Tablet for Garage Use

Over the past year one of the tools I find really useful whenever I'm working in the garage is a tablet. I've often used my iPad and occasionally even my Galaxy S2 to reference FSMs, PDF files, and even forums w/ threads that have information relevant to the work I'm doing. I find it works a lot better than printing since you can have a whole lot more depth in the info you need.

One main difficulty I'm having w/ using my iPad is having to keep it clean. I often wear gloves and/or keep it in a location away from the work where it won't get dirty and/or damaged. It would be far more useful to be able to use it w/o having to take the added time and precautions of keeping it clean. There are a lot of tablets out there, mostly tablet PCs that are ruggedized to be used under shop conditions, but they start at around $1k and up which is more than I'd like to spend. I'm not concerned about dropping it, having it subjected to impact, getting it wet or being subjected to excessive heat. My main concern is touching it when my hands have touched brake fluid or using it after my hands have dirt or metal grindings on them. A screen protector would be good, but how's that stand up to gasoline or brake fluid?

I'm sure that I'm not the only one that uses a tablet in the garage. What are some of the other solutions that people have used? Is there an affordable tablet (preferably an Android) ~$500 that is made for work in the garage? Something that you could get dirty and just wipe it clean when you're done? Is there a simple solution like some kind of bag that you can put over the tablet so you can get it dirty and still be able to use it?

There are sleeves or bags you can put your iPad in. You may want to try one or more before deciding on a specialized device.

http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Sleeve-iPad-25-pack/dp/B004WI1SBG/ref=pd_sim_k_2

I'd forego the tablet and just go with a regular computer. You won't need an expensive one, and you don't have to worry about touching the screen with dirty hands. Use a monitor big enough to see from a ways away. The mouse and keyboard can be easily replaced when they get too grimy...and there are products for protecting them both in garage environments.

someone i know had those static cling screen protectors. expensive, yes since they are disposable but allows you to protect the screen and keep it clean. when the screen protector gets too dirty, just toss it and put on another one.

i emailed my sister since she is how i know him to ask him. they work together and he is a Ford Mechanic and states they work pretty good

I have a computer in my garage. The monitor is wall-mounted behind my main workbench and the keyboard can be moved out of the way when not using it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be looking into the iPad bag, a bit pricey though at $20 a pop. I also need to know if it could stand up to brake fluid or at the very minimum alcohols. As for the "shop-puter" idea, I already have one. I've get a keyboard protector and cling wrap the mouse. I use the iPad when I'm working on the project to have it there w/ me whether I'm in another part of the garage, the shed, or in or under the car. One of my hangups w/ the iPad is that it won't allow certain Flash video to play, I find myself occasionally using a Flash video for reference, hence one of my preference for an Android.

Drivesolo said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be looking into the iPad bag, a bit pricey though at $20 a pop. I also need to know if it could stand up to brake fluid or at the very minimum alcohols. As for the "shop-puter" idea, I already have one. I've get a keyboard protector and cling wrap the mouse. I use the iPad when I'm working on the project to have it there w/ me whether I'm in another part of the garage, the shed, or in or under the car. One of my hangups w/ the iPad is that it won't allow certain Flash video to play, I find myself occasionally using a Flash video for reference, hence one of my preference for an Android.

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Have you tried shrink wrap? I've done that to my phone a few times when I was using it in the snow. I don't know how it stands up to chemicals but I think an iPad should still be usable if wrapped.

how about a gallon size Zip-Lock bag?

Drivesolo said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be looking into the iPad bag, a bit pricey though at $20 a pop. I also need to know if it could stand up to brake fluid or at the very minimum alcohols. As for the "shop-puter" idea, I already have one. I've get a keyboard protector and cling wrap the mouse. I use the iPad when I'm working on the project to have it there w/ me whether I'm in another part of the garage, the shed, or in or under the car. One of my hangups w/ the iPad is that it won't allow certain Flash video to play, I find myself occasionally using a Flash video for reference, hence one of my preference for an Android.

