Jotto Desk question

[Jarrod Cook]

I am pondering the idea of purchasing a jotto desk. My question has to do with passengers. I know there are two models to choose from (one that bolts down and has one "post" to hold the desk; and the other that attaches to the seat rails and had two "posts"). Right now I'm leaning toward the seat rail model, but will this leave much room for a passenger's legs? What are your experiences with this model, as well as the other one when having a passenger ride along? Maybe someone could post acutal pictures of their models installed to give some ideas.

 

[Tony Laubach]

What type of vehicle do you have? I know the seat rail versions are required for specific models, so that may make a difference. As for the bolt down models, I mounted one in my Mercury Tracer and ended up removing the front seat to make room for the extra passenger (who sat in the back). Beyond that, it was fine when chasing solo (i.e. no seat removal required).

 

[Jarrod Cook]

Originally posted by Tony Laubach
What type of vehicle do you have? I know the seat rail versions are required for specific models, so that may make a difference.

I have a 98 Chevy Monte Carlo. I'm pretty sure it fits for it. However, it would probably also be used in a Saturn Vue (a friend of mine). I'm not totally sure if it will work on that vehicle yet.

I'd rather not take the seat out of the vehicle as long as there is room for the passenger.

 

[Tim Johnson]

The mount portion itself should be out of the way. The rod that holds the desk slides up and down. They also have a longer rod which you can install to make the desk sit higher. When your not using it, just remove the desk and the rod slides down out of the way. As andrew say, it certainly can't hurt to inquire from jotto about your specific installation. Both Jotto and Ram mounts seem to be fairly versatile.

 

[Jay McCoy]

I would recommend the seat rail version with the support pole. MOstly due to the fact that many of the back roads chasers use are rough and with the laptop mounted it is hard on the single arm. it moves and shakes alot which is also bad for the laptop. The bracing arm helps control this alot. It is usually not a big issue with passengers since it is so adjustable. In fact in the off months all I do is pull the mount tray. I leave the poles mounted to the seat without any complaints from passengers.

 

[Jarrod Cook]

Originally posted by Jay McCoy
I would recommend the seat rail version with the support pole. MOstly due to the fact that many of the back roads chasers use are rough and with the laptop mounted it is hard on the single arm. it moves and shakes alot which is also bad for the laptop. The bracing arm helps control this alot. It is usually not a big issue with passengers since it is so adjustable. In fact in the off months all I do is pull the mount tray. I leave the poles mounted to the seat without any complaints from passengers.

Thanks for your post, Jay. That is good information. I never thought about the road vibrations - good point. It's also good to know that the supporting arms don't interfear too much with seating. I'll probably go that route

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Use both. One of the things I found is going outside the box with buying equipment with what is offered and what can be purchased piece by piece is sometimes better.

The support format I have is custom. I used the seat mounted version but did not like it because of the poor support. The bolt on version also looked stable but then it also felt flimsy.

So what I came up with was to use both. I ordered a side mount base kit and then heated up one of the seat mount kit brackets to bend the mount to match what I wanted to have in the first place.

This setup provides the best support for the laptop and is super strong. You get the strength of the bell housing mount and can position the main support pole so it is not smacking into the passengers legs. Then I used the seat mount with custom bracket to add in the stabalizing to the left side of the front passenger seat bolt.

This is strong, very strong! And yes, the passenger has full use of the leg room with this setup. Its easy to move the computer around for both front seat passengers to use while driving if you need to see GPS or Radar.