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My wife and I are considering purchasing a laptop computer for dual purpose use: to have a pc access while traveling and also to use as a DVD player to keep our daughter entertained while traveling. I have done some searches and found mounts designed primarily for the front seat, but does anybody know of a good way to mount the laptop for rear seat use?
Keith
I just fold down the center rear seat and put it on that. It gives you easy access to the power plug in the console. It is also close enough to the front passanger that they can reach around and adjust it if needed.
I forgot to mention that my daughter is 2 years old and her carseat is mounted in the center rear seat. We are looking for a way that she can view videos while we are traveling and we thought that a laptop with a DVD drive would be better than having to purchase a separate portable DVD player.
Keith
I don't know if it's this forum or at Ford Truck World, but someone created a mount to hang the laptop upside down form the ceiling.
Yes, the image will be upside down, but he further stated that he had a program call PIVOT (not sure if that is the exact name) that rotated the image 180 degrees so that it could be viewed correctly.
The mount was basically a holder where the laptop could slide in and out of.
Keith, I've thought about doing the same thing and wondered how to safely mount the laptop. I've seen all sorts of slings and such that mount other video players to the front seats and consoles. Maybe see how these work and try to emulate.
I find that I can simply set the laptop on the center console. I use this rubber mat like material to keep it from sliding, works on friction so no ugly velcro when the laptop is not in. I plug in a DC - AC inverter and away we go. Pretty nice for the little guy as he gets to view movies on a 15" screen.
The laptop screen kind of gets in the way of my right arm when driving but I got used to it on our last 1hr trip.
I think trying to mount the laptop upside down is more hassle than it is worth.
Originally posted by mistercmk That is a good idea, but I don't know if a laptop should be running upside down.
It's not recomended by any laptop manufacturer for the laptop to be turned upside down or on it's side while it's turned on. There is a chance that the heads on the hard drive could hit the platters.
Thanks, everybody for all your input. My wife and I have decided that we will probably purchase a separate portable DVD player after all, especially because of the mounting issues.
Keith
There might be a reason not to operate a laptop while its upside down, but I don't think the hard drive would be a reason. Modern hard drives have heads on both sides of the platter that run simultaneously. There is no reason to believe the heads would crash onto the platter one way or the other.
Hard drives are also designed to be able to be mounted horizontally or vertically. I would however be hesitant to mount them diagonally.