Who is running a tablet in there rig?

[83ChevyK5Blazer]

Like the title said, who is running a tablet, im trying to decide on mounting for my tab A 10.1.

General idea is to be able to run mapping and music from it. Im just stuck on what mount to get and where to mount it.

If you have some pics or advice post it up!

 

[yellowK20]

I run an Ipad , for the exact reasons you stated GPS and Music.

For the mount I just got one off Amazon and self tappered it too my dash ( it’s all cracked up no loss) works awesome .

No pics though, my buggy is 300 miles away right now.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I have one currently Velcro to the dash above the center vent. I have ideas of a "Pre Runner" console in the works that will be mounted inside.

 

[Scribbles]

@nedceifus has one in his 8low build thread.

 

[TreeFarm]

I have an iPad mini for the old non subscription Gaia gps. It also has movies/music for trips.

 

[Blazooki]

I run a tablet. I use a RAM mount. holds great no bouncing

 

[ZooMad75]

I run an iPad in mine for maps/navigation. Simple suction cup mount to the window. Holds pretty well. Mainly use Gaia and google maps. Mine is a wifi version so no internal GPS chipset. I'm using a Dual Bluetooth GPS receiver. I actually think it's better because the GPS has a tendency to kill the battery life in most phone/tablets because of constantly locating/running. With the separate receiver, I can just plug it in when it gets low while the iPad can go all day unplugged if I want to. The other good thing running a separate GPS receiver is reception. Depending on the direction I'm running the GPS signal is blocked pretty well by the camper and roof of the cab if the receiver is sitting on the dash. North and east tend to be choppy for the reception, but south and west seems to be fine. I've had to toss the unit in a pocket of the Trasharoo on the spare tire to not be blocked. Bluetooth connection is unaffected by being outside.

 

[H20 Toie]

I got the alpine halo stereo, it like having a tablet but secure, it has blue tooth and if you connect it you have apple play so best of both worlds, and super cool feature is you can get the remote connection and control all your lights, winch, air compressor all on the stereo and not have switches all over the place

 

[Mr.Clean]

I run a android tablet with torque (app) for guages and then a second one for audio and navigation. Couldn’t find a mount I liked so I made my own.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

I run a android tablet with torque (app) for guages and then a second one for audio and navigation. Couldn’t find a mount I liked so I made my own.

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On the torque app does it only run off obd2? As in if you have a sbc you’re probably hosed yeah?

 

[jekquistk5]

@Blue85 is the OG of having a tablet in a k5.

 

[yellowK20]

I actually think it's better because the GPS has a tendency to kill the battery life in most phone/tablets because of constantly locating/running.

So most of the areas we run in have limited or no cell service at , what I do is put the phone or tablet in Airplane mode . GPS still works awesome , and the battery lasts quite awhile .

As for signal , mine is on my dash and has never failed to work . It could have something to do with being in Alaska and the satellites being closer to the horizon line maybe?

While snowmobiling I use the same GPS app on my phone, and again I just put it in airplane mode when we leave the parking lot and it will last all day.

I do have a charge port wired in the sled now and I carry a auxiliary battery just in case but have never needed it.

 

[Abusfullofnuns]

Not sure if this is an issue with all....
I started using my galalxy tablet with torquepro in place of the factory cluster. I was going build out a fiberglass cluster to fit the tablet and a couple of gauges to the side (afr, fuel, oil pressure). Before Ii made the mount the temps dropped significantly and the tablet wouldn't turn on until it got to proper temp. Not an issue if you bring it in every night, but that wasn't my plan. It wouldn't charge or anything until it got to a warm temp.

 

[Blue85]

@Blue85 is the OG of having a tablet in a k5.

Oh man, my love/hate with on-board devices does go back awhile. Back in the 2000's I ran touch-screen PCs in the K5. This stemmed from the pain of carrying a laptop around for tuning the Megasquirt. But I set up to play mp3 files and ended up ditching the head unit after a while. For a while I had a DVD-ROM drive in place of the head unit with some kind of 12V power supply for it and a USB-IDE adapter. Never worked perfect. I had to build circuits to interface with the PC, so it would power on/off with the truck and the amps would turn on/off with the PC. Kind of sucked to have a touchscreen failure and not be able to turn the volume down.

First was the "Ramline 510", which was Pentium III. I later upgraded to the Genesys MAX, which was like 700MHz, more RAM and "transflective". In both cases it was a pain to get the touchsrcreen drivers to always work, so I carried a mouse and keyboard along just in case.





I still have the Genesys (like the 2nd picture, but with a bigger screen) with it's stainless cop car docking station in a bag in the truck. Although Android has come a long way, A PC is still way more reliable for serial port ECU flashes. For a while I had a Compact Flash GPS card in a GPS-PCMCIA adapter in the dock and an external GPS antenna on the roof. The software support was never good enough to make it a real Nav machine.

Now you can get a really nice used Android tablet on eBay for $40, so there's no need for a lot of those old school struggles. GPS, Wi-Fi, touch screen, voice recognition, etc. all BUILT-IN! I keep satellite imagery of everywhere I plan to be on an SD card and boom - navigation done.

I put a Galaxy tab in the dash of my car and found some new issues from that. I was able to use apps to make it turn on and off with the car power (actually sleep with high power saving), but sooner or later you always need access to that power button. So I opened the tab and ran wires out and mounted a pushbutton switch somewhere I can reach. Use a standard bluetooth-OBDII adapter and torque to monitor engine functions. Can bluetooth tunes to the car of course, but generally use my phone just because it's more convenient to transfer content to.

Also, temperatures a real issue in-dash. After the car sits in the sun, the battery can't charge. Oddly, I have the same issue in the winter because heat from the defroster leaks into the dash and overheats it. I've never had problems from low temp except screen fogging, but the car is garaged and doesn't really freeze overnight.

 

[Mr.Clean]

On the torque app does it only run off obd2? As in if you have a sbc you’re probably hosed yeah?

Yah it uses a Bluetooth obd2 reader. So sbc your screwed haha

 

[Blazooki]

I wonder if backwoods navigator would work in airplane mode?

 

[yellowK20]

I wonder if backwoods navigator would work in airplane mode?

If it’s a GPS based program yes,

 

[yellowK20]

So this is the program I use , it’s free ( of courses you can upgrade for a fee ) but so far I have been happy with the free version.

I still carry my garmin for the extra insurance, but honestly the phone works just as good .

 

[Blue85]

I wonder if backwoods navigator would work in airplane mode?

Yes, you just download the maps ahead of time. For going around town you can use online services like Sygic, Google, etc, but if you'll be out in the boonies the Boy Scout motto applies. For a vehicle that only gets used occasionally, it's silly to pay a contract for cell service. Just hotspot your phone here and there to get the tablet what it needs or plan ahead and transfer everything at home via wi-fi.

 

[yellowK20]

My IPad gets use in all my rigs now not just the buggy , and I use it for watching movies and what not at work.

I don’t even have data plan for it , if I need to hook to internet I just tether it through my phone.