Dashboard iPad holder

by Jules 132 Fri May 03, 2024 9:25 pm

The document holder in my Peugeot boxer base Dorset doesn’t lift up and I’m looking for something to hold my iPad on the dash so I can use it as a satnav. Has anyone got any recommendations please. There are so many on Amazon with good and bad reviews. I don’t want to just order one then find it drops to the floor when I’m driving as it can’t take the weight.
Many thanks Jules

by Cymro Fri May 03, 2024 11:26 pm

I have one called Anygrip.

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It has a sucker for the windscreen. But when the arms (s) are fully extended, such that the iPad is readable and, if necessary and safe to do so, adjustable - the holder can't take the weight and shakes too much.
Hence my interest in your thread.

So I bought a Garmin device for the motorhome, for which I made a secure base on the top of the dashboard. That works perfectly. But of course the Garmin's display is smaller than that of the iPad.

For the more modern car, which has a large display, I use Apple CarPlay, fed from an iPhone. OK in UK where I have a sufficient data allowance, but when we go overseas in the motorhome we use the Garmin.

Cymro

by Jules 132 Sat May 04, 2024 6:46 am

I’ve got an old small satnav too but much prefer a bigger screen like an iPad. Hopefully someone else will be along with a gadget that will work for the iPad soon. up!

by The Bargee Sat May 04, 2024 7:15 am

Are you sure your document holder does not lift up? I was told that mine didn’t, and I believed that after trying, albeit in timid fashion. Recently I tried again on the basis that I wanted to remove the whole thing anyway so it didn’t matter if I broke something. Mine did indeed open up given a firm upward pull with your thumbs or fingers under the actual document clip. See my recent post [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Having succeeded in opening it I assumed that by lifting the document clip I had triggered a mechanical catch, but I later realised that it is just a spring clip, albeit a stiff one, similar to a cabinet ball catch. Here is a photo of how I lifted the cover, and an image of the “catch” itself underneath the clipboard. My van is a 2019 Boxer so yours could be different and I accept no responsibility if you do break something but I have a spare clipboard here!

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Don’t be confused by the metalwork at bottom right of the first image: you are only seeing that because I had removed the radio first, which should of course not be necessary to just open the clipboard, if it opens…………

by Jules 132 Sat May 04, 2024 7:36 am

Many thanks for your speedy response. It lifted on my 2018 Elddis Autoquest 196 but now I have a 2013 Autosleeper Dorset and couldn’t lift it. It’s in the garage at the moment but will try again by lifting that actual clip bit first and see if that works.

by Caraman Sat May 04, 2024 7:40 am

I'm interested to know how the i-Pad compares to a conventional satnav?

I started off using the Boxer's integrated tom-tom, which isn't very good and there's no Appleplay, so then I used my i-phone+ supported in its case on the flip-up document holder on the Boxer's dash. This worked well but the screen was on the small side and in sunlight wasn't easy to see. I considered options like replacing my MacBook with an i-Pad supported in some way by the flip-up document holder and paired with my i-phone, as I didn't want to have another contract, but was unsure how effective it would be and it would have been costly. So I have splashed out instead on a tom-tom Camper Max (paid for with coupons!) with a 7" screen paired to my i-phone which is much easier to see. The tomtom comes with a suction mount but I didn't want it to go on the windscreen so bought one of these which I have stuck on top of the flip-up document holder:

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It is very secure but I'm not sure it would work for a larger i-Pad even if it had a suction mount.

by Jules 132 Sat May 04, 2024 7:50 am

I like using Google maps on the iPad as my satnav as it shows much more detail and you can see traffic spots in red plus can “street walk” if you want more details.

by Jules 132 Sat May 04, 2024 7:53 am

Also, when I took my previous Moho overseas I used CamperContact and some other apps so it was much easier to have everything on the iPad rather than using a separate satnav for one thing and iPad for another.

by Dave 418 Sat May 04, 2024 8:29 am

I bought one of the I pad holders from Amazon. It came with a circular disc to stick on the top of the dash. This gave me more choice of positioning the I pad within easy reach of the drivers seat.

by Jules 132 Sat May 04, 2024 9:17 am

Does it hold the weight of your iPad Dave and if so, can you post the link to the actual one you bought please?

by Dave 418 Sat May 04, 2024 10:14 am

Sorry Jules I cant remember exactly what make I bought but it looked the same as the one Cymro showed from Amazon. It did hold my i pad quite firmly but it did need the circular metal pad with the sticky back because the normal suction pad wouldnt take to the top of the dash on our Transit.
I didnt have much joy using the i pad for a sat nav and swapped back to a newer Garmin with a bigger screen. I now use the bracket to hold my i pad in the back of the van on one of the worktops.

by Jules 132 Sat May 04, 2024 10:45 am

Ah ok, thanks Dave.

by Caraman Sat May 04, 2024 11:28 am

Dave 418 - What were the disadvantages of the i-Pad for a satnav?

by Dave 418 Sat May 04, 2024 3:04 pm

I think my biggest problem was my lack of computer knowledge and my I pad not being set up correctly. I tried Google and Co Pilot with no success even with help from forum users.
Compared to my original 5” Garmi the I pad seemed clumsy and distracting. The replacement Garmin Drivesmart 76 is a 7” screen that is less distracting and more up to date.A personal issue but I find cables and gadgets in line of site annoying.

by RML Sat May 04, 2024 5:27 pm

In the raised clipboard I used a Samsung 10in tablet running Google maps, I split the screen to include a digital speedometer and my local radio in the background. This was alongside an ageing Garmin satnav. On the plus side Google maps gave better traffic info and a broader view of a map. This meant I could avoid the shortcuts often inflicted by the Garmin just to cut a corner off. On the downside the battery depleted as it couldn't charge quick enough from the usb socket on the dashboard. Of course a big data plan is essential to keep up with this.
Rich..

by Kemerton-bath Sat May 04, 2024 7:47 pm

I’m probably confused, it doesn’t take much, but hasn’t this subject been covered recently on another thread? On that one I posted a link to a video that shows how straightforward it is to swap out a non-lifting clipboard for a lifting version.

The lifting clipboard holds an iPad Mini securely and the screen is visible from both cab seats. From the above comments it would seem that alternative holding devices are not without their shortfalls, which is not the case with the clipboard. It’s almost as if it was designed for this size of device.

We’ve operated this way for several years using Google maps for navigation, which we invariably use in offline mode to minimise data usage, particularly when outside UK.

Recommend the OP buys a lift-up version of the clipboard on eBay and follows the video to fit it or pay someone else to do so.

Tim

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