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.