I run a program called Centrafuse in my truck on my laptop. The laptop is connected to a 7" touch-screen, which is perfect for driving use. When I need to actually use the computer for things that are a tad too small for my aging eyes, I use the laptop's screen (when parked).

Anyway, the heart of my system is Centrafuse. It's a front-end program that will do a multitude of tasks. It has built-in support for playing music (mp3 or cd), can do video (which is of no use to me), can record video (tempted with this), can control an XM receiver (I use an XM PCR), can browse the web, etc. It can also connect to your cell phone via bluetooth to make incoming & outgoing calls (I haven't used this - I like my Plantronics earbud better).

There are also a number of plug-ins available for Centrafuse. You can also embed almost any other application into Centrafuse. A couple of programs I have embedded to run "inside" of Centrafuse are Drivers Daily Log and Streets & Trips. A couple of really cool plugins I use are for Weather (which shows me the weather at home as well as for my current location) and a plugin to run Garmin Mobile PC (GPS navigation program). I definitely say if you buy Centrafuse, don't bother with the navigation option they offer - it's absolute garbage. I also use a plugin that will save my current location information (longitude & latitude) to a text file. I can then import this file into most GPS programs to see EXACTLY where one of my stops is located to call it back up at another time in about 2 seconds. This is really useful when the street address is nowhere near where the physical location.

I also saw a new plugin today on the Centrafuse site that will allow the computer to control a Uniden BCTB scanner. It'll play the audio through the trucks speakers if you connect your computers audio to the truck stereo. If I was into scanners, that'd be a really cool addon to have.

I used to have a wired keyboard with a touchpad on it in the truck. The keyboard I had then was roughly the same size as what you'd find on a 15" laptop. This morning I ordered a new keyboard for the truck, which is a standard sized, ergonomic style. It's also wireless and has a touchpad built into it, as well as shortcut keys for the web, email, music and such.

I also "tried" using an HP Slimline PC in the truck. It worked great - for about 1 day, until I hit a pothole which jarred the PC enough to destroy the hard drive. I'm going to eventually replace the standard PC drive in that computer with a laptop drive, which is much more rugged. I can actually get a drive adapter that will allow me to hook up 2 hard drives in the same physical space that the original drive used. Once I do that, I'll take my 21" monitor from home and put it back into the truck's sleeper. Using the larger monitor is soooo much better for watching TV, movies, playing games, etc. I used a VGA splitter to connect the 7" & the 21" monitors to the single video output on the computer, to make it easier to use.

The way my current system is setup, I can run the entire thing off of a 150 watt inverter. The touchscreen has a 12v cig light plug on it. The XM receiver only pulls about 1 watt, and the laptop pulls about 70 watts. With the larger monitor, you'll need a larger inverter of course - I'd recommend at least 800 watts for the entire system. I've got a 1,500watt in the truck, so power isn't a problem.

I have 2 usb hubs in the truck connected as follows:If anyone has any questions or comments about my setup in the truck, feel free to post them here or via PM. I've been getting my system to where I want it for a few years now. It's taken a lot of trial and error (especially the standard computer), but what I have now has definitely made life on the road much better. I can not only use it while driving (GPS) and for work (internet lookup, weather, logs, etc), but also for entertainment at the end of the day (movies copied to the hard drive, TV (with a tv tuner), games, etc).

Anyway, here are links to some of the stuff I mentioned:

• Centrafuse - Front end software
• Garmin Mobile PC - GPS navigation software
• Uniden BCTB Scanner - Computer controlled scanner
• Uniden BCTB Scanner Plugin - Centrafuse plugin for scanner
• Garmin plugin - Centrafuse plugin for Garmin Mobile PC
• Save Location plugin - Centrafuse plugin to save your current location information into a text file
• Lilliput 7" touchscreen - Touchscreen for use while driving
• XM PCR - Computer controlled XM tuner
• Adesso Wireless Keyboard (ergonomic style) - Wireless keyboard & touchpad
• Adesso Wired Keyboard - Keyboard/Touchpad I used to use
• Adesso Wireless Keyboard (same as the wired) - Wireless version of the one I used to use
• VGA splitter - Allow to monitors to be connected to the computer
• 15' VGA extension cable - Used to connect from the touchscreen to the computer mounted in the sleeper
• 16' Active USB extension cable - Used to connect the front USB hub to the rear USB hub

 

Sounds like a slick set up. I'm no longer driving but I enjoy hearing about the tech aspect of driving.

One possible concern I'd have, and this only depends on the brand of the inverter, is that some of the inverters have plastic plugs and leaving it plugged in for long periods of time may the plug up which causes it to turn brittle and eventually start to melt. I bought a metal replacement plug for my Cobra inverter at a Pilot and replaced the plastic one and never had another problem

 

I've got a few plugin inverters (400w, 2 150's and a 75). All of these have a plastic plugin, but I never had any problems with them. I also never came close to truly "loading" the inverter.

 

Why are you not driving any more???

 

Yes - I am a pilot - a road pilot. Why do I need it? To make things better for me on the road.

As far as how much it cost to do, I'm not sure. But, every bit of it is tax deductible because it's used for work. I've changed things so much over the past couple years I honestly don't know how much is invested in it.

Edit: It's funny when people say I don't need this in my truck. No, I don't need it technically, but why not do something to make my job easier? If a contractor is building a house, he could do it with a handsaw and a hammer. Do people say that the contractor is stupid for buying a power saw and a nail gun? If a farmer can do the job with a team of horses and a manual combine do they complain when they buy a modern one? How about your truck? Do you have power steering? Air conditioning? A heater? Windows? Rubber wheels? Why? The original trucks from the early 1900's with none of those "addons" are necessary? Do you have a cell-phone? Why? Truckstops & rest areas have pay phones in them.

 

so I'm taking it you found mp3car.com? lol i used to be a member a few years ago, and had various setups in my cars... gave that hobby up for financial reasons, but may be back soon to deck out my truck if i decide to keep it longer term... welcome to the moneypit of a hobby. lol

 

I started out on mp3car.com. Now i just frequent the centrafuse forums and a forum dedicated to people that run gps on their laptops.

I did find something cool yesterday that I will probably start working on soon. Basically, I'll mount a webcam on the dash. I'll run a program that will that a photo (not video) every 30 minutes or so. That photo will then automatically upload to a webserver so people can see the images from the road.

 

Damn Malaki...you got me thinking that maybe it's time to upgrade that old 8track player I got in my old '64 Ford pickup.... ;>)

 

I use a dash mounted web cam to record video to my laptop.
Whats centrafuse for?