I have to disagree with you here, TF. I have a laptop stand in front of my passenger seat for my laptop/GPS. Looking over at it is no different than looking at my passenger side mirror.

If you want to complain about that, then you have to complain about radios, CB's, satellites, mirrors, phones, qualcomms, dash gauges, shifters, seat adjustments, maps, other traffic, the sun, food, drinks, passengers, etc, etc, etc. There are plenty of available distractions to rail against. Take your pick.

 

I can complain about a lot and truth be told, I honestly don't know where you draw the line. I'm not opposed to GPS systems (laptop setups included for that) or hand's free headsets. But dashcams and side-mounted flat screens I would have to say are way over the line. Anything in between? I don't know.

But what I do know is that in the end, it's going to depend on what a judge and/or jury says in the event of a distraction accident. Our friend from a couple weeks ago would be doing jailtime had his accident resulted in a fatality, even though he wasn't fiddling with his dashcam at the time. A trial would have been all about that, period. I guess it's up to the individual person. I've been on the inside for 6 1/2 years...believe me when I say that if you've got any kind of distraction going, it'll be a crown jewel in any accident case against you...even if it's only a GPS or hands-free set.

Welcome to Sue America.... :x

 

What is the difference between a laptop and a side mounted monitor, other than one is physically attached to the keyboard? When my screen on my laptop died about a year or so ago, I replaced it with a monitor. It was still a laptop. Was I okay? :wink:

I won't disagree with that, but if someone really wants to go after it, there are plenty of "distractions" in the cab of a truck that one could claim. Heck - if you had written directions on a piece of paper, that could even be considered a distraction....

I guess my point is that it comes down more to the individual than the distraction. These things are tools, and if used properly, can help you. If used improperly, they can harm you. That goes for anything as simple as a CB radio to a complex computer system.

 

besides the space issue and power issues, do you really want to have all that hot air blowing around? it may feel great during the winter, but in the summer, do you really?

 

Or Alice in the passenger seat. :lol:

 

:shock:

No, Alice would be in the back, preparing some steaks that she got from Sam the Butcher.

 

I am planning to build a mini itx tower for my truck(f350) for recreational use.
3.8ghz quad core amd processor, 4gb of ram, 1tb HD, dual sound cards(computer will double as a dj computer), and all of thise for around $400, computer will go in center console(oak upgrade from centurion vehicles), I will be searching for a 7" lcd(possibly touch screen) for the front as i may get a usb gps reciever, then something like a 10" to replace the crt in the center console for movies while sleeping in the back, then i have a 19" for movies in the bed while camping. wireless mouse and considering a rollup silicone keyboard, only downfall is that it is wired.

also pickingup a raspberry pi model b to fool around with and may install for movies (what do i have to lose for $35?)

what do you guys think?
im also installing an rv coach power system but i dont think this is the proper thread
eric

 

I built this system a year ago. For the monitor I use a 15 inch naxa I bought at a Loves. It'sfed from the HDMI on the integrated graphics. The case is about half the size of a shoe box. The SSD has no moving parts and the entire thing stays cool while inside the cabinet.


Asus M4A88T-I DELUXE Socket AM3/ AMD 880G/ USB3.0/ Hybrid CrossFireX/ A&V&GbE/ Mini-ITX Motherboard

MI-008 Tower Black P4 Chassis with 250W Itx Psu+sata Power Supply

AMD Sempron 145 Processor (SDX145HBGMBOX)

Corsair 4 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9

LG UH12LS28K LightScribe 12x SATA Blu-Ray Combo Internal Drive, Bulk (Black)

Intel 320 Series 120 GB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive

 

laptop hard drives are mounted in a way so they can stand a lot of shock and vibration, whereas desktops are not, if you use a desktop, I would turn it off while the truck is moving to prevent ruining the hard drive

 

I do not think this is a good idea to place a desktop computer on your truck, but again it depends on the size of your desktop computers as there are many new models of portable sizes. You need to see if it fits in the available place, then it is good, else it is better not to have them.