After much deliberation with how to securely mount a tablet and considering drilling holes in the dash, I ended up drilling holes in the factory radio nav bezel. The primary reason is that the dash was in good condition, and I figured that at some point I could replace the stock nav with a Tesla-style screen.
All in this solution cost around $80-$90 dollars for all of the ram mount parts. The BT Toy can be had on Amazon for 140 and change (give or take).
*The steelie in the photo above (near the volume knob) is where I hang my ham radio mic)
One bonus of this idea is that you can easily adjust the HVAC temperature, see where the temperature is at. You don't necessarily lose access to the existing nav screen, but it is heavily obscured by the tablet. I'm sure you can re-arrange/orientate things to have more access to the nav screen.
The short version of the setup is to pull out the nav unit, drill through holes the bezel, and install ram mount balls that have 1/4 inch thread. I added some spacers in between the bezel and the metal backing, that keep the forces of the ram ball plus the device from going straight into the bezel and pushes it back to the metal.
There would be room for a 4th ram ball on the right side of the bezel, but I opted to install a USB & aux input flush mount adapter there. I have the aux & usb routed to the USA Spec BT45 toy (this photo was taken before I put in the 3rd ram ball on the driver's side of the bezel.
Due to the weight of the tablet, and the angle that the tablet sits at, the ram ball would be turning the ram ball counter-clockwise (lefty loosy), and loosening the ball from the bolt. So I added a Steelie to the dashboard to help support the tablet.
I just returned from 3 weeks out to Colorado and back, it was mostly pavement, but did run some trails. I was very impressed and satisfied with the stability of the tablet.
I used 3 inch bolts, but you could do this was 2.5s or perhaps 2.25s. One key thing is to bolt the bolt into the metal backing of the nav, that way it won't easily come undone with the ram balls not attached.
These are the ram balls I used (1 inch size): GPSCity Link
This is the tablet holder: GPSCity Link
You'll have to figure out how you want everything positioned, but I'm using a medium arm for the phone and ham radio and a short arm for the tablet.
Short: GPSCity Link
Medium: GPSCity Link
BT Toy: Amazon
The final thing I did was to take 1/2 inch aluminium rod and cut 3/8s off the end and insert that into the ram ball tip. This provides a lot of strength for clamping. Regular ram balls that are solid do not need this.
All in this solution cost around $80-$90 dollars for all of the ram mount parts. The BT Toy can be had on Amazon for 140 and change (give or take).
*The steelie in the photo above (near the volume knob) is where I hang my ham radio mic)
One bonus of this idea is that you can easily adjust the HVAC temperature, see where the temperature is at. You don't necessarily lose access to the existing nav screen, but it is heavily obscured by the tablet. I'm sure you can re-arrange/orientate things to have more access to the nav screen.
The short version of the setup is to pull out the nav unit, drill through holes the bezel, and install ram mount balls that have 1/4 inch thread. I added some spacers in between the bezel and the metal backing, that keep the forces of the ram ball plus the device from going straight into the bezel and pushes it back to the metal.
There would be room for a 4th ram ball on the right side of the bezel, but I opted to install a USB & aux input flush mount adapter there. I have the aux & usb routed to the USA Spec BT45 toy (this photo was taken before I put in the 3rd ram ball on the driver's side of the bezel.
Due to the weight of the tablet, and the angle that the tablet sits at, the ram ball would be turning the ram ball counter-clockwise (lefty loosy), and loosening the ball from the bolt. So I added a Steelie to the dashboard to help support the tablet.
I just returned from 3 weeks out to Colorado and back, it was mostly pavement, but did run some trails. I was very impressed and satisfied with the stability of the tablet.
I used 3 inch bolts, but you could do this was 2.5s or perhaps 2.25s. One key thing is to bolt the bolt into the metal backing of the nav, that way it won't easily come undone with the ram balls not attached.
These are the ram balls I used (1 inch size): GPSCity Link
This is the tablet holder: GPSCity Link
You'll have to figure out how you want everything positioned, but I'm using a medium arm for the phone and ham radio and a short arm for the tablet.
Short: GPSCity Link
Medium: GPSCity Link
BT Toy: Amazon
The final thing I did was to take 1/2 inch aluminium rod and cut 3/8s off the end and insert that into the ram ball tip. This provides a lot of strength for clamping. Regular ram balls that are solid do not need this.
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