Guide To Laptop Mounts For Cars & Trucks

Guide to Laptops Mounts for Cars & Trucks: Options, Installation & More

Panasonic Toughbooks are the mobile computer of choice by users facing some of the most demanding jobs and challenging environments. Therefore, it’s important to maximize the usefulness of this high-performing mobile laptop by making it as accessible and easy to use as possible when deployed in a car or truck.

That’s why finding the right vehicle mounting device for your particular Toughbook model needs to be a part of your purchasing decision.  Because of the wide range of options and easy installation, it’s easy to get the most from your Toughbook through a variety of secure and safe mounting solutions.

This guide will walk you through the characteristics and components of Panasonic Toughbook laptop mounts & equipment mounting systems for cars & trucks. It will also examine device requirements across a variety of industries that require safe, efficient solutions to use Toughbooks to their full potential.

Toughbooks are used on a daily basis in a wide range of vehicles, all of which may need very specific combinations equipment to achieve the safest and most efficient solution. Some of these include:

Components of Vehicle Mounting Solutions for Toughbooks

An array of vehicle mounting components is available to help you put together the best solution for your needs. Depending upon the type of vehicle and how your Toughbook will be used, you can select from a variety of options.

Mounting solutions range from universal, covering several Toughbook models, to specific mounts created for highly-specialized equipment.  Rest assured that for optimum safety and efficiency, Panasonic mounting equipment is created and configured for the most challenging situations on the road.   The various pieces and parts of a mounting system, along with their functions, include:

Vehicle base.  The purpose of this component is to secure the mounting system to your vehicle. This particular portion of your mounting system should be built to last and made of steel using heavy-duty design and construction.

Docking station/ cradle.  Cradles are designed to fit snugly around your particular Toughbook and provide stability.  They may offer some functionality such as ports for charging or USB ports.  A Docking station generally has additional functionality and allows the user to perform added functions while in the vehicle.

When using a docking station to connect to peripheral devices, further mounts may be necessary for the additional equipment, such as keyboards and printers.

Poles and tubes. Poles and tubes provide additional length, enabling the Toughbook can extend into the vehicle space as required. Your selection of a pole or tube will depend on how you plan use your Toughbook while in the vehicle, and the vehicle base that you choose.

Motion attachments. These devices join the vehicle laptop mount and the pole and/or tube together.  Their purpose is to allow the computer to be moved and adjusted as needed.

Motion attachments enable the extension of the pole as well as swiveling action, sliding and tilting.  They are a necessary part of the mounting solution and important to maintaining good ergonomic use.

Safety. The safety of your vehicle mounting solution is paramount.  All mounts should be produced in conjunction with ISO 9001 international quality standards.

Specific types of vehicles and their various uses require certain characteristics in their mounting solutions. The categories of use warrant specific consideration.  Below are several categories of Toughbook users for whom mounting systems are an important consideration.

Military & Armed Forces

Military laptops aid personnel in the most challenging work possible in some of the most adverse conditions.  Take for example the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC). This division of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), designs, engineers, integrates, builds and procures technology for the US Naval Fleet.

When their mobile PC deployment was experiencing high failure rates, a decision was made to standardize mobile rugged PCs. One of their choices when selecting Toughbooks was to include port replicators, or docking stations for mounting the devices.

This mounting system allowed them to integrate Logitech ClickSmart cameras and Labtec headsets to use with applications on the Toughbooks. Not only did the Toughbooks withstand heavy use by multiple users in extreme conditions aboard ships and submarines, the desired process improvements were realized.

The peripheral devices-- cameras and headsets—enable the use of telemaintenance by using near real-time processes to enable personnel to consult with expert colleagues throughout the world.

Because of its vast responsibilities across the world, the military uses a wide range of Toughbooks, spanning from semi-rugged to ultra-mobile-rugged.  Accordingly, Panasonic has is determined to provide the best mounting solutions possible for models used in cars and trucks.

Police & Law Enforcement

Large numbers of patrol cars use vehicle mounts to keep their Toughbooks convenient and secure.  And now, motorcycle officers are seeing the benefits of mounting Toughbook computers to their vehicles. In the past, patrol officers using motorcycles have been cut off from information available to fellow policemen in patrol cars due to their inability to access the force’s computer aided dispatch system (CAD).In addition, background checks were limited to radio transmissions due to their lack of access to the department system.

However, this disconnect is a thing of the past for motorcycle officers who use Toughbook CF-19 laptops mounted using the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Police Storage Box Mount.

This docking station/cradle is durably constructed and is compatible with a printer that will allow officers to print citations in real time. And importantly, the Toughbook CF-19 easily flips out of the box for maximum ergonomic use by officers. Find additional versions of the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Police Storage Box Mount including 7160-0264-02, 7160-0264-03, and 7160-0264-04.

Fire Trucks

From small, volunteer fire departments across the country to some of the largest in the nation, Toughbooks are helping firefighters to work more safely and efficiently.

When the Buffalo Fire Department/Police Department was looking to reconfigure their mobile computer mounts to enable better response times, Panasonic universal docking stations were chose to mount their Toughbook 29 and 18 computers.

When asked, firefighters indicated that the new mounting strategies made using their equipment safer in addition to making it much easier for them to access equipment such as sirens, radios.

Ambulances & Emergency Response

Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department in Colorado wanted to move from a paper documentations system to a better, online solution. By mounting fully-rugged Toughbooks in their medic vehicles, they documented a savings of 20 minutes per call.

The department recently upgraded to the Toughbook 31.  By having this device properly mounted in their vehicles they can easily access it to realize higher data speeds, transmit EKG data and operate cardiac monitors through Bluetooth ® technology.  Check out mounting devices for the Toughbook 31 here.

Business & Government Travelers

Business-rugged Toughbooks have been a lifeline for road warriors, or business and government travelers who travel the world sharing their expertise. Abuse is heaped upon abuse as consultants, sales personnel, state and government workers and other business professionals travel using multiple modes of transportation and using operating their devices for hours on end while on site or enroute to their destinations.

For those who travel in cars, automobile laptop mounts for business-rugged computers and tablets or, for example, the vehicle port replicator for the business-rugged F9 are essential pieces of equipment.  When pulling into an Intestate exit to troubleshoot a problem, countless time is saved by having Toughbooks mounted for easy access.

Municipal Utility Vehicles

When vital public services such as water and electricity are at stake, the public needs and expects quick turnaround for any problems that arise. At the same time, providers of these services take pride in delivering safe, high quality assistance not only in emergencies, but on a daily basis.

More and more, they are finding Toughbooks to provide vital communication links between dispatchers and field services.  Across the country, significant improvements in response times are being documented due to the implementation of Toughbooks in utility vehicles.

In fact, Jersey Central Power & Light began installing 400 Toughbooks in trucks in 2012. The use of GPS combined with a high-quality Toughbook display, made even better by virtue of an appropriate vehicle mount, allows workers to eliminate paper maps and get turn-by-turn directions.

Buy The Right Vehicle Mounting Solution From BuyTough Today

Regardless of the Toughbook model you use, or your unique usage requirements, BuyTough can provide a vehicle mounting system that will work safely and efficiently.

Check here to find the Panasonic Toughbook mounting solutions to meet your needs, or call 1-877-969-2604 for personalized assistance from a ruggedized vehicle mounting expert.

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