RAM Mount Tough Tray II - car mount for mini laptop, netbook, UMPC, and tablet PC

Ram Mount introduced the Tough Tray II as a direct result of increased consumer demand for smaller, highly portable laptop computers, also known as netbooks. 10 million netbooks sold in 2008 worldwide, yet the year before that most of us didn't even know what a netbook was. (netbook = mini laptop computer)



Ram Mount has been making first class laptop vehicle mounts since 1995. Fleets of police, fire, EMS, and military cars and trucks are equipped with RAM laptop mounts. RAM mounts can handle not just laptop computers, but also various other equipment from very light to very heavy (up to 185 lbs).

Many of us here at Laptop GPS World have been using RAM mounts for our laptop computers for years, but up until now the good old universal laptop tray, Tough Tray, was too big to accommodate small size laptops, netbooks, tablets, and UMPCs. It either was not possible due to the size, or it just didn't look nice since the tray was in some cases so much larger than the small computer.

In the past, RAM only made few UMPC and Tablet PC mounts for very few specific models, but the new Tough Tray II is a universal cradle able to accommodate any tablet/UMPC/netbook.

RAM Mount Tough Tray II


While the original Tough Tray has been excellent for regular sized laptop computers for many years, the new Tough Tray II (dimensions shown above) is the preferred choice for small laptops, netbooks, tablet PC, and ultra-mobile PC.


RAM No-Drill Bases have been used in conjunction with the original Tough Tray, and they can still be used with the new Tough Tray II.

RAM No-Drill Bases are available for most cars and trucks. They require no drilling to the floor of the vehicle, but instead they simply attach to the two existing screws on the base of the front passenger seat.

Thanks to the small size and light weight of netbooks and tablets, other mounting options may be possible now.


Some people may be intrigued by the possibility of using a suction cup base for their light weight device.


If one suction cup is not strong enough, you may use RAM Double Suction Cup, or even RAM Triple Suction Cup. RAM Mount Tough Tray II can be connected to various arms or polls of various lengths and sizes and to various bases.


The easiest way to find a laptop mounting solution for a car or truck is by using the RAM Mount Wizard Search at the home page of ram-mount.com. Simply select from the drop-down list the make, model, and year of your vehicle, and the page will suggest you a laptop mount for you. There are also other options and accessories available. There is likely a solution for every situation, just look through the .pdf catalogs at RAM-Mount.com for ideas.

At the time of this writing (March 2009) I use an HP tx2000 convertible laptop/tablet PC. It has a 12” touch screen and the weight is just over 4 lbs. That’s larger than the current crop of 9 to 10 inch netbooks, and just about twice as heavy, too. Nevertheless, I cannot resist trying to suction-cup mount it in my GMC 3500 (and then perhaps even in my wife's Honda CRV, if she lets me).

The following parts I already have: RAM Triple Suction Cup, an arm, and the new RAM Mount Tough Tray II. One arm alone seems too short for my needs, so I placed an order for one more arm of the same length. When joined together, the length should suffice. I will post pictures and description as soon as the remaining parts arrive. Putting it all together shouldn’t take more than minutes.

I invite everyone to post here pictures, description, and any experience you wish to share regarding mounting your laptop in your car, truck, boat, or plane.

Current price and availability can be checked here

__________________
Marvin

Thank you!

__________________
Your RAM-Mount Expert
The answer to any of your mobile mounting needs.
www.ram-mount.com
Check out our laptop mounts from $175

No, I thank you! It's so great to have you here as part of the community. It's good to know you are here when people need some technical questions answered.

__________________
Marvin

We pride ourselves on our quality and service. Unfortunately it is hard to find a quality American made product these days.

Our contact info is below and we appreciate any questions or feedback on the product line.

National Products, Inc
8410 Dallas Ave South
Seattle, WA 98108

206-763-8361
staff@ram-mount.com

__________________
Your RAM-Mount Expert
The answer to any of your mobile mounting needs.
www.ram-mount.com
Check out our laptop mounts from $175

... and I should mention that RAM has dealers in many countries on all continents.

If USA/Canada customers order from ram-mount.com directly (as opposed to from one of the many dealers), the order will be shipped from the closest dealer that has the item(s) in stock.

__________________
Marvin

Yes thank you! That is a very good point.

__________________
Your RAM-Mount Expert
The answer to any of your mobile mounting needs.
www.ram-mount.com
Check out our laptop mounts from $175

AAVI is the RAM Mounts distributor in Europe France www.ram.aavi.fr

AAVI, to Laptop GPS World.

P.S. I edited your member title (the text under your user name) to reflect who you are.

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Marvin

Hi-
I recall reading that windshield mountings are or will be outlawed. Is this true?? I hope not because it's very strong, stable, and usually can be situated to not obstruct vision. I use such a 'glass' mount for a PDA with GPS and I love it.

Please inform us with the real skinny; I may have run across some bad info. Thx.

As a point of info from a lurker, If you order the RAM Mount Tough Tray II combo with their RAM Pod, it will not come with the required 1.5" ball. So...you need to order the ball along with the combo or you will end up with two parts that will not connect.

jonjon98765 - I think there used to be two US states that didn't allow suction cup mounts attached to windshields. I'm not sure if that is still the case today, though. But I think most of us would use the new tray with RAM no-drill mounts for our laptops anyway.

I wanted to try the suction cup idea, and I have been driving with it in my GMC 3500 for the past week or so. I still need to take some pictures. I'm pleasantly surprised how very strong the RAM suction cups are. They are much stronger in comparison to those I've seen in PDA, PND, or phone mounts of other manufacturers. The triple-suction cup mount has been holding very securely my over 4 lbs convertible laptop even while driving fast over speed humps. I will keep using it for a while still, but I think I will go back to using no-drill base in conjunction with the new RAM Tough Tray II eventually. The arm between the suction cups and the tray looks quite thick, and I'm not sure if I like the look of it.

DAV-AZ - Are you sure the part was not supposed to be included? If they sell it as a package I think most (all) customers will likely expect the package to contain all the pieces necessary to mount the laptop in their vehicle.

Both of you to Laptop GPS World.

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Marvin

Thanks for the Welcome Marvin,

Believe me I looked and couldn't see where they specified the ball was included. I sent a little note with my second order regarding the missing ball but the vendor made no comment and dutifully charged my Credit Card for the part. So, I'd say it isn't included with the combo and they didn't do a great job of saying so. Regardless, the mount is pretty functional and the frustration minimal.

Now for my problem with this website.......it continues to cost me money . First the mount, then two software packages and a new GPS. Oh, well. I'm having fun so thanks much.

RAM Tough Tray II is a product that has just been released very recently. Some of the very first shipments didn't even include instructions on how to assemble the tray(!). I suspect the "missing" ball may be just another oversight on the part of RAM. But I don't know. I'm just glad you are still having fun buying software and hardware you read about here at Laptop GPS World.

__________________
Marvin

I want to use the GPS on the dash or windshield of our motorhome. Even the no-drill mounts might have to be suited a semi since the seat is similar. Without any mounts listed, the windshield suction cups or flat desktop will have to do for now.

In this application, laptop screens tend to washout rather easily. suggestions??
Jon

This is what I want to do with this tray to keep it out of the way of the gearshift and glove box. I used the light duty mount as the heavy duty one is far too large and clunky. It might need a second mount at the bottom as this one is not using enough screws. I would like to turn it a bit more but that is not an option in this mounting setup.

Terry

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