Camera Mount

The question I get from most people is about the camera mount/strange contraption they see on the dashboard of the Rover. It started as a simple camera mount I found on Ebay which attaches by the simple click of a lever to a small post attached to the seat mount. Thus the entire thing can be removed in literally two seconds for when we're not off road. Then of course it became a great place to mount all the electronic gadgets we only need when off road (Radios, nav system, video, SLR).

Top Mount:

This is a regular tripod head with a quick release. It can of course tilt, turn and so forth and you can adjust the friction of the movement. Normally this is where the Video Camera sits so there's a power hookup so it doesn't run on battery unless we unplug it to take it out of the car. It's quick to take it out and return it to the head thanks to the quick release. Every camera I have uses the same quick release mount so that I can put any camera on any tripod, mount or otherwise. There is also a video/audio cable which connects to the Monitor below so we can review videos on a bigger screen and also to see what the camera sees when it is tilted or turned to an angle which doesn't allow us to see the screen built into the video camera.

SLR Mount:

This is just a mounting spot for the SLR. Rather than let it tumble around the car, we can lock it in place on this arm so that we know where it is and know it's safe from bumping into anything. Since they use the same quick release, we can swap the SLR and Video at any time very quickly.

Video Monitor:

This monitor serves many purposes, it is a touch screen monitor connected to a computer in the back which is a NAV unit and has wireless internet so we can check email, use google earth, surf the web when in range, track ourselves to make sure the "Spot" unit is working or even watch a DVD. It is also a monitor for the video camera so we can review shots or see when the camera is looking off to the side. It is also the monitor for the wireless camera system which allows me to spot myself in tough situations or see under the truck on trails.

Wireless Camera:

There is a four channel wireless camera switcher connected to the monitor and I currently have two small wireless cameras. One sits at a 45 degree angle on the front bumper and allows me to see when coming over the top of a hill when the hood normally blocks my view. It's great to see if the trail makes a quick turn and/or to make sure there is a trail and not a drop off rather than trying to get out and leave the truck on a hill while I investigate. The cameras also have night vision so you can see over the crest even at night when the headlights are pointed up in the air.

Radios:

Keeping the radios charged and handy is always a drag, so I rewired the charger to operate on 12v and mounted it to an arm on the post. They easily swing out of the way if I need them to, but having both radios right there, always charging is great.

Quick release:

This is the key to the whole system, with the flip of a lever the entire system can be removed in seconds, a small bungee cord at the top acts as a dampner to the weight of the equipment to smooth out the video and allows the entire system to push back in the event the air bags did deploy.

Navigation System

On many trips, I find it very difficult to navigate off-road since most Navigation systems only show you the "official" trails. The system on the Range Rover has an Off road version which give you lots of great information, but it only knows the trails that have been mapped. That's fine since you shouldn't leave those trails, but I often find it hard to tell which is which when you cross an "unofficial" trail, or anything not shown on the mapping software. What I really need is a view from above like Google Earth. So, I set out to build my own navigation system.

I took an old laptop, put it on a shock mount in the back seat, attached a 7" touch screen monitor and bought a GPS receiver. I also got a great bluetooth mini-keyboard which is great in a car because you can use it when you need to input data but quickly stow it away when you don't need it.