Considering how religiously I use my iPad, I figured why not also use it in the truck! For navigation purposes that is. The iPad is a seriously cool device that has changed how I read information on the internet. Spending a couple hours searching off road forums made it easy figuring out how to mount and use my iPad for off road navigation.

My iPad is WIFI only meaning it does not have internet 3G reception. In order to have the iPad find my position on a map I need some sort of wifi hotspot (which would probably still not work in remote areas) or some sort of GPS device attached to the iPad. I was very fortunate this past Christmas and received both a Bad Elf GPS and Emprum GPS. They are both basically the same thing. A small GPS puck that attaches to the data port of your iPad or iPhone and provide satellite location to your device. As long as you have downloaded maps of the area you plan on visiting ahead of time, you will be able to track your location and find your way to the trail head or back to camp. There are a number of apps in the Apple app store that allow you to download offline maps, such as Gaia GPS and Motion X GPS. In a future post I will review the Bad Elf and Emprum to determine a champion. As well as what apps I am using successfully for navigation.

After removing the dash panel (instructions link) I cut a small square hole in the dash to allow my fingers to secure the nuts & bolts for the diamond ball head Ram mount. This is a little more crude than my normal installs as I could not find a step drill. This hole was cut with a box knife. I cleaned up the edges before reassembly.

Ram ball mounts do not come with mounting hardware unless you are purchasing a device mount. For example, my iPad cradle came with nuts and bolts for the ball mount to attach to the holder. This diamond shape ball mount (RAM-B-238U) I ordered separately did not. I wanted to point this out as most websites fail at letting people know if parts come with supplied hardware. A quick stop at Lowes and I left with 10×3/4 button head bolts, nylock nuts and 1-inch washers. Choosing a large washer is important to help distribute the load of the iPad against the plastic dash. Sorry for the lack of nuts and bolts photos but I think all of you can see what I did here. Yes I realize the diamond ball mount is upside down. Some of the powder coat was scratched off on the other side when it arrived.

The RAM-HOL-AP8U iPad Cradle works for both the iPad and iPad 2. Ram supplies two small black bumpers indicated with red arrows (2 pictures down you can see the bumpers on the back of the iPad). The thinner design of the iPad 2 needs help securing it firmly inside the cradle. Although the bumpers help, they do not secure the iPad as I would like it. As most of you reading this already know, things shake off road. A LOT. I added two small strips of 3M foam pad to the base of the holder which I am pointing to in the picture and now the iPad is firm. No play and will not scratch my device.

Originally, I ordered the RAM-B-201U-C Ram Mount Aluminum 5.25-inch Long Length Dual 1.0 Socket Arm to use with the cradle. After mounting it in the FJ, I swapped it with the RAM-B-201U Ram Mount Aluminum 3.0-inch Standard Length Dual 1.0 Socket Arm that was on my SPOT Messenger. The longer arm worked fine but I did not need its length to position the iPad where I want it. Also, the closer you keep the weight to the hard mount, the less movement you will get in your device. Simple physics. I will use the longer arm for my SPOT Messenger.

Thats pretty much all there is to it. After putting everything back together I fired up the iPad and took a drive. I already had local maps downloaded and the device was working perfectly. It will also be handy to have some movies and my music library on the road.

There are a few reasons why I ended up dash mounting the iPad versus my original plan of using the seat bolt floor mount (RAM-B-316-1-AP8). After reading several poor reviews of how shaky the seat bolt arm is, the idea was thrown out the window. I also didn’t like how the arm got in the way of passengers legs. To remove the arm when the iPad is not needed looked to also be a pain. On the dash, the iPad is out of everyones way and can be removed in seconds. When mounted and not in use I can lay the iPad flat against the dash and it is out of the way if the passenger air bag should deploy. Having a ball mount on the dash also means I can mount just about anything I want to my dash within weight considerations. Ram Mount makes 100s of mounts for all sorts of devices. I would not mount a laptop to the dash in this manner. Too heavy.

The cradle itself after some added padding works great. I purchased an extra ball mount plate for the back so I can move the arm to either position when needed. The clip that locks the iPad in place is solid. I would take caution in loading and unloading your iPad so you don’t scratch the glass. As long as you aren’t rough with it I don’t foresee any problems.

Something else I wanted to touch on that has me boggled. I found many people online that chose to purchase the cradle with locking mechanism. Riddle me this. If you lock the iPad to the cradle but you can simply untwist the arm from the cradle and steal the entire device, what is the point of the cradle lock? If you remove the twist lock on the arm and replace it with new hardware that requires tools then I could see it being useful. Don’t forget to also make sure your dash or floor mount are secure. If I leave my FJ parked for any solid period of time I will take the iPad out of the mount and hide it from sight or take it with me. I think any iPad or laptop in plain sight is waiting to be stolen so keep that in mind. I don’t keep extra devices for off road excursions in my FJ unless I am actually heading off road. That stuff can stay at home safe until needed!

