My DIY laptop stand (the white-trash-catastrophe)
Hi all,
A few weeks ago I was scouring the internet for ideas on how to make a stand to mount my netbook in my 4runner. I wanted a way to mount my little netbook so passengers could watch movies and such during longer roadtrips. I saw some great ideas here, but wanted to try something a little different. Most of the mounts I found were made to be bolted into the passenger seat floor mountings. I didnt want to intrude on the passenger, and I saw a fella that had made something that I thought just might work that he had mounted in his cupholder. So, after getting a wonderful member here to verify the cupholder dimensions ( I hadn't picked up my 4runner yet), I set out to make my own!
Here are the parts I used:
-A Curved section of 2 inch PVC pipe.
-A 2.5 inch to two-inch step-down pvc pipe connector (wrapped in a few layers of duct tape)
-A 90 degree ABS elbow joint
-A plastic shower drain
-A small sheet of plexiglass (pre-cut)
-A Couple screws
-A hose clamp
-Some rubber coated wire
-Some cheap dash cellphone mats
Basically the curved two inch pipe would fit into the step-down connector to fit in my cup holder. Then the 90 degree elbow joint would go on the end, the shower drain would connect to the top of that, then the plexiglass would be screwed into the shower drain. Then.. voila... laptop holder.
To connect the plexi to the drain I simply drilled some holes in the plexiglass and then threaded screws through the holes and through the shower drain grate. A few bolts on the other side of the drain grate, and it was on there! Pretty easy.
Here's a pic showing everything:
I would be using this for a long drive back from Dallas to my home, so I wanted a way to mount my phone on it since I use it as a GPS... I mean.. why not right? So, I just made a little mounting cradle out of some rubber coated wire and secured it to the PVC pipe with a pipe clamp. Super ghetto, but quite effective!
Here's some pics of the finished project...
From passenger side with computer and iphone all good to go:
From diver's side... with nothing on it it becomes a fantastic little table for hamburgers ; )
In use with the phone acting as a GPS:
View from the backseat:
Ghetto iphone mounting bracket:
So, there it is. VERY GHETTO... actually, I call it my "white trash catastrophe", but it works perfect. It was really cheap too, probably under 20 bucks. I bet you could get by with less if you have some spare pipe around. This also isn't glued together. Everything is held together by friction and it is rock solid.
Thanks to everyone here who helped me out with info! What a stellar community!
-jon
Hi all,
A few weeks ago I was scouring the internet for ideas on how to make a stand to mount my netbook in my 4runner. I wanted a way to mount my little netbook so passengers could watch movies and such during longer roadtrips. I saw some great ideas here, but wanted to try something a little different. Most of the mounts I found were made to be bolted into the passenger seat floor mountings. I didnt want to intrude on the passenger, and I saw a fella that had made something that I thought just might work that he had mounted in his cupholder. So, after getting a wonderful member here to verify the cupholder dimensions ( I hadn't picked up my 4runner yet), I set out to make my own!
Here are the parts I used:
-A Curved section of 2 inch PVC pipe.
-A 2.5 inch to two-inch step-down pvc pipe connector (wrapped in a few layers of duct tape)
-A 90 degree ABS elbow joint
-A plastic shower drain
-A small sheet of plexiglass (pre-cut)
-A Couple screws
-A hose clamp
-Some rubber coated wire
-Some cheap dash cellphone mats
Basically the curved two inch pipe would fit into the step-down connector to fit in my cup holder. Then the 90 degree elbow joint would go on the end, the shower drain would connect to the top of that, then the plexiglass would be screwed into the shower drain. Then.. voila... laptop holder.
To connect the plexi to the drain I simply drilled some holes in the plexiglass and then threaded screws through the holes and through the shower drain grate. A few bolts on the other side of the drain grate, and it was on there! Pretty easy.
Here's a pic showing everything:
I would be using this for a long drive back from Dallas to my home, so I wanted a way to mount my phone on it since I use it as a GPS... I mean.. why not right? So, I just made a little mounting cradle out of some rubber coated wire and secured it to the PVC pipe with a pipe clamp. Super ghetto, but quite effective!
Here's some pics of the finished project...
From passenger side with computer and iphone all good to go:
From diver's side... with nothing on it it becomes a fantastic little table for hamburgers ; )
In use with the phone acting as a GPS:
View from the backseat:
Ghetto iphone mounting bracket:
So, there it is. VERY GHETTO... actually, I call it my "white trash catastrophe", but it works perfect. It was really cheap too, probably under 20 bucks. I bet you could get by with less if you have some spare pipe around. This also isn't glued together. Everything is held together by friction and it is rock solid.
Thanks to everyone here who helped me out with info! What a stellar community!
-jon
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As for drinks... there is still one cupholder open, though it isn't the easiest to get a drink in and out of. So, I ended up either just holding it in my lap or using one of those cheap cupholders you can get at truck stops... you know the kind that slide into the driver side window channel? not the best solution, but with a long enough straw I didn't even need to turn my head to get a drink. Just leaned over ever so slightly to the left to stay hydrated!
