Mounting your devices.

[CafeRoaster]

I'm in the process of many things, one of those being setting up my device mounting situation. I'll be mount just an iPhone 12 Pro Max at first, then an iPad in the future, and a radio handset.

I'm leaning toward using RAM mounts. However, I'm at odds with what base to use. I could go with the RAM Tough-Track, or something like the dash mount from Bison.

The Bison will force me to mount my devices in the middle. I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but I like flexibility. Not a deal-breaker. I love how it looks and love the idea of routing cables through it.

Then there's the RAM bases. These require drilling, which I really don't want to do. But perhaps I could use 3M or similar adhesive strips?

Thoughts?

 

[Flamewave]

Adhesive sucks. I've learned the hard way to avoid it when I can, since whatever's stuck together will unstick itself at the least convenient moment possible. Besides, the hardest hole to drill in your rig is the first one, the rest are easy.

I can say the basic RAM bases are pretty nice, I used their backing plate for the phone mount and made one for the GPS mount.





Haven't used the Tough-Track yet but I think the biggest hurdle to those would be finding someplace flat enough to mount them.

 

[Ubiety]

Adhesive sucks. I've learned the hard way to avoid it when I can, since whatever's stuck together will unstick itself at the least convenient moment possible.

Suction mount don’t suck as much as they should ;) I lump them together with adhesive. Have used RAM for years in cars/trucks/motorcycles and they have always done well, however they have some competition of late that folks have had good luck with. Search these forums for “ram mount”, etc., and you should be able to find more info.

@CafeRoaster, if I remember correctly RAM is a Seattle company and has a showroom where you can pick up their stuff rather than waiting for shipping. I eventually opted for a larger RAM ball size for an 11 inch iPad to keep it stable in the bumps.

 

[El-Dracho]

I have been using ram mounts in the rig for years. For the mounts where a lot of weight is attached, e.g. the tablet, I have drilled holes and used proper bolt connections. This is the only way I can be sure that the device will hold securely, even off the tarmac roads. I would always bolt on the base plates and drill holes for that.

 

[walkabout_ca]

We bought something similar to the Bison mount for our 4Runner (by ICS Fab), but it ended up being too small and no good spot for the beefy tablet mount, which best works with a forward facing RAM mount. So I bolted an aluminum profile on top, and that's been working much better. You can get the ICS mount with USB power (hardwired), which is quite handy.

 

[Dcwn.45]

Ram makes a flexible base with adhesive back, I use 2 of them (phone and gps ) on the dash of my 4Runner.

 

[Flamewave]

Ram makes a flexible base with adhesive back, I use 2 of them (phone and gps ) on the dash of my 4Runner.

I used one of those for my GPS for a bit... started peeling up after only two days. Before it I had one of those adhesive suction cup mounts, that sadly worked better but would pop off a lot when it got too cold or hot.

 

[Dcwn.45]

I used one of those for my GPS for a bit... started peeling up after only two days. Before it I had one of those adhesive suction cup mounts, that sadly worked better but would pop off a lot when it got too cold or hot.

Sorry it didn't work for you, I've had them for more than 1.5 years and they have been great, I do use a short arm for the Garmin as it is a bit heavy.
I'm in Mn so the temp extreme is pretty severe.
I have the suction cup one as well, and while it is the best I've seen, it will fall off occasionally in extreme temps.
Another thing I've done in previous vehicles is use Shoe Goo adhesive and just glue a round base Ram ball to the dash. They never fall off but you can pry them off if you have to and just clean the residue.
Don't laugh it works great!

 

[brewerrob]

I've been using a combination of RAM mounts, cheap Scosche magnetic mounts, and one vehicle specific mount for a while. The Scosche mount is fine for paved surfaces, but bumps in the road can mean my phone falls onto the console. Considering moving to the Quad Lock mounts that are magnetic, have a twist lock for those times when the magnet isn't enough, and can charge the device. The RAM mount is for my Garmin GPSMap 64, by the way.

 

[CafeRoaster]

I've been using a combination of RAM mounts, cheap Scosche magnetic mounts, and one vehicle specific mount for a while. The Scosche mount is fine for paved surfaces, but bumps in the road can mean my phone falls onto the console. Considering moving to the Quad Lock mounts that are magnetic, have a twist lock for those times when the magnet isn't enough, and can charge the device. The RAM mount is for my Garmin GPSMap 64, by the way.

what are these magnetic quad twist lock things?

