These days with the poliferation of the various monitors, there is simply no room for them. You might have a GPS, Backup Camera, TPMS, Smart Phone, and several other devices... some with big 7" screens. Where do you put all of this stuff?

The solution I came up with is to build a custom insert for my truck's center console tray. My vehicle is a 2016 GMC 2500HD, but I think other brands and models may have similar consoles. The console should fit late model GM (GMC and Silverado) pickups with the bucket seat option, however I have not checked the 1500 series trucks to see if their consoles are the same.

To build the console, you will need a few tools; ideally a table saw as I can not imagine cutting the acrylic without one. Also, you will want a set of drill bits for acrylic as standard drill bits will crack the plastic.

Materials I used included Acrylic, Starboard (Marine grade construction plastic), and a bit of plywood and some hardware. None of the materials are hard to get, but perhaps the Acrylic and Starboard might best be mail-ordered. A good substitute for Starboard is that plastic that Adarondac chairs seems to be made from these days.

I constructed the base out of 3/16 Acrylic. Any material can be used, but this is what I had handy. If you are going to use acrylic, be sure you use drill bits especially made for Acrylic or you will crack the holes. Also, if you don't have a table saw, special Acrylic jig saw blades are also available. Polish the edges of the Acrylic with 400grit wet/dry sandpaper until smooth.

The hole marked "X" is for the mounting of a monitor. You may want to move the location of this hole depending on your requriements (or at least hold off on drilling the hole until later).

The base top is constructed in the same manner as the base bottom. Like the base bottom, the holes marked "X" are the locations of the various arms and brackets for the monitors.

I used 1/2" black starboard for the sides as that is what I had handy. However, any material 1/2" thick or so that will accept screws will work. Use what you have. For the 1/4" plywood, if you use a different thickness, be aware that you might have to shim the rubber pad (see assembly drawing below).

Also, use flat-head screws here so you don't mar the underside of the console. Finaly, I glued a strip of lightweight felt to the bottom of the plywood, as it rests on the console.

Assembly is done with standard hardware store items. The standoffs are actually two 1" nylon standoffs, one set on top of another as I could not find any 2" standoffs. SMS = Sheet Metal Screws. FHSMS = Flat Head Sheet Metal Screws.

I found I needed to glue a rubber pad on the underside of the front of the lower Acrylic base to keep it from rocking back and forth. You will likely have to do some type of fitting.

I installed two RAM-B-337U Ball mounts at the locations shown, with 1/4-20 bolts. Locktite the bolts after securely tightnening them. Likewise, I attached the Camera Swivel mount with a 1/4-20 bolt. The Cell Phone mount attaches to the top of the Camera mount.

At this point, determine what RAM arms you want, and assemble with a RAM-B-202-339U magnetic base. The RAM arms I used were a RAP-B-200-2U (right hand side), and a RAP-B-200-12U (left hand side). There are literally dozens of RAM arms available in different sizes, prices, and configurations. Depending on your monitors, you may wish to use different parts. A good source is the RAM Components Index. Be sure you look for components that fit the 1" "B" size balls.

It's hard to predict where the strongest signal will be in the cab of the truck. At microwave frequencies (900Mhz and above), some weird JuJu is happening. First, signals tend to be polarized in the vertical and horizontal plane. In other words, if you have one antenna oriented vertically, and the other antenna oriented horizontally, you will not receive as strong a signal as if they were oriented the same.

Consider a 30ft path length. The first Freznel Zone would occur when the path length becomes 30ft-2.4", which is the distance the signal must travel to arrive at the receiver 180deg out of phase. This results in the diameter of the first Freznel Zone being 40" at the center.

The second Freznel Zone would occur with a path length of 30ft-4.8" when again, the signal is in phase. It would have a diameter of 60" at the center. For the third Freznel Zone, the center diameter would be 100".

With a 40" diameter of the First Freznel zone, it is small enough to become a significant factor in Obstacle Gain Diffraction.

Next, and this is really in the abstract, a phenomenon called Obstacle Gain Diffraction results in bending of the signal around obstructions. Things like the frame of the RV, pin box, and rear window frame of the truck all present obstacles, and a microwave signal not only diffracts (bends) around these objects, it can also increase the signal strength due to reducing the effect of the first Freznel Zone; which is where the term Obstacle Gain Diffraction comes from (hint: don't refer to the WikiPedia article on Freznel Zone - it is full of errors).

So now you know as much as I do about Obstacle Gain Diffraction.

For these reasons, it is unpredictable where the best signal will be in the cab. And to complicate things even more, each time you go around a curve, you are introducing or moving the objects that diffract the signal.

So my best advice... move the receiver around and see where the strongest signal is at.