Laptop Mounts for Vehicles

[Dan Rupnow]

Don't know much about 'em, and I am looking to purchase one at the moment. Are they all pretty much the same, or are there many different styles? Do they all attach to the vehicle the same way? Where is the best place to buy 'em at?

Thanks!

 

[Robert Rohloff]

Daniel, This would depend on your vehicle and what you want in a stand. I have used my Ram Mount in two different vehicles. One had it drilled to the floor, the second I bought a mounting bracket that attached to the right front passenger seat bolts. I also have the quick release option so I can pull it out quick, my wife hate it...... I pretty much had about $200 or less in it with both mounts.

 

[Brandon Sullivan]

There are multiple styles and variations.. Two of the best companies are going to be Jotto Desk and Gamber Johnson..

Jotto Desks are nice, lightweight, compatible in many vehicles.

Gamber Johnsons are a little more bulky, but likely better built, and I know are heavier (weight).

Many attach to the seat bolt, but there are other options. But with these two companies, most likely you can get one made for your vehicle that will attach to an existing seat bolt, and really minimize the obstructions.

I would reccomend personally the Jotto Desk, I love how lightweight they are.

 

[Scott Roberts]

I bought a Jeniko mount three years ago, and it has served well. Got an extra mounting plate so it could go in both vehicles. Over time, the arms that support the desktop tray have begun to sag. It's now to the point I intend to get something else for next season -- in the position where I most usually run, the sag is about 3" at the far end of the laptop plate.

I'll probalby go with a Ram this time around.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

This is the only piece of gear that I haven't purchased as of yet. Tying a laptop to a stand has its good points - but it also has an interesting caveat.

Most laptop stands are directly tied to the frame. With little or no considerations for shock. Shock can dash the pickup head of a hard drive into the platter and result in a laptop that will suddenly die if it is severe enough. Racing down dirt/gravel roads at high speeds and finding a few choice deep potholes may initiate this kind of damage. Maybe this damage doesn't even show up right away, it just may show up later.

The only reason that I haven't bought a laptop stand as yet,- is simply because I am not satisfied. The lack of consideration - by the engineers - to the physical abuse that it may well encounter. Foam pads do little to alleviate this condition; it is more like a band-aid 'feel good' situation for the brain to think it is really OK. When in truth - it is not. Ad if you are in a 4x4; it can increase the chances of this occurring even faster - simply because the frame isn't built like a Cadillac. A Cadillac would have a far better ability to protect the hard drive from damage due to its built-in cushy drive characteristics.

Don't get me wrong and send a bazillion replies telling me that you play rugby in your vehicle and your laptop is still ticking. I am going the distance here to merely point out that a hard drive can only take so much, so do what you can to ensure all the considerations of shock that you can do for your laptop.

In the meantime, I have my laptop on the passenger seat next to me. Even that isn't sufficient for those really hard, tough jars on a bad road in Wheretheheckami, KS. But until laptop stand engineering starts considering some more useful parameters before they design, build, distribute, and sell their product - the 'shotgun' seat is going to be used by my Hp Pavillion...

edit: Ram Mounts and Jotto Desks are superior products; but they don't have what I want yet. When they get around to doing it better, then I will get around to buying one!

 

[John Wetter]

For the best cometary on laptop mounts, I'd suggest going to the top of the page and selecting 'search' and typing in 'laptop mounts'. There's tons of information already on this board for everything from home made ones to the big brands.

-John

 

[Dan Robinson]

Jottos are worth the money.

FWIW I've had a Dell dimension laptop on a Jotto continuously since 2004, still on there today. The laptop runs nearly 90% of all chase trips, it has put in over a hundred 12-hour plus days on the road powered on full-time, running StreetAtlas at the minimum, plus WxWorx in chase mode. I have replaced the hard drive twice in four years and only one usb port works now, but otherwise it has held up remarkably well to being a near-full time vehicle computer. It's been rained on in hurricanes, snowed on in blizzards, caked with dirt in dust storms, baked in 100 degree heat and frozen in subzero cold. I believe laptops can take the abuse of mobile use, unless you're four-wheeling down rutty dirt roads all the time.

Of course, I have to throw in the standard disclaimer that I believe mobile laptop use is the single greatest danger to chasers today, trumping nearly all other risk factors on a chase. Just keep the thing closed unless it's just running GPS - pull over to watch radar or do anything else on it.

 

[Mark Blue]

I personally use a Jotto Desk and have no experience with Ram Mounts, but I know of other chasers who do and they seem satisfied. Another poster mentioned searching the forum, which is great advice because there are other companies out there who have been previously discussed, even a couple on eBay who sell their own brand of mounts. I have had great support with Jotto Desk and even know their head sales guy on a name by name basis. When I told him (Bill) that I'm a storm chaser that piqued his interest and he was more than willing to help me fix my problem. The problem I had was self-created and he sent me the replacement parts for free along with advice on how to fix it. I too have noticed that there isn't much in the way of shock protection and the laptop (hard drive) seems to take the brunt of the force in the car. Hopefully they will address that someday, but maybe solid state drives bill beat them to the punch and it will be a moot point.

 

[Jay Cazel]

I have used a Jotto Desk for 4 years now and I like it. The Ram is also a good mount I know a few that use it also. The main difference between the ram and the jotto is...Ram bolts in to the seat bolts (atleast the ones I have seen) the Jotto you do need to screw it to the floor some how and I know for a few people that can be a problem. Also the Jotto is a bit smaller and has more movement that the Ram. Both good units, just depends on what you want.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Most stands are custom built for your vehicle. If you drive a less common vehicle for such a purpose [such as mine] it may be harder to find one. I tried buying this 'universal' laptop stand....yea what a piece of junk. I would stay away from that or anything that claims to be universal.

