I'm personally waiting for 3D topographical mapping to come out before I upgrade to any GPS from my handheld magellan. This combines the capabilities of a PC with the easy use of in-dash GPS vehicle navigation. I've only seen it in the Rescue concept, but I bet it will be available soon.

Oman, you're nothin' unless you got one of these........:thumbsup:

 

If you have the budget to hire Angelina Jolie to drive your Jeep, you can also afford to do this.

 

If you have the budget to hire Angelina Jolie to drive your Jeep, you can also afford to do this.

View attachment 17860

I like that one, but I need my air conditioning vents

It looks like Stu's laptop certainly won't overheat any time soon

 

haha I like the AEV Recaro seats in the mirror!

 

I personally think Garmin's touch screen interfaces are going to be a lot better than anything designed for PC use. When software developers created GPS solutions for laptops - I don't think they designed them with being used by a driver with the vehicle is moving in mind. Everything I've seen has too many drop menus and small fonts to really be effective while on the move, although there may be something better out there.

I'd keep the 2720 - and maybe if you decide the Laptop idea is working well enough on it's own - THEN get rid of it.

Although I'm not so sure how much you rely on a GPS. When I'm in the mountains, I can easily navigate with just a map and compass. In the dunes it's much much harder to triangulate your location, as there won't be any visible landmarks on the horizon. To you a GPS might be a luxury, in which case it's ok to play around. For me personally, it's more of a necessity once we head out of the city, and the Garmin will probably be easier to use. I've used the TomTom GPS in England a few times and it's nice how simple they can be.

Also - as a Computer Science student I've dealt with computers a hell of a lot, and if there's one thing they do well, it's screw up. Errors, Crashes, Overheating, Lockups, Memory issues, Lags, all seem less likely on a single, contained, tested system. I don't care if I have to reboot my CarPC to get the MP3's playing again... but I do care if I have to stop, reprogram my destination, and start all over again. I think with that in mind, rather than ask the computer to multi-task, I'd prefer to have a seperate "computer" dedicated to just one task that it was designed for. It makes me more comfortable.

If I can find a spot for two 7" screens, a head unit, and a rediculous amount of switchgear, you can squeeze the 2720 in there somewhere along side the computer project Problem is just all the toys get expensive!

I didn't think about the heat factor and that would surely prove a challenge with anything that's hard mounted into the vehicle. The 2720 is supposed to be good between 5°F to 158°F (-15°C to 70°C), so that should cover the Summer heat inside a closed vehicle. I'll be using GPS functionality daily for urban navigation needs and will rely on it's topo functionality when I'm in the middle of nowhere, so reliability is a must. I went ahead and installed the Garmin today and after building custom mounting wedge to fit the coin tray, it sits at the perfect viewing angle and takes up very little interior space.

My real needs for an onboard computer come from wanting to carry lots of mapping materials that take lots of space to store, though I can always pack the 12" Powerbook on trips or just bang off a set of color lasers of what ever I may need. Bottom line is that I'm a packrat and would probably never really need that street level map of Kuala Lumpur, but you never know

 

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2102366#post2102366

http://s2.supload.com/files/default/DSC00342.JPG

 

haha I like the AEV Recaro seats in the mirror!

That was deliberate

The mirror came from here - http://www.oman4x4.com/gallery/mirror/mirrordone - and the seats from AEV's website

I don't think I'll be happy until my interior outdoes the Range Rover

 

I didn't think about the heat factor and that would surely prove a challenge with anything that's hard mounted into the vehicle. The 2720 is supposed to be good between 5°F to 158°F (-15°C to 70°C), so that should cover the Summer heat inside a closed vehicle. I'll be using GPS functionality daily for urban navigation needs and will rely on it's topo functionality when I'm in the middle of nowhere, so reliability is a must. I went ahead and installed the Garmin today and after building custom mounting wedge to fit the coin tray, it sits at the perfect viewing angle and takes up very little interior space.

My real needs for an onboard computer come from wanting to carry lots of mapping materials that take lots of space to store, though I can always pack the 12" Powerbook on trips or just bang off a set of color lasers of what ever I may need. Bottom line is that I'm a packrat and would probably never really need that street level map of Kuala Lumpur, but you never know

Looks good in there...

