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Custom Phone Mount for Larger Phones (iPhone 6+)

32K views 52 replies 25 participants last post by  Unstuck 16 
#1 ·


I was getting frustrated with the lack of a good place to keep my iPhone 6 Plus. It barely fit in the cup holders and let's face it... That's a premium piece of real estate when there's coffee involved. I tried keeping it up in the top cubby... But, it just slid around and I had to fumble for it when checking directions, etc.,

I then ordered the Daystar phone holder / top tray piece ($45 at my local truck accessories store). Three problems for us big-phone guys... The Daystar cradle doesn't expand to fit our hugeness... The center pivot point is too short making it impossible to go to a vertical mode... And, it pushes the phone back towards us so much that it makes the tray useless.

I decided that the above the tray location was perfect.

- It allows you to keep your eyes on the road while navigating or making / taking phone calls, etc.,

- It is close to the USB port out of the head-unit

- It allows you to make use of cool apps available for driving

So, here's what I came up with.



I bought a Steelie Car Mount Kit by Nite Ize. At first I thought I could just mount this to my dash somewhere and be happy. But, the contours of our dash or the textures done't allow for a good mounting location.

It's basically a giant steel bearing in a plastic cup with adhesive on the back. The other pieces is the magnet with a silicon center and shaped to the bearing... It adheres to your phone back (and no... It doesn't hurt the phone... I asked over and over). $35







I pulled some measurements from inside the upper dash tray back area... and had our local "forge" weld me up some one-inch flat bar in the shape of a "T". 7-inches wide... 4.25-inches tall. I had them attach three 10/32 studs to the back. $30





I then had it powder coated. $20



I didn't want my sunglasses to get scratched... So, I went to the local craft store and bough a sheet of neoprene rubber (1/8" thick)... $1





I used some spray adhesive to put the rubber on both the front and back of my horizontal bar. This was a bit of a pain and I probably should have found something with adhesive already on the back... But, hindsight is 20/20.

I also mounted the Steelie ball to my new bracket and let it sit overnight. You're supposed to let it cure for 24 hours... I think I made it to 18 hours.

I also attached the magnet to the back of my phone case at the same time... 18 hours curing.

Then it was the fun and excitement of pulling your upper dash face off. Basically 7mm bolts and a firm pull in the right places. I drilled holes in the back of the upper tray area to match my studs. I fastened my new bracket with 3/4-inch stainless steel washers and nylock nuts on the back of the tray area. Then, reinstalled the dash (10 minutes because I was being careful).

Here's the result...





Super easy to see the phone and any apps, maps, incoming calls, etc., at a glance.

Super easy to attache and detach the phone from the Steelie mount

Super easy to angle your screen right where you need it.

Just thought I'd share one way of solving the "Big-Phone" issue in our JK.
 
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#3 ·
Very nice, I just did something similar today using the Daystar mount, iMagnet holder and an extra Ram Mount support from my iPad holder. These new phones are just to heavy for traditional mounts.


 
#4 ·
Very nice, I just did something similar today using the Daystar mount, iMagnet holder and an extra Ram Mount support from my iPad holder. These new phones are just to heavy for traditional mounts.]
Cool mount! I like the cable running under the tray too. Can you pivot your phone with that mount? Or, is it pretty much stationary?
 
#14 ·
Interested.
 
#16 ·
i have the regular daystar tray mount and i can hold my samsung note 4 (same size as that iphone 6 plus) without any issues? the daystar uses an akron phone cradle and i just put in the larger set of arms... no issues for my phone and i did try it with the my friend's iphone too.
 
#22 ·
Maybe they sent me an earlier version... But, with what came in the Daystar kit... There was NO WAY the 6-Plus was going to fit without breaking something. And... IF I could have made it fit... The center-point of the ball joint makes it so I wouldn't be able to turn the phone in a vertical position... AND would make the tray pretty useless as it pretty much makes your device sit in the middle of the tray.

Are you saying you bought different arms in addition to your kit? Or, did they come with your kit?
 
#17 ·
I love this idea. I have been having issues with my suction cup mount and I was wondering what to do. On Wednesday I'm driving 6.5 hours each way for a 1 hour meeting in Texas so I decided to build a similar setup before that trip. I ordered the magnetic mount this morning on amazon prime and it's being overnighted to me $23). I went to home Depot at lunch and bought a metal T, bolts and a can of truck bed liner. The liner I needed anyway to touch up my rock sliders so excluding that cost, I've got right at $30 invested in this. I will bolt it to the dash tray where yours is. Even though mine is much more ghetto than yours, I think it will work perfect. Thanks for the idea OP, you just saved me wasting more money on another holder that probably wouldn't have worked!
 

