We spend a lot of time talking about phone, GPS and laptop mounts for cars and motorcycles. Today, we go in the opposite direction and talk about mounts for Peterbilt trucks and rigs.
This isn’t as easy as simply using a mount made for a car. A Peterbilt truck is much larger. The windshield is further from the driver. The seats are higher. Everything is a further reach. We need to look at larger and heavier duty mounts.
There are mounts available to hold almost anything. From something as small as an Apple iPhone to as large as a full-sized laptop. In this article, we will look at several mounts that will work well within a large Peterbilt cab.
We’ll go with largest device to smallest.
So first up is a laptop mount that will fit a Peterbilt truck. The RAM Universal Laptop Mount for Heavy Duty Trucks attaches to the passenger side seat rail bolts. This is a serious heavy duty laptop mount constructed of mostly metal. The bottom of the mount has a plate with a variety of mounting patterns and are generally what’s recommended for a truck. A telescoping pole allows height adjustments from 12 to 18 inches. The included tray has spring loaded arms to accommodate laptops up to 16 inches wide. The mount pivots and swivels. Accessories like a printer stand or LED light can be added to the mount. The manufacturer provides a lifetime warranty on this product.
The Arkon Extendable Midsize Tablet and Smartphone Mount is an excellent choice for a large smartphone or small to midsize tablet. The cradle is spring-loaded and expands up to 7.5 inches which is large enough for a device with or without a case or skin. The mount itself has a metal arm that can extend from 14.5 to 18.5 inches. The cradle rotates 360 degrees so your tablet can be in portrait or landscape mode. Lots of room between the device and windshield. The suction cup has a vacuum lock to maintain a secure connection. The metal arm will keep the tablet very steady in normal environments.
Be sure that you can use your windshield as a mounting point as a few states including California do not allow this.
How about a GPS mount? I suggest the windshield for this device. You need to see the sky to get the signals so most other locations within the cab aren’t going to work. For what it’s worth, sunroofs help a lot with GPS reception.
Since a Peterbilt truck’s windshield is further away from the driver versus a car, you need an extra long mount. The mount needs to withstand the rigors of a vibrating truck. The Arkon Extension Windshield Mount for Garmin and TomTom GPS fits the requirements outlined. That’s what is in the photo that accompanies this article. It extends from 14.5 – 18.5 inches, the arm is made if metal and it includes adapters for the latest Garmin and TomTom models. This includes the 17mm ball that is common to the back of all Garmin dezl, Nuvi and Drive cradles.
Also consider the dash as a mounting location for a GPS. The Arkon Arkon GPS Friction Dash Car Mount for Garmin GPS will fit a dezl, Nuvi or Drive series GPS. A weighted base sits atop the dash with a safety anchor. The included holder has the standard 17mm ball to fit the back of the Garmin cradle. I have used this personally and it works great.
These mounts should cover owners of a Peterbilt truck for all the popular devices. There are lots of others out there. These four are a good start though.