Parts List

RAM-HOL-AP8U  Ram Mount Plastic Apple iPad and iPad 2 Mount Cradle
RAM-B-201U  Ram Mount Aluminum 3.0-inch Standard Length Dual 1.0 Socket Arm
RAM-B-238U  Ram Mount Aluminum Diamond mini Plate with 1-inch ball
10×3/4 Stainless Steel Button Head Bolts (2)
1-inch Stainless Steel Washers (2)
Nylock Nuts (2)
3M Foam Pad Strips (2)

Total cost of parts not including iPad – $48
Time spent to install – 2 hours (including going to Lowes)

I wanted to give a quick shout to GPS City where I purchased the Ram parts. These guys have one of the best GPS websites around. Really great video reviews of all the products they sell. When I want to see what a mount really looks like or works like, I usually visit. www.gpscity.com

Below is a quick down and dirty install of my new Ham Radio. Look for a full product review coming soon!

Ryan and I tackled my ICOM IC-2200H Ham/Race Radio install today. It ended up being a little more of a process than we had originally planned. Why? Nothing leaves the Rose Racing garage unless its perfect. We started out removing the drivers seat, center console, rear seats and rear drivers side panels. If you’ve never removed FJ rear seats, take your time. It’s quite the process getting those side bolts out.

The center console comes out pretty easy. Don’t be scared to pop the snaps out. Thanks again to Steve (thread link) for posting such an awesome thread on the FJ Forum.

We even popped the tail light out to check for the best antenna route.

Yes, that is a spatula. This is our 8th time installing Ham radios in trucks and we have used the spatula every time. If you have ever drilled through something and accidentally marked something on the other side you can understand why. It may look silly but it works perfectly. We decided to run the antenna line through a new hole located in the door jam.

We ran a grommet around the new hole and used black silicone to seal it up.

With the panels removed, we tied the antenna line to the existing factory harness. The line used is Diamond C213SNMO. It is 13.5 feet long and rated at 350 watts CW. The thin line really came in handy fishing it through the FJ.

The supplied power and ground lines were easily pushed through the factory grommet in the firewall.

Solder was added to all connections assuring no future connection issues. Ran the ground directly to the battery for improved ground efficiency. This would also let me use the radio without having keys in the ignition.

Heat shrink keeps everything looking nice and clean under the hood.

To get the mounting bracket in the position we wanted, we needed to drill two additional holes.

With the mounting bracket marked off, we cut the necessary holes in the base of the console to get the radio as flush as possible with the top. We also cut holes for the antenna line and power wires.

Not much more than the knobs stick up past the console level. Exactly how I wanted it.

Here you can see the heat sink poking out the bottom of the console as it sits mounted back in the FJ. Still plenty of clearance away from the shift cables.

The radio is in hands reach, nice and level and the install is super clean. The radio looks like it was meant to be there.

The Diamond NR770HNMO antenna sticks up about a foot above the roof rack. It mounted easily to the bandi mount on the rear door. This antenna also folds in half in case you need to get into a low level garage.

Leaving Ryan’s place in HB, we were able to chat until I reached the 55 freeway off the 405. Thats a good 15 miles with a lot of interference between us. Looking forward to communicating in the great outdoors! (Took me long enough)

ICOM IC-2200H $169.99
Diamond Antenna Line C213SNMO $45.95
Diamond Antenna NR77OHNMO $72.99
Total: $288.93 before tax
Purchased at Ham Radio Outlet

My original plan was to purchase a radio with a remote face as I have in the past. After considering the cost of the remote radios, (well over $300) I decided to spend less and get the entire setup for under $300. The IC-2200H takes up very little space, only sacrificing half of the console storage area. I can hear the radio perfectly at highway speeds at only 1/4 volume.

Suggestion: Choose where you mount your radio carefully. I have seen many above head radios fall and smack people in the head. I have also seen numerous complaints of people getting in accidents and knees slamming into radios mounted under the dash. Both of these are reasons I wanted my radio in the center console out of harms way. Think about it.

Today I had the pleasure of picking up my brand spanking new 2012 Specialized Crux Expert Force cyclocross bike. The guys at Rock N Road Cyclery in Mission Viejo, gave me a call and asked if I wanted to come down while it was getting built up. As you would assume, I brought my camera with me.

Thanks again to RNR and Derek for assembling the bike right away so I could take it for a quick spin before the sun went down. As you can see, I swapped out the white bar tape and saddle for a black Phenom Hollow Ti saddle and black Lizard Skins bar tape. Much better.