Keith_L

Keith_L

Well-Known Member
I want to mount a tablet on the dashboard above the radio. I have found a mount that fits nicely in the groove where the rubber pen holder sits and my plan was to take the radio out and feed 4 threaded screws from below and secure the mount with washers and nuts from above before putting the radio back in.

The question is, will the dash be strong enough at that point to support the mount and a tablet? Would a thin plate above and below to spread the load help?

Alternatively, have others used a different method to mount a tablet?

DSC08364.JPG
 
I had a tablet mount fixed there for a while. Beware it's not as a rigid as you might like.
I ended up back with a long windscreen mount, there was less flex and vibration
 
Just to wrap this up, I finally got around to fitting this mount. I did pretty much what I said above. A steel plate underneath to spread the load, 4 pan head screws and washers from below and nuts and washes above. No significance to the different length screws - they were what was in the workshop at the time. I can either put the mobile or the tablet in the holder depending what I need, and there is sufficient adjustment that I can drop it down in front of the radio if I want. As yet no issue with vibration even green-laning but I did adjust the mount so it was resting on the trim with the tablet in it. So far so good. I will probably tidy it up by cutting a spare rubber insert to fit either side and may put Nyloc nuts on if there is any sign of them shaking loose.
 

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Keith_L said:
Just to wrap this up, I finally got around to fitting this mount. I did pretty much what I said above. A steel plate underneath to spread the load, 4 pan head screws and washers from below and nuts and washes above. No significance to the different length screws - they were what was in the workshop at the time. I can either put the mobile or the tablet in the holder depending what I need, and there is sufficient adjustment that I can drop it down in front of the radio if I want. As yet no issue with vibration even green-laning but I did adjust the mount so it was resting on the trim with the tablet in it. So far so good. I will probably tidy it up by cutting a spare rubber insert to fit either side and may put Nyloc nuts on if there is any sign of them shaking loose.
Click to expand...
Is this some kind of joke?? Have you not read the law and MOT rules ever.
 
hughdavies said:
Is this some kind of joke?? Have you not read the law and MOT rules ever.
Click to expand...
It's OK, but he does need to show us how he mounted the periscope so he could see over it and out through the windscreen!

Also, FFS, reverse those pan heads, so the head is on the top.
 
Keith_L said:
Just to wrap this up, I finally got around to fitting this mount. I did pretty much what I said above. A steel plate underneath to spread the load, 4 pan head screws and washers from below and nuts and washes above. No significance to the different length screws - they were what was in the workshop at the time. I can either put the mobile or the tablet in the holder depending what I need, and there is sufficient adjustment that I can drop it down in front of the radio if I want. As yet no issue with vibration even green-laning but I did adjust the mount so it was resting on the trim with the tablet in it. So far so good. I will probably tidy it up by cutting a spare rubber insert to fit either side and may put Nyloc nuts on if there is any sign of them shaking loose.
Click to expand...
I think people would take you more seriously if you showed it holding the tablet further down, i.e. so that you could still see properly through the w-screen
 
It appears it was an unfortunate choice of photograph. That's not where the tablet would be positioned when green-laning, which is the only time it is used - it would be much lower, overlapping the radio. It does stick up a bit above the dashboard but not enough to obstruct my vision, and when the smartphone is in the mount it hardly sticks up at all. I was just doing some work on the radio (you will notice it is pulled out from the dashboard) and moved the mount out of the way. It was then that I remembered I hadn't finished off this thread and since I had the phone with me took a few pictures. I was trying to show the workings of the mount rather than the positioning.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Also, FFS, reverse those pan heads, so the head is on the top.
Click to expand...
I did consider putting them the other way up but decided against it for several reasons. Firstly I wasn't entirely sure how much space there was between the bottom of the plate and the top of the radio and using pan head screws from the bottom seemed the safest solution. It also means that if the nuts do shake loose I will know in advance and be able to do something about it rather than waiting for a tinkling noise as the nut and washer fall into the inner workings of the car. Most importantly the chances that I could get a washer and a nut on each of the screws in the confined space without dropping them was about zero. It's not the prettiest solution but I can't see a problem with it. Or have I missed something?
 
Keith_L said:
I did consider putting them the other way up but decided against it for several reasons. Firstly I wasn't entirely sure how much space there was between the bottom of the plate and the top of the radio and using pan head screws from the bottom seemed the safest solution. It also means that if the nuts do shake loose I will know in advance and be able to do something about it rather than waiting for a tinkling noise as the nut and washer fall into the inner workings of the car. Most importantly the chances that I could get a washer and a nut on each of the screws in the confined space without dropping them was about zero. It's not the prettiest solution but I can't see a problem with it. Or have I missed something?
Click to expand...
Why not use pop rivets? As it is it is simply...........fugly.
Nylocks?
Or at least cut the threaded parts off flush.
Quite apart from anything else they are a contact hazard.
If you took out the radio there would have been plenty of room.
 
Keith_L said:
@Jayridium I like that idea and hopefully it will satisfy @Stanleysteamer 's aesthetic values. :)
Click to expand...
Ha Ha!
You could also use locnuts, a ring spanner and some masking tape. Tape over the under side of the ring, nut to stop the nut falling through. take one of the bolts out, turn it over so it'll go straight in the holes, holding the nut in the ring spanner underneath, tighten it all up, jobs a goodun!!

Lickle bit of ingenuity goes a long way. ;)
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Ha Ha!
You could also use locnuts, a ring spanner and some masking tape. Tape over the under side of the ring, nut to stop the nut falling through. take one of the bolts out, turn it over so it'll go straight in the holes, holding the nut in the ring spanner underneath, tighten it all up, jobs a goodun!!

Lickle bit of ingenuity goes a long way. ;)
Click to expand...
Or superglue the nut to your finger and hold it under the dash, pass the bolt through from the top into the nut.
Ok you might lose some skin or a finger or two but will be worth it.
 
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