I totally get what you mean about the packrat thing... I'd be able to carry the FSM for any year Jeep, the parts manuals, a backup of Stu's website, topo maps of the region, and hell even run Google Earth via a cellphone internet connection if my ISP ever gets that working reliably. One of the main uses though would be backing up pictures from the digital camera, but I've learned the Ipod can do that. I'm considering selling my Sony player and getting the Ipod Photo or Ipod Video. Probably sell my PDA Cellphone too because now that I'm back to driving - I prefer something simpler.

BTW that's the Rockhard cage right? How do you like it so far? I like how low that center spreader bar is, and the grab handles. does the top of the window attach to the cage for support?

 

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2102366#post2102366

http://s2.supload.com/files/default/DSC00342.JPG

That's nicely done... but there's no way I'd lose my AC vents though!

Maybe relocate the AC controls to the center console if I attempted something similar... but I kinda like the idea of the overhead screen facing down - it'd keep direct sunlight off the screen most of the time.

 

Looks good in there...

I totally get what you mean about the packrat thing... I'd be able to carry the FSM for any year Jeep, the parts manuals, a backup of Stu's website, topo maps of the region, and hell even run Google Earth via a cellphone internet connection if my ISP ever gets that working reliably. One of the main uses though would be backing up pictures from the digital camera, but I've learned the Ipod can do that. I'm considering selling my Sony player and getting the Ipod Photo or Ipod Video. Probably sell my PDA Cellphone too because now that I'm back to driving - I prefer something simpler.

BTW that's the Rockhard cage right? How do you like it so far? I like how low that center spreader bar is, and the grab handles. does the top of the window attach to the cage for support?

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with the widescreen format as it doesn't stick up any higher than it needs to and so far, it's easy to use/see while driving which was after all the ultimate goal.

And yes, that is the Rock Hard cage. Once I got it all finished out and found the time to install it, it went together easy and fit like a glove. Half way through putting it in I ran out and bought 3/8" air rachet as my wrist was killing me as there is a lot of little cap-head screws on this thing

It attaches to the window frame using the factory side bars and ends. My only complaint about it is that is becomes a burn hazard here in the desert if I park somewhere other than covered spots at home or the office for very long - those handles get hot!

 

It attaches to the window frame using the factory side bars and ends. My only complaint about it is that is becomes a burn hazard here in the desert if I park somewhere other than covered spots at home or the office for very long - those handles get hot!

Ahh - so it's not L-shaped front bars? Good for shipping but not sure if that's as strong...

Don't suppose you've got any links to people that have rolled with this kit?

Never mind - I've just seen the top T-section thing. I don't like that - I want the spreader bars adjustable without anything in between - looks like I'll stick with OR-Fab.

 

Really the easiest and best way IMO is to just get an MDT docking station like I am using in the front seat of my patrol car. Like someone else said you can get em at Galls.com and then if you ever did want to make it theft proof or much harder anyway like if you went into a gas station you could lock it. Also we use Panasonic Toughbooks which are designed for the heat, cold, shock etc, unless you already have a laptop. But anyway hope that helps.

 

I have a temporary mount that I use for laptop GPS that moves between my jeep and my chevy. Basically a frankenmount composed of 1/2" gas pipe and fittings. I used a flange to mount to the floor and fitted it with an air compressor chuck so I could install and remove the laptop table as needed and all that is left behind is the mount. I used another flange to mount to the bottom of a piece of plexiglass to hold the laptop.

I don't have any pics available right now, buit will try and take some tonight if you want. The whole setup cost less than $20 and works well on-road, but I wouldn't trust it offorad.

 

I talked to a guy in JU a few years ago that added a small home computer in the back of the jeep to run all of his mp3 players. He added a power inverter to power the unit and ran a wireless keyboard and a small monitor mounted upfront.

If I had to do it, I would add a small monitor between the spreaders on the TBT rollcage and add a wireless keyboard to either a laptop or a home computer placed in the cargo area.

