. Plan on using a Surface 4 Laptop. or whatever it takes.
Thanks
Thanks
ihatemybike
Explorer
On my Android devices I use two apps:
Google Maps = free, can download some maps for offline use, doesn't show all roads trails
OSMAnd+ = Open Source Maps, $7 (Free trial version available that allows limited map downloads), designed as an offline system. In my experience it has proven to have most every road, trail, hiking trail on it, I suggest having a decent amount of storage available on your device. Trip routing calculations are fairly quick in a single state, slow across multiple states.
Google Maps = free, can download some maps for offline use, doesn't show all roads trails
OSMAnd+ = Open Source Maps, $7 (Free trial version available that allows limited map downloads), designed as an offline system. In my experience it has proven to have most every road, trail, hiking trail on it, I suggest having a decent amount of storage available on your device. Trip routing calculations are fairly quick in a single state, slow across multiple states.
workingonit71
Aspirantes ad Adventure
camera stands & tablet adapter in lieu of high-dollar Ram mounts
I formerly used a Tom Tom 1 for GPS and maps when travelling. I found it to be unreliable and a pain to program and use. Maybe it was just me. Switched to my smartphone and the AT&T Maps and Google Maps apps it came with, but the screen of my Samsung Rugby Pro SGH-i547 (yes, it is old and antiquated, but so am I) is only 4", so I had to drive and hold it in my hand so I could see it. Not safe. I would've used a tablet, but my wife had bought me a 7" Toshiba Excite Go AT7-C8, which would've been fine, except that it didn't have GPS. After waiting for the Toshiba's battery to die (they all do), I bought another tablet to replace it, a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 8.0". With GPS, WiFi only. Now I could use maps offline without data, like Google Maps, Sygic, and GPS Navigation. It worked fine, except I still had to hold it. I liked the Ram mounts, but didn't want to pay the price. So, I just made my own dash-mount from a metal strap I cut and bent to fit, a small camera stand, and a tablet-to-tripod adapter. I popped off the dash surround (easily removed on 2004 Silverado), removed two screws, cut and bent a metal strap to fit the space, used small screws to attach the stand base to the strap, screwed the strap /stand assembly to the factory holes, snapped the surround back on, then attached the stand spacer and head to the base. I painted the holding strap "black" to match the stand (got brush marks on my dash, painting at night with bad eyesight!), then attached the tablet adapter. Two problems: when adapter is "up" (as shown in pictures), the mount tries to swivel downward (segments unscrew), because my tablet (w/folio cover) weighs 1.5 lbs. I'll either loc-tite the segments in place, or let the adapter hang down. I have a similar adapter in my HHR (though on a removable base) where the adapter hangs down, and the tablet is steadier. Both are still works in progress. I also show the home-made attachment of my 400w inverter, CB radio, and SWR meter. HAM radio will be a hand-held (next gadget to carry).
I formerly used a Tom Tom 1 for GPS and maps when travelling. I found it to be unreliable and a pain to program and use. Maybe it was just me. Switched to my smartphone and the AT&T Maps and Google Maps apps it came with, but the screen of my Samsung Rugby Pro SGH-i547 (yes, it is old and antiquated, but so am I) is only 4", so I had to drive and hold it in my hand so I could see it. Not safe. I would've used a tablet, but my wife had bought me a 7" Toshiba Excite Go AT7-C8, which would've been fine, except that it didn't have GPS. After waiting for the Toshiba's battery to die (they all do), I bought another tablet to replace it, a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 8.0". With GPS, WiFi only. Now I could use maps offline without data, like Google Maps, Sygic, and GPS Navigation. It worked fine, except I still had to hold it. I liked the Ram mounts, but didn't want to pay the price. So, I just made my own dash-mount from a metal strap I cut and bent to fit, a small camera stand, and a tablet-to-tripod adapter. I popped off the dash surround (easily removed on 2004 Silverado), removed two screws, cut and bent a metal strap to fit the space, used small screws to attach the stand base to the strap, screwed the strap /stand assembly to the factory holes, snapped the surround back on, then attached the stand spacer and head to the base. I painted the holding strap "black" to match the stand (got brush marks on my dash, painting at night with bad eyesight!), then attached the tablet adapter. Two problems: when adapter is "up" (as shown in pictures), the mount tries to swivel downward (segments unscrew), because my tablet (w/folio cover) weighs 1.5 lbs. I'll either loc-tite the segments in place, or let the adapter hang down. I have a similar adapter in my HHR (though on a removable base) where the adapter hangs down, and the tablet is steadier. Both are still works in progress. I also show the home-made attachment of my 400w inverter, CB radio, and SWR meter. HAM radio will be a hand-held (next gadget to carry).
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