Laptop Stands

He might charge you extra for the install corey

 

LOL
I am sure your wife/significant other appriciates your home-time!

 

I keep mine up and running with voice command on. And yes I do glance at it if I'm in doubt. It takes no more time to glance at it then it does the fuel gage, speedometer or air gages. I really don't see how that is considered reckless driving.

Now having the tv going, doing a crossword puzzle or looking at porn (all of which I've seen drivers doing going down the road) maybe hazardous to my health.

Not to mention cellphone conversations. I bet my attention is more on the road even if I'm glancing at my gps then theirs.

 

Big "D" - regarding your question about laptop stands.
Some suggested you try "Cybertrucker.com". I have one and I strongly suggest avoiding this company for several reasons. To begin with, it is constructed using fender mirror brackets and tubing - uses a common desk top file tray as the "cradle" (with two redundant fans attached), and it mounts to the passenger seat. You could construct the unit yourself for much less than it sells for. Secondly - flimsy and intrusive, it does not maintain it’s position/height (your laptop will "sink") and eliminates access to or from the passenger side of the cab. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important – this stand will damage your laptop. Initially the screen was damaged due to the flimsy overall design. A few weeks later we observed a hole worn through the front of our laptop case (chassis) due to the design of the stand.

BTW, we contacted Cybertrucker about the last issue mentioned. They have clearly demonstrated an unwillingness to negotiate a solution to resolve the problem.

 

If you poop in your tub, there really isn't help for you any more....

 

If anyone is intrested im a reseller for the Jotto Desk No Holes Mount. I can sell them alot cheaper than the 300 bucks most places want for them. To install all you have to do is unbolt your seat, slip the base under the seat and then bolt your seat back down on top of it. In some cases you may have to use longer bolts. It only takes about 15 minutes and your done. Im niot trying to be a salesman on here but from trucker to trucker im just offering a nice setup alot cheaper than the truckstop can sell it to ya. If anyone wants pictures of it installed. I have some of mine in my freightliner. If anyone would like my email to see about buying one send me a PM.

 

A Walmart wooden TV tray strapped to the seat puts your laptop just to the right of the shift lever, and below your mirrors. Velcro the Laptop to the table top. Put towels under the legs on the seat so you don't indent the seat with the straps and table legs.

Regarding safety issues, it is much safer to operate a vehicle if you know where you are going and with a large monitor with voice command, you drive instead of grasp for the map, your know whats coming before you get there. IMO GPS mapping with a intelligent driver is way safer in heavy traffic in a strange city than being lost looking for a safe place to get parked to find your way. My GPS saves me hours of time and has allowed me to be the most productive new driver with Crete so far this year. I was up for rookie of the year before I changed company's due to Cretes inability to get western drivers home promptly. If my GPS failed I would be at the store tomorrow replacing it.

 

I couldn't agree more with the concept of reviewing and knowing where one is travelling to prior to setting out. If you use a mapping program, simply write the directions down. I have seen some ingenious methods such as using a "china marker" and writing the directions on the (inside of the) windshield (above your eye level view of traffic).

The TV tray is s good suggestion - but again, that intrudes on the seating space occupied by (in my case) the co-driver and is just more junk (literally) to clutter up the cab... so that brings us back to square one. The simplest solution - mount a monitor where you can immediately observe it at a glance - and place the computer elsewhere, which is what a "carputer" does. BTW, these monitors - which typically have a larger screen than the average GPS device can range from 7" and up to 12" or more - allow for the connection of a remote camera... which is a bonus. Such monitors are usually designed to fold up or down to be "out of the way" when not in use.

Incidentally - my brother worked for a major US trucking company that outfits their units with these monitors and provides "low level" software for city to city routing (as opposed to door to door). All of which is fine because they only require you to hold the steering wheel anyway (which is only what most of the driver's entering the profession today are capable of). Apparently they also mount a (bulls-eye type) camera on the passenger side fender to "view" that particular blind spot.

In any event - we are dragging this out. Trucker's tend to be very creative when it comes to finding cheap solutions - cheap being the operative word. My personal choice would be a "professional" solution - but that is my approach to doing business - be it trucking or otherwise.

Happy trails...

 

Most all police cruisers have laptops installed these days...

 

First, I have an autoshift truck, so this works for those that do....

I built a short cabinet that goes in between my seats. The top is below seat level and is lowered one inch below the top of the sides.... This keeps my laptop from sliding off on bumpy roads.... It's carpeted for shock absorption.

This also serves as my Qualcomm mount, two drawers for paperwork storage (rubbermaid from Big Lots), and have a rack on the front for quick access to pens, permit book, and logbooks. I spent a total of 30 bucks on this.

It keeps the laptop low but not so low I have to strain to see it. I use MS Streets and Trips 2k7 and it has a night mode so the lighting is minimal and not a distraction... It's also just skinny enough that I can step beside it when moving from the front to back or visa versa.

By the way, for Streets and Trips 2k7, there is a freely downloadable trucker map available. A driver made this and includes 13'6" clearences, all the major truck stops and quite a few mom & pops, D.O.T. scale locations, rest areas, and walmarts... Just google "Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 Trucker Map" to find it...