 

[brewerrob]

what are these magnetic quad twist lock things?

The company is called Quad Lock. They make mounts for cell phones for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles mostly. They match up to a cell phone case they sell for a variety of cell phones. They just added some mounting options that include the wireless charging ability that quite a few phones have now. Shop Mounts

 

[CafeRoaster]

The company is called Quad Lock. They make mounts for cell phones for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles mostly. They match up to a cell phone case they sell for a variety of cell phones. They just added some mounting options that include the wireless charging ability that quite a few phones have now. Shop Mounts

Oh, crap! Now I have more options! >.<

 

[KonzaLander]

Oh, crap! Now I have more options! >.<

Quadlock + RAM is a fantastic combination. I use the Quadlock wireless charger and phone case on my dual sport motorcycle and in my Land Cruiser. It's nice to have a fully charged device without worrying about connecting and disconnecting a charge cable from the device. I've run several device mounts over the past decade. The RAM mount and Quadlock system is by far the easiest, most versatile and most sturdy.

 

[CafeRoaster]

Quadlock + RAM is a fantastic combination. I use the Quadlock wireless charger and phone case on my dual sport motorcycle and in my Land Cruiser. It's nice to have a fully charged device without worrying about connecting and disconnecting a charge cable from the device. I've run several device mounts over the past decade. The RAM mount and Quadlock system is by far the easiest, most versatile and most sturdy.

Yeah, my current suction cup one has Qi charging, which works with MagSafe. So nice. Don’t want to give that up.

edit: Also, RAM does have Qi compatible mounts as well as ones you could put your MagSafe charger into. Might consider one of those since I have one laying around.

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

I'm in the process of many things, one of those being setting up my device mounting situation. I'll be mount just an iPhone 12 Pro Max at first, then an iPad in the future, and a radio handset.

I'm leaning toward using RAM mounts. However, I'm at odds with what base to use. I could go with the RAM Tough-Track, or something like the dash mount from Bison.

The Bison will force me to mount my devices in the middle. I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but I like flexibility. Not a deal-breaker. I love how it looks and love the idea of routing cables through it.

Then there's the RAM bases. These require drilling, which I really don't want to do. But perhaps I could use 3M or similar adhesive strips?

Thoughts?

Have you looked into Panavise InDash mounts? In my experience, they take existing bolts/screws in the dash to hold the mounts in place. It appears you have an FJ Cruiser? Not sure what is offered for it. Also not sure about the "Oh sh!t" handles, but on my 100 TLC, I used one of the mounting screws to the driver-side handle to mount a RAM ball to with a grade 8 or better bolt. Very nice spot for a cellphone on the 100 series if you ask me. Apart from that, I think options are limited outside of using adhesives or drilling unless you get incredibly creative, but I am not knowledgeable on the FJC platform. Hope this helps!

 

[Prerunner1982]

I used a Ram X-grip for my phone for awhile but disliked the two handed operation it required to mount/dismount, I went with Schoche magnet mounts on DIY brackets. I use one for my phone and two for my 10" tablet.
I drive on poor county paved and dirt roads and have never had either fall. Got the idea from a guy on youtube who posted a video a day of his trip along the T.A.T. (Trans-America Trail) and had no issue with his magmounts.

 

[Kajun Sparkle]

I'm in the process of many things, one of those being setting up my device mounting situation. I'll be mount just an iPhone 12 Pro Max at first, then an iPad in the future, and a radio handset.

I'm leaning toward using RAM mounts. However, I'm at odds with what base to use. I could go with the RAM Tough-Track, or something like the dash mount from Bison.

The Bison will force me to mount my devices in the middle. I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but I like flexibility. Not a deal-breaker. I love how it looks and love the idea of routing cables through it.

Then there's the RAM bases. These require drilling, which I really don't want to do. But perhaps I could use 3M or similar adhesive strips?

Thoughts?

When doing my research I found a ram mount "ARM" that mounted under a seat mounting point. it seemed to allow more flexibility for laptops/tablets/phones.

