Did a search but ‘PC’ doesn’t yield results.
Has anyone made arrangements for installing a Mini PC in cab? Ideally I’d like a mouse and keyboard together with a screen somewhere as opposed to trying to handle file admin on a laptop. I’m a new driver so wondering also if a standalone battery might be required - particularly if I’d like the PC to remain on despite the keys having been pulled out the ignition.
If anyone’s done this I’d be interested to know what arrangement works well.
Thanks.
Intel NUCs are probably you’re best bet however as you say powering it is going to be the issue. A small 300W inverter would handle a NUC and a monitor.
Consider a laptop connected to an external TV/monitor, mouse & keyboard.
It will give you the flexibility of portability & comfort in use (with dual screen if required).
You can also charge it whilst driving & use its battery whilst parked.
You can have a 12 or 24V TV/monitor therefore there will be no requirement for an inverter.
If you do go the inverter route I recommend obtaining a pure sine wave inverter for electronics use.
Might I…
Suggest an all in one PC which is basically a laptop on a stick. I’ve been using one at home for years now, wireless keyboard and mouse so typing is easy and you get the view on a 21 inch screen. Plugs into an invertor but draws tiny amounts of juice. Easy to stow by just lying it down on the top bunk wrapped it a blanket.
edit goobledegook
Another option is a Raspberry Pi, takes no more charge to run it than a phone charger needs. As long as you’re happy with Linux (I love it!) you’re good to go
raspberrypi.org/
But what’s wrong with using a laptop with a separate KB/mouse?
Is this a computer that you already have, or one that you’re looking to buy?
And what are you going to be using it for? Other work, gaming, movies etc?
I’d suggest, as others already have, to use a laptop if possible.
Being a new starter, it is unlikely you will have your own allocated truck for a while, so you would probably need to keep taking it out when you finish, or take the risk of it being damaged or stolen if you were to leave it in the cab. (it could also be damaged in other ways, for example if they had to tip the cab during service or repairs)
When working and even on breaks or nights out, you are basically guaranteed to be parked nowhere near anywhere you could get a WiFi connection, so you would need your own mobile hotspot, which could end up getting expensive, whereas with a laptop you could take it into a services for example and connect to their free WiFi.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
great idea but some real disadvantages .
1 - if your using an inverter you’ll probably need a pure sine wave one = more expensive
2- mini PC’s are not designed to be in constant motion - the vibration however slight will wear out hard drives (unless solid state - more expense ) and cooling fans .
I did think about it a few times as I have a decent DSLR camera and would have liked to be able to download and store my pics onto a harddrive while out on the road with the ability to edit pics on a good sized calibrated screen but it was just to much bother and a good chance the hard drive would fail prematurely due to the extra vibration it would encounter .
How about a tablet?
I’ve seen some that have a detachable keyboard so they can be used like a laptop too.
Terry Cooksey:
Being a new starter, it is unlikely you will have your own allocated truck for a while, so you would probably need to keep taking it out when you finish,
I think it’s gonna come down to this you know. And that’s been in the back of my mind.
I don’t have a pc yet, no. But yes I was thinking along the lines of Intel NUC, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H or HP Elitedesk, but running Linux.
What I’ll be doing is running two sets of media files being pulled from external hard drives, running as big a screen as I can get away with and having the scope to work with file names where possible simultaneously. Browsing I would do with a phone or tablet but transferring links into a message client from one to the other would be handy but not essential… With sound running through into the cab’s audio system ideally.
Thanks for the tips on batteries etc everyone. I use Linux yes (despite there being no GOM - which in my experience has always been the best media player and nicer than VLC). Regardless of what happens initially I’ll remember to come back to this thread with an update on setup/plans.
Terry Cooksey:
Being a new starter, it is unlikely you will have your own allocated truck for a while, so you would probably need to keep taking it out when you finish,
I think it’s gonna come down to this you know. And that’s been in the back of my mind.
What I’ll be doing is running two sets of media files being pulled from external hard drives, running as big a screen as I can get away with and having the scope to work with file names where possible simultaneously. Browsing I would do with a phone or tablet but transferring links into a message client from one to the other would be handy but not essential… With sound running through into the cab’s audio system ideally.
Thanks for the tips on batteries etc everyone. I use Linux yes (despite there being no GOM - which in my experience has always been the best media player and nicer than VLC). Regardless of what happens initially I’ll remember to come back to this thread with an update on setup/plans.
Terry Cooksey:
Being a new starter, it is unlikely you will have your own allocated truck for a while, so you would probably need to keep taking it out when you finish,
I think it’s gonna come down to this you know. And that’s been in the back of my mind.
What I’ll be doing is running two sets of media files being pulled from external hard drives, running as big a screen as I can get away with and having the scope to work with file names where possible simultaneously. Browsing I would do with a phone or tablet but transferring links into a message client from one to the other would be handy but not essential… With sound running through into the cab’s audio system ideally.
Thanks for the tips on batteries etc everyone. I use Linux yes (despite there being no GOM - which in my experience has always been the best media player and nicer than VLC). Regardless of what happens initially I’ll remember to come back to this thread with an update on setup/plans.
@Admin - sorry about the treble post. Server crash or something. Feel free to delete this and previous two posts (first reply had edit)