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You should be able to find a workable solution for less than $20 a pop. The type I linked to was $20 for 25 protectors (though they are marketed towards garage use), and there are other options as well.

Drivesolo said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be looking into the iPad bag, a bit pricey though at $20 a pop. I also need to know if it could stand up to brake fluid or at the very minimum alcohols. As for the "shop-puter" idea, I already have one. I've get a keyboard protector and cling wrap the mouse. I use the iPad when I'm working on the project to have it there w/ me whether I'm in another part of the garage, the shed, or in or under the car. One of my hangups w/ the iPad is that it won't allow certain Flash video to play, I find myself occasionally using a Flash video for reference, hence one of my preference for an Android.

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at less than a buck a pop, i thought it was a great deal

I, too, was thinking a suitable sized zip-lock type plastic
"bag" might work. I will test my Vizio tablet.

Drivesolo said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be looking into the iPad bag, a bit pricey though at $20 a pop. I also need to know if it could stand up to brake fluid or at the very minimum alcohols. As for the "shop-puter" idea, I already have one. I've get a keyboard protector and cling wrap the mouse. I use the iPad when I'm working on the project to have it there w/ me whether I'm in another part of the garage, the shed, or in or under the car. One of my hangups w/ the iPad is that it won't allow certain Flash video to play, I find myself occasionally using a Flash video for reference, hence one of my preference for an Android.

Click to expand...

Have you tried the app "Photon" to play flash video?

Works on my iPad2.

A tablet is smaller and lighter, so while I would still want to secure it, it'd be easier to secure than a keyboard or a laptop.

Unfortunately, "touch"-anything does not work for me in the garage. I find using even a touchpad too fiddly to deal with while working on a car, never mind an input-via-screen-touch-only device like a tablet. Not only that, since I wear gloves, it's a extra hassle to have to take them off to use a touch-sensitive device.

By using only key presses to navigate, I don't need my ThinkPad's touchpad nor a mouse. Additionally, I stage all the documentation/information I need beforehand in, say, Firefox, in multiple tabs, so the only keys I need to touch are "control" and "Page Up" and "Page Down", to navigate back and forth among the tabs. If a page is larger than can fit in the browser's viewport, I make the print smaller (control-minus) and/or display the next portion of the page on the next tab. At any moment, two fingertips suffice for 99% of my navigation needs. I use the tips of my little fingers, which tend to be much cleaner than the other fingertips.

I am pretty good (OK, extremely good) at not needing to use a mouse or the touchpad normally anyway, so it's not a hardship. In the rare case when I must move the cursor, I use the laptop's "joystick mouse".

Finally, the messy(er) work, like oil change, brake job (pad & rotor and/or fluid), suspension stuff, etc. also tend to be routine and/or simple mechanical procedures that require little reference information beyond torque values, with very little need for a laptop. The complicated stuff that would require a lot of information, like electronics (ECU, ODB-II, CAN-BUS stuff), electrical wiring, etc. also tend to be the less messy stuff, so no issues with laptop use there either.

No doubt Siri is coming soon to an iPad near you. You might not have to touch it at all.

So earlier this week I took some plastic wrap and tape and wrapped my iPad. It looked pretty good and seemed to work just fine. I took it out to the garage to see how it would work. Well... turns out it is just slightly more useful this way. Although now I can handle the iPad w/ dirty gloves and keep it in my work area near me, I can not effectively use it while wearing gloves. I usually use Mechanix gloves (sometimes nitrile gloves) and while the capacitive touch screen works through the plastic wrap, it will not work well through the Mechanix glove. I guess whatever solution I get to cover the iPad, I would still have to take off the gloves that I'm wearing if i want to interface w/ the iPad or modify the Mechanix gloves w/ conductive thread.

Also, there are a number of companies that will sell you a stylus for the iPad; these are used by artists, etc.. I'm not sure if they'll work while wearing gloves but it might be worth checking out.



And for holding the iPad, the "Gorilla Case" works nicely. We do have one of these and it's very adaptable for using the iPad in orientations and positions that would otherwise be awkward.