Make your own laptop desk

[Rockwell Schrock]

Today I just built a desk for my 2001 PT Cruiser that mounts on top of the glove compartment when it's open. It happens to be the perfect height for the passenger to use the laptop, or the laptop can be turned sideways so the driver can use it for navigation.

For those of you whose chase vehicles are set up similarly, you might consider something like this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schrockwell/sets/556557/

 

[Rob_Davis]

Your co-pilot is going to REALLY regret that setup when the airbag shoves the laptop down his throat at over 200mph. :shock:

If he lives.

 

[carey libby]

Your co-pilot is going to REALLY regret that setup when the airbag shoves the laptop down his throat at over 200mph. :shock:

If he lives.

they may not if he has the option of turning the airbag off or on,or if he disconnected it from opening on impact.

 

[Derek Lee]

Your co-pilot is going to REALLY regret that setup when the airbag shoves the laptop down his throat at over 200mph. :shock:

If he lives.

That wouldn't be my biggest worry, imagine that would, aimed at your chest/stomach if you ever got hit head on. :shock:

But thats here nor there, i still think it looks awesome.

 

[Daniel H. Giles]

mobile laptop desk

Another problem, not necessarily involving an accident. On rough roads, speed bumps, and potholes or even sudden braking, the hinge at the back of a laptop tends to break, thereafter remaining floppy and useless unless you prop it up with books or something. Any mobile laptop shelf MUST have some kind of support for the screen to keep this from happening.

 

[Amos Magliocco]

Nice job, Rock. Looks very efficient and well-crafted.

The quetion of what the airbag would do with any of our laptop solutions is a good one. I had to think about this pretty hard after I hit the deer in Colorado on May 30th. I took my 4Runner to a Toyota dealership in Lubbock a few days later to inspect the body damage and make sure I wasn't risking additional problems. The damage was mostly superficial, but it was close enough to vital systems that I wanted confirmation before logging another five thousand miles.

They waved away the fender and grill damage immediately but were very interested in my airbag and why it didn't deploy. They wondered if I might have damaged the sensor and if it could fire at some random moment. This was of interest to me too.

My first response was to ask them to turn off the airbag, but they were reluctant. They determined the sensor was fine, and the reason that it hadn't deployed was because it monitors the rate of deceleration, not any collision criteria. The deer busted up my front end pretty badly but didn't cause the extreme deceleration required for the sensor to fire.

While they were deciding this, I was thinking about the airbag and that Jotto Desk. I think that before I have another passenger ride in that seat, I will deactivate the airbag.

I'm curious if any chasers have had an accident where airbags have opened into equipment like this and what the result was.

 

[Tyler Allison]

Originally posted by Amos Magliocco
The deer busted up my front end pretty badly but didn't cause the extreme deceleration required for the sensor to fire.

Same here..deer didn't set off my airbag. Even with extreme front end damage

I think that before I have another passenger ride in that seat, I will deactivate the airbag.

I wanted to do the same thing until I found out it was a federal crime against whoever does it without special permission from the feds. :evil: And of course..."because I have equipment installed" isnt a valid reason.

http://www.airbagonoff.com/new_page_22.htm