Custom dash tray mod with dimensions

[Darek661]

So I've seen some of you guys have added Ram Ball mounts or drilled holes into your dash tray to make mounts for devices and I liked a lot of the ideas you guys had. I didn't see that anyone that had done a suction cup mounting solution so I figured I'd make my own and document along the way.

My goal is to have the entire tray ale to hold suction cups or other types of mounts, in any spot throughout the tray. Because of the little riser strips in the tray from the factory, suction cups just wont conform around them and stick and the tray itself isn't really thick enough to hold any kind of weight as securely as I want it to. I didn't want to use magnets as my truck will be used primarily as a drag/autocross truck as well as it being my daily driver, so I just don't think magnets will hold up to launches and cornering without something flying off and breaking. I currently have an SCT BDX Rev-X tuner that I use for pass-thru datalogging, as well as an 8in Dell Venue Pro 8 tablet running Windows 10 as my datalogging device.

For the past month or so, I've been using my laptop or tablet to log runs and tune, but its inconvenient as hell to have the tablet or laptop sitting on my passenger seat sliding around. Inevitably, they are going to slide off the seat and destroy the device, crack the screen, or break one or more of the ports and to me, this just isn't something I'm ok with. So, I've set out to over engineer the hell out of a dash mounting system that with meet all of my wants for how to securely hold my devices so that they are both safe from damage and within my peripheral vision, that way I don't have to keep looking over at my passenger seat to see whats going on with my truck.

Sorry for the long winded intro but I figured it necessary to explain exactly what I'm setting out to create. So I've drawn the bottom of the tray in CAD and taken all of the dimensions for you guys if you are interested. I currently have the PolyCarbonate on my CNC Mill cutting out the profile so I'll update as I go along. Let me know what you guys think!

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[Darek661]

All done! Now I just have to fish the OBD II Cable from up under the dash and reinstall the tray. I'm very pleased with how it turned out! I'll post some more pictures of it when I reinstall it after work today.

 

[Darek661]

More pictures

 

[Polar Bear]

I love engineers!

 

[Darek661]

I love engineers!

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing!! Now I just need to get a mount with a longer arm and more knuckles.

 

[Msfitoy]

Nice work but....I'm a full on commitment kinda guy and I LOVE TO DRILL HOLES...as long as it's for a good cause

 

[Rviator]

Mine works as a tortilla warmer. Nothing much I want to leave in there. I think it should have a lid similar to what was in my 2014 Jeep Cherokee, it was about the same size.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Mine works as a tortilla warmer. Nothing much I want to leave in there. I think it should have a lid similar to what was in my 2014 Jeep Cherokee, it was about the same size.

Hi Doug,

Hopefully you are headed to the Grill and Bar. Never noticed that my tray was that warm, but for the most part...this is never used for anything more than a temp place for our mail from our mailbox at the UPS store..

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Anthony]

OK, that is cool.

 

[Darek661]

By the way, what a massive pain in the ASS it is getting the wire from the dash tray down to the driver's side footwell!!

 

[AzScorpion]

Mine works as a tortilla warmer. Nothing much I want to leave in there. I think it should have a lid similar to what was in my 2014 Jeep Cherokee, it was about the same size.

That's a good idea. It's so hot here in the summer I can just put my lunch in their raw when I get to work and it'll be fully cooked by noon.

 

[deeve]

Thats a great idea. I thought for a hot minute that I would put a wireless charger up there but then realized the heat from the sun plus charging would overheat it the phone. That is a very good solution. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Wayne Kubeck]

I'm still thinking gauge pod like the BOSS 302....

 

[swampchomp07]

I wonder if you could negate the need for fasteners if you poured enough resin in the tray to make the bottom flat. Using resin to create these large live edge wood slab tables has been very popular and I assume if it's strong enough to hold something that large together then it should bond with the plastic tray...and it would have virtually endless color options. Once it's poured and set, you would just drill one hole straight through the resin and plastic to run cables like the OP did here.

Wheels are turning.

 

[Darek661]

I wonder if you could negate the need for fasteners if you poured enough resin in the tray to make the bottom flat. Using resin to create these large live edge wood slab tables has been very popular and I assume if it's strong enough to hold something that large together then it should bond with the plastic tray...and it would have virtually endless color options. Once it's poured and set, you would just drill one hole straight through the resin and plastic to run cables like the OP did here.

Wheels are turning.

Great minds think alike! That wasis indeed a fantastic idea and actually the first thing I thought of doing to get a smooth surface and full fill of the bottom of the tray. What stopped me from doing this was the adhesion of resin isn't usually the greatest when used on a smooth surface, so I would have had to put studs in as anchor points to keep the resin in place, basically making exactly the same thing I made only without having the small gaps around it.

That said, I had a CNC Mill, 3/8 Polycarbonate, and free time to draw it all up and mill the sheet. I figured that this was faster for instant use than waiting for resin to dry after placing studs. I was impatient haha.

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