laptop mounts

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

ZRotheohv

ZRotheohv

10 Year 15 Year 20 Year
Joined
Nov 6, 2005
Threads
71
Messages
236
Location
Riverside, CA
i've been searching for a while but the only real threads on here for mounting laptops were for 80's. i'm trying to decide between the RAM mount and the jotto desk mount. just wondering if anyone had any input or pictures. do the jotto cables hold a laptop down well enough through the hard bumps? looks like they might let it slide a little. i'd prefer not to drill any holes through the truck but i'm all for drilling through the console (have the nice big metal one from CCOT). so any input is greatly appreciated! thanks!

Zachary Rothe
 
Especially with a rigid mount to the body of the truck. Some of those new laptops have shock protection though. Would that be sufficient?
 
Shock protection shuts the hard drive down when it senses too much motion. You wouldnt be able to use it over rough stuff with the hard drive protection on (it locks down the head of the drive when inertial sensors tell it too).
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Especially with a rigid mount to the body of the truck. Some of those new laptops have shock protection though. Would that be sufficient?
Click to expand...

i guess i could never conceive of a situation where I'd need to use a laptop while my vehicle is in motion. even if that laptop was strapped down solid, you could still inflict serious damage to the hard drive over slightly uneven terrain. your typical consumer laptop isn't tough enough, even the ones that say the drives have built in shock protection.
 
Blurr said:
i guess i could never conceive of a situation where I'd need to use a laptop while my vehicle is in motion.
Click to expand...

Accurate mapping of trails for which no precise documentation exists using GPS and laptop computer.

Done it and still doing it.


Mark...
 
Mark W said:
Accurate mapping of trails for which no precise documentation exists using GPS and laptop computer.

Done it and still doing it.


Mark...
Click to expand...


THAT is neat. Well, let us know your set-up. How your comp is mounted, what it is, and how long you've been using it.

How did you eliminate the problem of the bumps?
 
I've used a couple of different mounts that I made myself. To be honest I didn't really like either. I still have one in the mini. Just a braced tray bolted to the dash with some padding between the tray and the computer to absorb some of the shocks. Works well, just looks like hell.

Didn't have any problem with the hard drives or the CD drives. Screen hinges took the most abuse. I dealt with that by securing the opened screen to a brace on the back of the tray.

I was (purposely) using cheap used laptops and they didn't last for long due to the exposure to dust and general environmental stresses.

I got about two/three seasons of use each out of a couple of older HP Omnibooks. But I was also using them full time at home and at the shop as my primary computer(s)

I've addressed the computer longevity issue by buying an Itronix Gobook. It is dedicated to use as a GPS platform and won't be tasked with other duties at all. Also sent my regular hand held GPS units back to hiking duty and picked up a "mouse GPS" to use with the Gobook. Tiny, extremely inexpensive, very fast to acquire, very sensitive and very acurate.

I haven't used this combo in the field yet, just on the roads during my local travels. Very satisfied so far.

Biggest hassle is getting some sort of mount for the computer which is secure enough to hold the computer in place but which doesn't take up too much room or place it in an awkward spot.

I'm getting ready to try and figure out a mount for my '40 (I was normally running the computer in the mini up until this coming season, but I'll be using the '40 to explore this year). It looks like it may impact on the passenger seat space to an irritating extent if I put it where it will work best for me. But I probably won't be hauling anyone in the rig with me much this year, so that may work okay.

"Bumps" don't seem really to be an issue for my computers in my rigs on "my" trails. When you're averaging 5-7 mph most of the time with some days/periods of up to 10mph with 40 inch tires aired down to 8-10 psi under softly sprung rigs with a padded mount to absorb short duration G force to the computer... There's a whole lot of other things that are more of a concern to the computer. (A river crossing gone bad for example...)

We're not running washboard roads at high speeds. No need for mapping or navigation if we're on the road. In these parts we don't travel old forgotten roads with the rigs. 'Cause there aren't any old forgotten roads to travel. Well, there are, but they are mainly just legal definitions of routes that existed between points way back when. Usually nothing more on the ground than muddy two track. If that. So we are traveling them, but they'e not roads in the sense that most are familiar with.


Mark...
 
Mark, I'm using a handheld GPS as a slave for the computer (a mini tablet PC in my case- didn't want a keyboard taking up cab space). One advantage of not switching to a dedicated slave unit is I can keep 2 tracks going, one on the PC and one on the GPS. Murphy likes to strike at the worst times, and if the PC dies I can copy the track over from the GPS.

To the OP, a friend of mine got a cop mount off Ebay and built his own base for it. I'm using a RAM setup and have it bolted through the tranny hump. Here's a pic. It's currently set underneath the rearview mirror and can swivel to passenger or driver. I have the GPS mount adjusted to push against the top of the dash for a bump dampner. One note, cops don't seem to like seeing a display up like that so it usually doesn't come out until I'm away from towns.

navigation.jpg
 
eshelbyk said:
Mark, I'm using a handheld GPS as a slave for the computer (a mini tablet PC in my case- didn't want a keyboard taking up cab space). One advantage of not switching to a dedicated slave unit is I can keep 2 tracks going, one on the PC and one on the GPS. Murphy likes to strike at the worst times, and if the PC dies I can copy the track over from the GPS.

To the OP, a friend of mine got a cop mount off Ebay and built his own base for it. I'm using a RAM setup and have it bolted through the tranny hump. Here's a pic. It's currently set underneath the rearview mirror and can swivel to passenger or driver. I have the GPS mount adjusted to push against the top of the dash for a bump dampner. One note, cops don't seem to like seeing a display up like that so it usually doesn't come out until I'm away from towns.

navigation.jpg
Click to expand...


That is awesome. Where did you find that mounting system?
 
I've got the Jotto desk, I mounted it to the Tuffy and it's a winner. Went to Baja with it, no rattles and the laptop is in use to this day. I recommend it, esp. for kids that might want to watch dvds.
 
I mount Toughbooks on fast patrol boats all the time. Now that is a laptop that canm really take a beating we have seen them in use for over a year running at 40-60 knots in roiugh sea states on boats as small as 26 footers. I have a lot of mounts for the boats, I may be able to spare one but I will send you pics so you can decide for yourself if it would work for you. Since it is for a toughbook, you may have to come up with a slight mod because they are not as big as conventional laptops. Model is Panasonic CF-18.

CYa
 
Thus:

 
et3surge said:
I mount Toughbooks on fast patrol boats all the time. Now that is a laptop that canm really take a beating we have seen them in use for over a year running at 40-60 knots in roiugh sea states on boats as small as 26 footers. I have a lot of mounts for the boats, I may be able to spare one but I will send you pics so you can decide for yourself if it would work for you. Since it is for a toughbook, you may have to come up with a slight mod because they are not as big as conventional laptops. Model is Panasonic CF-18.

CYa
Click to expand...
Here is what we do...
toughbook mount.webp
 
crawlin60 said:
Thus:

Click to expand...

Hey Crawlin', did you get the "Rugged" mount with two mounting points, or the basic one with only the one mounting point? I was looking at the Rugged mount with the idea of bolting the primary mount to my Tuffy and having the second mount secured to the bracket of my passenger side seat for extra stability.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom