Car and truck cup holder tablet mounts have some unique requirements versus those made for a cell phone or GPS. They need to be able to hold a heavier device so need to seat themselves more securely within the cup holder. Cup holder tablet mounts also need to extend themselves higher than ones made for smaller devices. In other words, cup holder tablet mounts need a longer neck to accommodate the larger size of a tablet. Especially when you start looking at cup holder tablet mounts for devices as large as an Apple iPad Pro.
Advantages of a Cup Holder Mount
A cup holder is a good place to mount a tablet. It’s easily accessible. It won’t get in the way of your view of the road. I like this location for larger devices that don’t need to be seen while driving.
There are a few things to check out prior to shopping for cup holder tablet mounts. First, measure your car or truck cup holder for the diameter. That’s the width across the cup holder. Most cup holder mounts will fit up to 3.25 inches across and that’s good for the majority of cup holders out there. However, there are some exceptions. Most notably, cup holders that fold up into the dash. I have seen those in some roadsters like the Mercedes SLK320. Cup holder tablet mounts are a poor choice for those types of vehicles. These mounts are meant to be used in traditional environments where the cup holder is found in the space between the passenger and driver.
I have also seen some mighty wide cup holders in large SUVs like the Yukon or Nissan Armada. Both of those names are synonymous with huge. Not surprisingly, the cup holder are large enough to fit a bowl of soup. Most tablet cup holder mounts aren’t going to fit well within those vehicles. Consider a seat bolt or dash mount instead.
Some Good Cup Holder Mounts
Presenting the newly redesigned Arkon Cup Holder Tablet Mount. That’s the one that’s in the photo that accompanies this article. It’s easy to install. The bottom of the cup holder base is expandable to fit cup holders up to 3.5 inches and that will fit practically any vehicle. The cradle is one of the few that opens wide enough to accommodate tablets 8.9 to 12.9 inches in screen size. That means it will even fit the largest tablets including the Apple iPad Pro. There is an adjustable stem that allow the tablet to be angled wherever it’s needed. The manufacturer has a 2-year warranty on these mounts.
Consider this Cup Holder Mount for Tablets and Phones. This mount includes two different cradles and has an extended neck to make the mount a little higher than others. One for a phone and another for a tablet. The mount is adjustable and solidly made to easily handle the weight of your tablet. You will see a lot of mounts on the market for tablets or cell phones. This is the only car mounts that offers two different cradles, one for the phone, the other for the tablet. The tablet cradle will hold devices up to 12.9 inches.
The Mother of all car and truck cup holder tablet mounts is the Joy Factory Car/Truck Cup Holder Mount with Universal Tablet Module. This is a very heavy duty cup holder mount. The mount features an extra long extension arm that has three adjustment points and is perfect for trucks and rigs. There is an adjustment point at the base, midway and again at the device. This is a magnetic mount. There is a metal adapter that adheres to the back of any plastic or metal case or directly to the back of your device. This facilitates attachment to the MagConnect adapter at the end of the mount. Attachment of your tablet to the mount is simply a matter of placing it against the MagConnect adapter.