 

I hope you know thats totally illigal being able to view it from the drivers seat. You can get a ticket in any state for driver distraction. The police can even get you for obscured vision too. Your just asking for a ticket and i hope i never am on the same road with you. Driving is a full time job and drinks, food, phones, and much more is a distraction.

 

You want a shelf
You want it cheap
Try this

We just compleated a 2,600 mile trip. Ran ms streets & trips maping program the whole way. I power the laptop with a DC to AC inverter. Created a GPS trail of our entire route. The shelf held up just perfect
1/4" plywood, rubberized shelf liner, black paint, And velcro. (my jeep would fall apart without velcro)
View attachment 17856

View attachment 17857

That looks great!! so the velcro is ALL that holds it there?....

 

This is the place for in car computers

Check out this site mp3car.com
I've only seen one Wrangler with a setup like this, but I'm working on one for my F150.
There's some outrageous stuff on there.

 

View attachment 17856

View attachment 17857

This is very close to what I did. Came in very handy while driving 10+ hours to Michigan's Drummon Island for a Jamboree.

 

like Oman mentioned... computer in the jeep is a nice feature.. I've had a computer in my jeep for almost 3 years now, best thing I could have done.. my jeep was broken into and they took the PocketPC that I use to do all my orders on for work and my digital camera... left the computer right in place, guess I got lucky

I can do all kinds of stuff on the computer music/videos (although I dont watch videos and drive, seriously)/GPS/XM Radio and whatever else a computer can do... whenever I get new music that I want to transfer to the computer, I just plug in my usb wireless, and run a program to sync all of my files... GPS works great, although I mainly use mine for street driving, it is nice to be able to log co-ordinates while im driving and then just transfer them to my desktop and put them into DeLorme

www.mp3car.com is where is at

 

well. now you have me thinking... im gonna try to build a ultra small setup with a operating system that boots from flash media with xp on it. that way i have no hard drive. get a 7" touch screen and the rest i have to go look for now...

 

I have been using my Sony laptop on several trips, but the dust, bouncing etc got me concerned, so I just recently acquired a Garmin Ique- built in GPS and I can load all West Coast street maps and tons of tops onto it. If it crashes and burns, I lose $200 not $2000. I'm eager to see how the thing works in the field. The small screen will take some getting used to, but I can mount it much closer to me than a laptop, so in the end, there may be little real differnce. I still like to carry a detailed waterproof map and my tried and true Garmin Legend- they have gotten me out of lots of tight spots over the years.

 

I wish I could photoshop like that!

 

I hope you know thats totally illigal being able to view it from the drivers seat. You can get a ticket in any state for driver distraction. The police can even get you for obscured vision too. Your just asking for a ticket and i hope i never am on the same road with you. Driving is a full time job and drinks, food, phones, and much more is a distraction.

Just like the GPS units....totally viewable from the driver's seat. Just curious....when was the last time someone with a GPS, especially those factory installed units, got a ticket for having one in the vehicle?

....and don't forget passengers....some of the worst distractions there are come from passengers, especially babies in child seats. I think they need to lock up all those socker mom drivers with the mini-vans full of kids.

 

Looks good in there...

I totally get what you mean about the packrat thing... I'd be able to carry the FSM for any year Jeep, the parts manuals, a backup of Stu's website, topo maps of the region, and hell even run Google Earth via a cellphone internet connection if my ISP ever gets that working reliably. One of the main uses though would be backing up pictures from the digital camera, but I've learned the Ipod can do that. I'm considering selling my Sony player and getting the Ipod Photo or Ipod Video. Probably sell my PDA Cellphone too because now that I'm back to driving - I prefer something simpler.

BTW that's the Rockhard cage right? How do you like it so far? I like how low that center spreader bar is, and the grab handles. does the top of the window attach to the cage for support?

Here is a look at mine
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/helicoil/cage1.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g147/helicoil/cage.jpg

 

i made a mount that screwed to the top of the dash above the center vents and i took off the rear veiw mirror and used velcro to hold the monitor up cause it is at a slight angle. you couldnt drive on the road with it like that cause it blocks your veiw but it worked good for mapping out trails