How I built a Laptop Notebook Computer Tray for my Toyota Tacoma Pickup

A trip to the local mega homecenter store was necessary to pick up the parts I'd need to build the tray. I needed two 90 degree elbows, a coupler, some sort of flange, a short length of 2 inch pipe to cut up to make connecting pieces, nuts and bolts. I also bought some fresh PVC pipe glue. I already had some scrap plywood on hand to build the tray. I couldn't find a flange. All the flanges were for 3 inch and larger pipe. But I did find a drain fitting that would work just as well. I just had to remove the metal grate on top of it and drill some holes around the edge of it for the bolts that would hold the tray top on. Total cost for all these parts was less than $15 so far. Not bad.

I drilled holes in the PVC drain fitting to match the the holes in the plywood.

Next I test-fitted the arm in the cup-holder. It fit great, and it looked like I had just the right clearance.

This photo (click for a bigger version) shows the painted laptop tray installed in the truck. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the paint job is a good match for the interior color. The pipe still looks white in the photos. Probably over-exposed by the camera flash. You can also see in this photo the two strips of adhesive-backed Velcro I put down on the top of the tray. A couple of matching strips were stuck to the bottom of my laptop. The Velcro holds the laptop in place with an iron grip. However, I can remove the laptop fairly easily by prying up on one corner of it.

I love my Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. It is the perfect vehicle for me. I do a lot of traveling in it. I also go to a lot of estate sales and auctions in it. There's lots of cargo room in the back for the stuff I buy, and with the topper in the bed, I can even camp in the truck. I usually carry a laptop computer with me when I travel to keep in touch, and to check what things are worth before buying them at estate sales, yard sales or bidding in auctions. I have a broadband access card for the laptop, so I can get online from anywhere. I've always wanted a built-in laptop / notebook computer tray for my truck. The commercially made units are pricey though. Several models I have looked at cost close to $300. Ouch! I suppose I could make one like the commercially made units, but they are made of metal, and I'm not much of a metal-worker. The commercially made units also bolt to the floor and take time and tools to install and remove. I always thought there had to be a better way. One day I had a brainstorm. I figured out a quick and easy way to build a laptop tray for my Tacoma that cost a little over $30! That's 1/10 of what the commercially made units cost! And it only took me an afternoon to build it.

The 2 inch PVC coupler is an almost exact fit into the top of the cup-holder. However, the cup-holder must have a slight taper to it, because the coupler would jam part-way down. So I got out my sander and sanded down the outside of the coupler until it would slip all the way down to the bottom of the cup-holder. I left it a snug fit though. I didn't want it too loose.

Once the plywood tray top was bolted onto the PVC drain fitting, I could test assemble the whole unit and try it out in the truck.

I drew up my idea. It looked good, but I needed to know what size PVC pipe to use. I measured the inside diameter of the cup-holder and found that it is almost exactly the same size as the outside diameter of a 2 inch PVC pipe coupler. So the tray would be made of 2 inch PVC pipe and fittings.

And before you all start writing me and saying how unsafe it is to use the computer while driving, don't panic. I don't use it while driving. I use it while stopped, usually at sales. It's a lot more convenient than trying to balance it on my lap or the armrest.

I was sitting in my truck, thinking about how to mount a laptop tray on the cheap, when I noticed the cup-holder in the center of the console. I thought there ought to be some way to utilize that cup-holder to anchor a tray. I don't really use that cup-holder. I use the ones in the front of the console. The one in the center tends to just be a catch-all for spare change and miscellaneous junk. I'd never miss it. I got to thinking that a piece of PVC pipe might fit tightly in there, and could be the base for some sort of tray made from PVC pipe fittings.

This photo (click for a bigger version) shows the tray being tested in the truck. It works well and looks great. The PVC pieces aren't glued together yet at this point. I wanted to make sure the arm was just right with a full scale test first. Even just fit together dry, the friction of the PVC pieces held the weight of the laptop just fine. I was very happy with the position of the laptop. So I glued the PVC pieces together. I like the way the tray will just pull right out when not needed or if I have a passenger. No tools needed. Due to the snug fit of the coupler in the cup-holder, the weight of the laptop locks the tray in place. But if I lift up on the tray a little, I can swivel it around to different positions. It locks again when I let go of it. An unexpected bonus.

I needed to measure up the dimensions of my laptop to know how large to make the plywood tray. My laptop is 11 inches deep by 13 inches wide. I also wanted to measure the position of the cooling fan, so I could cut a hole in the tray for air flow.

Next I cut up the length of PVC pipe to make the short pieces I'd need to connect the parts together. I cut 2 pieces at 2 inches long, and one piece at 3 inches long to go in the middle of the arm (see drawing above). These measurements are pretty arbitrary, but I didn't want to cantilever the laptop out any further than I had to. I just wanted it to clear the shift lever and armrest.

Once I had all the pieces of the arm cut, I dry-fitted the parts together to see how it looked. I also removed the metal grate from the top of the drain fitting.

I cut a piece of 1/4 inch thick plywood to 11 by 13. I rounded off all the corners. I also drilled and countersunk mounting holes, and drilled out a hole where the laptop cooling fan will be for improved air-flow. I forgot that I had the laptop upside-down when I measured the position of the cooling fan intake. I almost drilled the air hole on the wrong side of the board (as can be seen by the circle drawn on the upper left). It wouldn't have mattered much, since I could have always flipped the board over, but I wanted the best looking side up.

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