I'm getting ready for our first trip this year in less than a month. One thing I did yesterday was install a dash holder for my iPad to use as a large screen GPS for the driver or for general use by the passenger. If you have a 2007 chassis or newer Mercedes Benz Sprinter this directly applies. Otherwise the ideas here are still valid.
I had a spare leather protective case for an iPad that I received from TD Ameritrade, my online broker, as some kind of appreciation gift that I found to be perfect for mounting to the dash of our Great West Van Sprinter Legend Class B RV. My original Apple brand case for the iPad 1 would work too but I plan to give my old iPad with the Apple case to our daughter and use the New iPad for a GPS in the spare case. The cases are sleeve cases with a flip over screen covers. That is a popular design and there could be other brands that would work just as well.
First, I bent the screen cover so it would lip over and form fit on the dash. Then I applied a couple of pieces of industrial strength velcro like so.
The dash has a tray above the radio. On the back side of the tray I applied the corresponding velcro strips which are invisible to view when inside the cab.
The iPad slips in from the top, rest flat with the dash and covers the radio. This shows the Tom Tom GPS app in the 2D view.
This is the more traditional 3D view one would normally use while driving.
You can lift the case to access the radio controls.
On the Sprinter dash there is an identical tray shape in front of the passenger over the glove box. I added velcro strips directly in front of the passenger seat so the iPad could be used in that position as well. All in all about a $5 investment in velcro was all I needed. The new iPad is thinner than the original iPad so slips in and out of the case with ease.
PS. To use an iPad as a GPS you need a cellular enabled version with the assisted GPS. A wifi only iPad will not work. In the case of the Tom Tom GPS I referenced you can use it without a cellular service. It has its own pre-loaded data and maps just like a typical standalone Tom Tom GPS. However, you do need the assisted GPS which only comes with cellular iPads. There is an alternative app called CoPilot that works very similar to the Tom Tom GPS which in turn is very similar to the Tom Tom and Garmin standalone units most B users are familiar with. But we are talking 10" screen here, bigger than standalone GPSes and built into the dash GPSes.
I had a spare leather protective case for an iPad that I received from TD Ameritrade, my online broker, as some kind of appreciation gift that I found to be perfect for mounting to the dash of our Great West Van Sprinter Legend Class B RV. My original Apple brand case for the iPad 1 would work too but I plan to give my old iPad with the Apple case to our daughter and use the New iPad for a GPS in the spare case. The cases are sleeve cases with a flip over screen covers. That is a popular design and there could be other brands that would work just as well.
First, I bent the screen cover so it would lip over and form fit on the dash. Then I applied a couple of pieces of industrial strength velcro like so.
The dash has a tray above the radio. On the back side of the tray I applied the corresponding velcro strips which are invisible to view when inside the cab.
The iPad slips in from the top, rest flat with the dash and covers the radio. This shows the Tom Tom GPS app in the 2D view.
This is the more traditional 3D view one would normally use while driving.
You can lift the case to access the radio controls.
On the Sprinter dash there is an identical tray shape in front of the passenger over the glove box. I added velcro strips directly in front of the passenger seat so the iPad could be used in that position as well. All in all about a $5 investment in velcro was all I needed. The new iPad is thinner than the original iPad so slips in and out of the case with ease.
PS. To use an iPad as a GPS you need a cellular enabled version with the assisted GPS. A wifi only iPad will not work. In the case of the Tom Tom GPS I referenced you can use it without a cellular service. It has its own pre-loaded data and maps just like a typical standalone Tom Tom GPS. However, you do need the assisted GPS which only comes with cellular iPads. There is an alternative app called CoPilot that works very similar to the Tom Tom GPS which in turn is very similar to the Tom Tom and Garmin standalone units most B users are familiar with. But we are talking 10" screen here, bigger than standalone GPSes and built into the dash GPSes.