Right now my laptop stand is the lap of whomever is sitting in the front seat. On solo chases it does fine on the seat but the cords can get a little messy.

 

[Scott Bell]

I've been using a Ram Mount desk for a couple of years and like it a lot. They have different bases that attach to the front seat bolts for whichever vehicle you have. If your vehicle doesn't have one, you could get one made up very easily at a local welding shop.

 

[Johnathan Brouwer]

I have used the Ram desk for a number of years. I like it because it is reversible and can shove it into the pocket in the seat and use it in the back seat of the chase van.

http://www.yourmobiledesk.com/produ...6407&catID=na&subcatID=na&sscatID=na&mfrID=na

as I said, I use it on the passenger seat in the front OR when I am the navigator/caster I sit in the back seat and us it like the pic shows...

The other thing is that it is portable...

 

[Hank Baker]

I am a huge fan of Jotto desk. I have used them for several years. Also if you change vehicles you can just buy a new base plate to fit any vehcle. You can also just buy a universal plate to fit all vehicles.

 

[Terry Tyler]

Don't know much about 'em, and I am looking to purchase one at the moment. Are they all pretty much the same, or are there many different styles? Do they all attach to the vehicle the same way? Where is the best place to buy 'em at?

Thanks!

daniel, ill share my philosophy on laptop mounts and vehicle mounts in general...there are a couple elements i always consider before making any kind of installation inside of a vehicle...one of the first things i look at is the simplicity of the device, because theres nothing i hate more then sitting down and trying to build some wild mount thats going to consume time, money and effort...

there are several mounts out there...some are proprietary to the vehicle their designed for, while others are universal meaning you can put em in any car and they will work...alot of mounts can be expensive though, and some mounts take the vehicle away from the vehicle and become an eyesore after a while...some people like that look, so i guess its what all your into...also, not sure if others can tell you but i would be concerned about having security issues with a large mount in the car...people would know that you probably have expensive stuff in there, and if they know your vehicle enough they might try to get in there and jack your stuff...

i will tell you that i am a strong advocate of velcro...my whole set-up is based on velcro, and im very happy with the results...the thing about velcro is, its cheap and its plentiful and it is flexible...you can use it for anything, including mounting a phone or ipod and if you want it gone...all you gotta do it pull it up...you can put velcro anywhere you want, and in the case of my vehicle here...my dash comes out at a 90' angle which lets the laptop ride easy without any risk of it falling, the velcro keeps it securly attached and when i get to where i got to be, all i gotta do it pull it up from the pad and shut the dash and its like it was never even there...

every thing you see in this picture has been installed using velcro...needless to say its not for everyone, not all vehicles will have this kind of configuration and thus wont let you do the same thing...if you ever needed to buy a commercial mount, i would reccomend a ram-mount...they are pretty good in terms of costs and simplicity of design, and also dominate the market...if your talking about mounting a camera, i strongly reccomend the sticky-pods...they are similar to the velcro in the fact that they are universal and can be taken out of any vehicle and put in another one...they are cheap and simple to use, but very effective...

anyway, just a couple of things you might wanna consider...

 

[Jerry Prsha]

daniel, ill share my philosophy on laptop mounts and vehicle mounts in general...there are a couple elements i always consider before making any kind of installation inside of a vehicle...one of the first things i look at is the simplicity of the device, because theres nothing i hate more then sitting down and trying to build some wild mount thats going to consume time, money and effort...

there are several mounts out there...some are proprietary to the vehicle their designed for, while others are universal meaning you can put em in any car and they will work...alot of mounts can be expensive though, and some mounts take the vehicle away from the vehicle and become an eyesore after a while...some people like that look, so i guess its what all your into...also, not sure if others can tell you but i would be concerned about having security issues with a large mount in the car...people would know that you probably have expensive stuff in there, and if they know your vehicle enough they might try to get in there and jack your stuff...

i will tell you that i am a strong advocate of velcro...my whole set-up is based on velcro, and im very happy with the results...the thing about velcro is, its cheap and its plentiful and it is flexible...you can use it for anything, including mounting a phone or ipod and if you want it gone...all you gotta do it pull it up...you can put velcro anywhere you want, and in the case of my vehicle here...my dash comes out at a 90' angle which lets the laptop ride easy without any risk of it falling, the velcro keeps it securly attached and when i get to where i got to be, all i gotta do it pull it up from the pad and shut the dash and its like it was never even there...

every thing you see in this picture has been installed using velcro...needless to say its not for everyone, not all vehicles will have this kind of configuration and thus wont let you do the same thing...if you ever needed to buy a commercial mount, i would reccomend a ram-mount...they are pretty good in terms of costs and simplicity of design, and also dominate the market...if your talking about mounting a camera, i strongly reccomend the sticky-pods...they are similar to the velcro in the fact that they are universal and can be taken out of any vehicle and put in another one...they are cheap and simple to use, but very effective...

anyway, just a couple of things you might wanna consider...

I too love Velcro for all things. I have a 9 month old baby and the wife balks at keeping her from getting into mischief by attaching it to her...

But my real point is that too much Velcro can cause a laptop to get too warm if the case is part of the cooling system. Use it sparingly on the bottom and be careful not to block vents!

I use some "L" brackets on one of mine, "Velcroed" to the bottom and then hooked into the "Oh Sh*t!" handle on the glovebox to suspend it. It works great!