Dash Mounted TabE 8.0 Holder for OBDII BT Gauge Display

[Alex AVI]

Dash Mounted TabE 8.0 Holder for OBDII BT Gauge Display

I was searching for a permanent tablet holder that would bolt onto the center console & dashboard that enabled a quick release of only the tablet, leaving the holder permanently mounted on the console/dash. The TabE 8.0 is to be used as a dedicated OBDII BT Gauge Display.

I have 4 strong Naztech magnet mounts around the 4 corners of the Fusion unit for cellphones, but as strong as they are and they can hold the TabE 8.0 well, I still don't like magnets for tablet mounts. Tablets are just too bulky. I don't like flexible goosenecks either, that bulkiness (even without much weight) cantilevered on the gooseneck head vibrates & wobbles too much, needing constant re-positioning. Then I've got these rock-solid RAM mounts but it's just way too much hardware and causes too much clutter. My RAM mounts are just not clean enough for what I am looking for. I wanted something that will stay at the same exact spot no matter how much vibrating the rv undergoes but with as minimal hardware as possible.

So, I had to make my own stainless steel rigid J-brackets to bolt down into the center console & dashboard infotainment framing and cannibalized my home TabE 8.0 holder to bolt onto my brackets. Very simple, very minimalist, no excess hardware, I even removed the small ball-socket swivel mechanism to eliminate any movement, and yet as rigid & immovable as the Fusion is on the console.

The brackets are already installed on the center console & dashboard. This location will line up the TabE 8.0 perfectly & symmetrically with the top & sides of the Fusion Infotainment system. The hope is for a clean & uncluttered install. Tab holder has been prepped with the needed holes. Will finish up install & post final pics when I get back home from UT in few days.

[Alex AVI]

Dash Install Done

Just finished the dash install today. It's a very easy process (technically) but requires many measures, re-measures, re-re-measures to make sure all edges of TabE 8.0 line up perfectly with Fusion and at same time the mounting screws/bolts do not end up in an obstructed area under the central dash compartment. Also had to bend brackets at the correct angle to have the Fusion & TabE screens slanted at identical angle.


Now the fun begins in configuring the right sizes & combination of gauges to monitor. So far, I have gotten 1 night time & 1 day time gauge motif that seems to look ok stationary. Test drive will tell how well it shows on the road. Will do a long test drive soon. Once it passes the drive test, will JB Weld the bracket mounting studs permanently onto the dash compartment above the Fusion head unit.

[rowiebowie]

Starting to look like a cockpit in there. Careful to leave room for Wachuko's table.

[InterBlog]

Starting to look a bit like OUR cockpit. I like the mount.



You can see that, from a night vision perspective, the main offender in our cockpit is not our OBD-reading iPad (whose brightness is fully adjustable) but is rather that danged pop-up Pioneer head unit, which is too dim during the day and too bright at night. But there's not much we can do about that, given the single-DIN space we had to work with.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Starting to look a bit like OUR cockpit. I like the mount.



You can see that, from a night vision perspective, the main offender in our cockpit is not our OBD-reading iPad (whose brightness is fully adjustable) but is rather that danged pop-up Pioneer head unit, which is too dim during the day and too bright at night. But there's not much we can do about that, given the single-DIN space we had to work with.

INTERBLOG - it is getting really busy & crowded on my center console and my pics doesnt even have the 4 phones normally surrounding Fusion. That is why I opted to mount it symmetrical to Fusion, to at least lessen visual overload. Its not direct perpendicular to my line of sight, but visible enough. That was a compromise to calm my OCD tendency, which gets dangerous when I am driving and fidgeting with gadget angles. This is a fixed mount, so no changing angles no matter what. I am now looking for small enough slides or flip-down springs so I can overlap the tablet on top of the Fusion display. Kinda like your Pioneer flip up screen. The hardware exists in larger applications, not so in the miniature.

I did have the 1st gen Pioneer years ago and I remember it having a brightness adjustment ( though it was a pain to do while driving). I guess they did away with that?

[Boxster1971]

ALEX - nice work, that looks like a great mount. Makes me think I should get a cheap Samsung tablet and do the same thing.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

ALEX - nice work, that looks like a great mount. Makes me think I should get a cheap Samsung tablet and do the same thing.

MIKE - Thanks. I think it's worth it. I think the Tabe E 8.0 are less than $200. I had it laying around from a previous Sprint promo. so it was no expense for me there. Wasn't really using it since I use the bigger 10.1" tablet for personal use. I was using my old S4 for display but with the very small size, it's only good for maybe 4 gauges. I lived with it because I had not figured out how to mount the bigger, bulkier TabE 8.0 (even though it is very light) - until now

[InterBlog]

Well, not everybody has the magnitude of Sprinter problems that we do, but I’d say that two hundred bucks is a pretty low price to pay for a potential marriage-saver.



If that joke is not obvious, see my cab iPad mounting thread here.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Well, not everybody has the magnitude of Sprinter problems that we do, but I’d say that two hundred bucks is a pretty low price to pay for a potential marriage-saver.



If that joke is not obvious, see my cab iPad mounting thread here.

INTERBLOG - Definitely. Its a marriage saver for me too, so I even put one in my wife's car. She has a new one that has most of the gauges she needs but you have to keep scrolling through many confusing screens. No way to display all the info all the time. She is not as automotive savvy as you, even though she probably could, she does not want to be. So the tablet in her car with all the info up all the time and the OEM dash monitor set to display all the TPMS readings all the time, keeps her attention to driving rather than flipping through screens while driving.

[Alex AVI]

4 hr. roundtrip to Kingman, AZ along some not so smooth pavement and the temp mounting held up well. The angles and position worked well too. Cut down the threaded mounting studs to shorter length, JB Welded them between Fusion head unit and dashboard center storage bin. Letting it set for 6hrs and 48hrs to fully cure before re-installing brackets, TabE & holder. No turning back now, it is permanent (well, the studs only, but the brackets & holder can still be un-bolted anytime)

[Alex AVI]

Modify Brackets and Center Storage Lid

Had to modify the bracket offset & cantilever angles a teeny bit so that I can easily insert a DVD into the Fusion (even though we rarely do it) and to allow the top 2 magnets to still hold center of phones (as the bottom 2 magnets do). But more important was to make sure the top of the tablet did not affect/reduce my driver field of view. Being a short driver, it was not hard for something atop the dash to obstruct my FOV. These 3 needs typically are mutually exclusive because of the way the tablet is mounted, but I luckily had enough room & bracket lengths to achieve all 3 and still keep it flush in that location. But I needed to drill 3/4" stud nut recess holes on the bottom of the center storage lid to allow the stud nuts to recess into the lid and makes latching the lid unimpeded.