Ideas for Mounting Laptop Stand?

[Joey Ketcham]

I'm looking to see if anyone has any ideas on the best way to mount my laptop stand so that it is secured and stable, I know some of you have a lot of experiencing in this area so figured I'd ask here.

My laptop stand fastens to the floor with 4 screws, the problem is with it being hollow underneath the floorboard the screws can't get a good grip on anything so eventually the laptop stand becomes unstable and wobbly. Right now it has completely come loose and is kind of laying there.

I thought about just going the route of getting a Ram Mount that bolts to my seat, but those are a bit expensive and wanted to see if there were alternatives first to make the one I have now more secured. I know one option could be to jack up my vehicle and use bolts underneath to secure it. But I was also wondering if there are any anchor screws that would work in securing it?

 

[Kyle Soldani]

The best thing is to use the seat bolts. I tried using my floorboard, that ain't happenin. The floorboard is too thin and isn't reinforced like the seat mount points. My laptop mount used a 4" round pipe flange at the end and I had 4 bolts going into the floorboard, after a while it got VERY loose.

Fabricating a couple brackets that'll utilize your seat bolts is really the best bet..

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I'm not sure with mine how I could modify it to use the seat bolts. I have a bracket that I put on it that attaches to my console which gives it stability. So if I could find a way to secure it to the floor, between that and having the stability bracket that attaches to my console I think it'd be fine.

 

[Kyle Soldani]

Do you have any pictures? Is this made out of piping?

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Here is the mount.

 

[Kyle Soldani]

Ok, yea I just saw the same one on Ebay.

Best bet here is to probably weld some square tubing on the side, same size of course. Then have another one of those square plates on the floor with bolts going through it. Between those two, it wouldn't swivel.

 

[D. Hayes]

save yourself the headaches and get a ram mount. Hard to tell from the resize photo but the base mounts to a heavy plate that is secured under both seat rail bolts. Nice thing is I have the control panel mounted to the front of the laptop rest. They also make all sorts of accessories for these things.
www.ram-mount.com

 

[Skip Talbot]

You get what you pay for with laptop mounts. I was using a cheap POS off of ebay in my last car and it worked, but it was really junky and started to come loose and fall apart over time. I'm using a Jotto now and love it.

Instead of using sheet metal screws in the floor, how about drilling through the plastic console or the bases of your seats. Use nuts and bolts instead of screws and use large washers or a metal plate to reinforce the other side of the plastic. In my last car I could take that entire plastic console piece out and then I had access to the back side of it. I've also had luck drilling through the plastic bases of the bucket seats in my van. That's where my Jotto is currently installed.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

I second finding a way to use the seat bolts. My laptop mount wasn't very expensive, but being attached to the seat, I find it more than sturdy enough. I'll try and take some photos later of the base.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

here's what I'm using.

mine has a quick release base, and it fits between the seat bracket and the flooring of the car. all i had to do was remove the front 2 seat bolts, lift up, put the bracket on, put seat back down, and tighten the bolts.

the base bracket stays on there full time, but i release a lever, and off the rest of the stand comes! i can control and tighten/loosen swivel, heighth, tilt, angle and position, and it's pretty stable. no complaints so far.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260409469524

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I got the RAM mount for my new truck, and I'm glad I got it. It just had a plate that 2 seat bolts went through, and it doesn't move on me at all. Plus it looks a heck of a lot more professional.

Check eBay. I got mine for $181.

 

[Kyle Soldani]

I'll be getting a RAM for my TBlazer for sure, no more home made..

 

[Jason Foster]

Plywood is a decent base if you need a quick mount. Just be sure to cut it to fit well and cover it with automotive floor fabric so it doesn't look too ghetto. I have that at the moment, but will change it out for an aluminum diamond plate. Depending on how much you want to keep your vehicle stock, you can either make it easily removable with a few clips or just bolt it down. The diamond plate doubles as a great floor mat that is easy to clean up all that Texas mud off of.

 

[Benjamin Rock]

Hey Joey, what kind of car is that? it looks like a Ford Taurus or similar? If so, I have some pics of my LT mount I can send you and how it is mounted.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Thanks for the reply!

Ben, it's a 2000 Ford Expedition. My dad had some better screws than what I had, so for now it is more stable than it's ever been but that's not to say in the future it won't come loose again.