 

[NorCalRam]

Check out Expedition Essentials. I got the Ram mount for my ram and I am super happy with it. Lots of options for mounting points too. I have a phone, mic, ipad and gopro mounted and there are usb plugs right there to charge. It does mount in the middle but with the numerous mounting options from Ram I can get shorter or longer arms to position everything where I need it. Still have room for mounting more if I wanted to.
FJ mount

 

[DRAX]

First, since you have an FJ Cruiser, I wanted to make sure you knew about the Expedition Essentials FJ mount - Toyota FJ Cruiser Powered Dash Mount (FJPAM)

I'm using their AMPS/rail mount (seen in pic below) in my GMC Canyon and love it.

Here's my take on Ram mounts/balls/arms after going down this road...

Yes, Ram is synonymous with device mounts and is probably the brand many folks look to first. I was one of them. Now, I won't buy them. Here's why...

• First bad experience was with an adhesive Ram mount for a handheld marine Garmin GPS on a PWC. The adhesive part worked great. The problem was the ball/stem seemed to be molded into the adhesive base, Ram's materials tend to allow for some flex. Well, I just about lost my GPS into the water one day as the ball/stem detached from the base. After that I switched to a different Ram base that was much more solid, no problems. At that point I was disappointed I had to deal with that but it was whatever.
• Fast forward a few years and I'm building out my truck with an accessory mount on my dash, it has both AMPS mounting locations as well as a Ram Tough Track. Being that Ram was the go-to, I headed over to their site and figured out what balls, arms, and mounts I needed, ordered them, and mounted my gear up. At the time it consisted of an FTM-400XDR control head, smartphone, and an iPad for the passenger. Some of the arms were super bulky because of their weight capacity needed for the iPad, but that wasn't even the problem. The problem was that the rubberized balls allowed for an excessive amount of movement/bounce on rough roads. Like, a lot of movement. Unusable amount. Even the ham radio control head and cell phone bounced/moved excessively. The Ram arms and balls had to go.

I ended up swapping all of my Ram stuff for 67Designs (67d.com) balls and arms as well as their spring-loaded smartphone mount. The balls and arms are tiny in comparison but rock solid with the same or more weight capacity. No more bouncing. Can orient my gear more compactly and actually fit more things on my mount base if I wanted compared to using the Ram stuff. 67Designs makes balls with T-bolts that fit the Ram Tough Track rail and if you still have to use a Ram mount for a device because there's no other option then you can order an arm adapter to use a Ram ball with the 67d arms.

I recently had someone building out their vehicle and they mentioned they were going to use Ram, I told them they should look into 67d stuff instead because the Ram mounts allow/transmit too much movement to the devices but if he was sure he wanted to go with Ram then I had my old Ram arms and balls sitting in a box that he could have for the price of shipping. He took me up on it...then about a week after getting them he told me the rubberized Ram balls make things bounce way too much, even on pavement.

I don't get any discounts and I'm not affiliated with 67Designs in any way, I'm just relaying my experience/annoyance and hoping to save others from wasting time and money to discover what I did. Ram is now my last resort and I'll only consider them for devices that it doesn't matter if they bounce/move slightly as I'm driving down the road.

For reference, here's my current setup (sans iPad). I am using a Ram arm and track-mounted ball for my Zoleo since I already had the arm and ball laying around and I didn't care if the device vibrates a little, I just had to order the cradle for the Zoleo and I was ready to go. You can also see the difference in size between the Ram arm and ball vs the 67d arm and balls. Pic wasn't taken at eye level while sitting in the seat, these don't block my line of sight for anyone that was feeling like commenting on that. :)

 

[CafeRoaster]

Thanks y'all.

I knew about Expedition Essentials mount, but didn't like how it mounts. I also don't think you should pay that much and have to modify your vehicle to make it work. I grabbed one that mounts to the FJ's dash without having to remove anything or do any drilling.

I slapped a RAM Tough Track to the top of it. I also heard about 67 Designs before, but $60 for a base track is very much outside my comfort zone. The $12 RAM track works great. So do the rest of the items I got from RAM.

I'm happy with my setup. Especially considering that I paid ~$150 for all of it. We'll see how it does on the trail. Haven't been able to take it out yet because some dumb-dumb broke into the FJ, so I had to replace the rear window.