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#18 ·
OP, well done! Great idea and well executed.
 
#23 ·
I just ordered the Pro Clip for my HTC One M8. You have to buy a mounting bracket separate from the actual phone holder. Then you need to add a universal phone holder if you use a case as the phone specific model seem to be unadjustable and will only fit the phone. $150 for all three pieces. Seems like it's going to be really solid and clean but I hate spending so much money on little things like this.
 
#24 ·
Throwing this out there, I'm using the "SCOSCHE MagicMount" that I bought on Amazon ($20). It's very minimalistic, yet plenty strong for my use. The mount itself is magnetic and they provide a slim metal plate that you place between your phone and your case.

I can speak to my iphone 5, and it holds very well.

Amazon.com: SCOSCHE MagicMount- Magnetic Dash Mount for Mobile devices - Car Mounts - Frustration-Free Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

I doubt it's as strong as your design, Steve G PW.
 
#28 ·
Throwing this out there, I'm using the "SCOSCHE MagicMount" that I bought on Amazon ($20). It's very minimalistic, yet plenty strong for my use.
I doubt it's as strong as your design, Steve G PW.
Very cool. I saw one of these at BestBuy after I finished mine. It even has the adjustment ball. Where did you end up mounting it?

does your phone shake when driving on the roads? I have one that I put in my cd slot and it shakes too much but that's probably because the roads in Northern NJ are very bad.
No. Shaking is equal to how much your dash is shaking. Very minimal. I can easily read incoming messages, phone numbers, etc.,

The phone stays where you put it. The only exception to that is when you plug-in a USB power cable with stiff coils (mine is new). It pulls the phone down on the right side. I'm sure this will go away once the cable gets broken in.
 
#31 ·
Hey guys... It was brought to my attention that I would be crossing the lines regarding commercial interest and the forum rules if I coordinate the making of these things.
So.. Apologies to my fellow jeepers and those interested in this mount.

Here's the dimensions and material list so you can facilitate having your very own made:

- 1-inch flat bar 1/8" thick. You'll need 12"
- cut two pieces of flat bar. One at 7-inches and one at 3.25-inches (you can go to 3.5-inches if you wish your phone to up out of the tray a bit more)
- create a 1-inch radius on one end of your short piece.
- center the shorter piece on the longer piece to form the "T"... Weld it in place and grind smooth
- have your welder add 3- 10/32 studs to the long section of the T (like you see in the pictures above).
- buy 3 lock-nuts and 3- washers (3/4") that you will use to fasten the holder to your tray
- ease any sharp corners
- take it to a powder-coating company and choose your favorite color and finish
- buy a sheet of adhesive backed rubber foam at your local hobby / craft store. Hobby Lobby sells them with adhesive. I chose flat black for mine and I opted for non-adhesive backed material that I applied with spray-on adhesive. I wish I had just got the pre-sticky stuff instead.
- I applied the rubber to both the front and the back. Grip and gasket for the back... no-scratch sunglasses for the front :)
- removing the dash piece is easy. Look anywhere in this forum to find out how.
- carefully mark out where you'll drill the three holes for your mount. I made a paper template and marked /drilled mine from behind. I was careful to make sure the mount was low enough that it didn't sit on the upper curve of the top tray. You'll see once you test fit your bracket.
- IF you go with the Steelie... be sure to give it some time to cure. I allowed 18 hours of the suggested 24. Mine works great. No issues at all.
Good luck :)
 
#38 ·
Congrats to the OP for his design. Not to steal his thunder...I myself, went with the Outback Engineering design. had him add the ram universal holder (pt.# Ram-HOL-UN7BU) to the order. So far I dig it. no problems at all. granted it's only been in for 24hrs. Gonna use the other ball to mount other stuff later. The holder fits the I6+ great.





 
#44 ·
That's too bad they won't let you sell them. That is a slick design. I bought the phone holder that you used. Bought a T bracket at Home Depot that almost fits the dimensions of the one you made, sprayed it in beadliner and and ran 4 phillips head bolts through the plastic tray. It works like a charm and I have less than $30 in the whole thing.
 
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