6 Best Vehicle Mounts for Mobile Living That Veteran Nomads Swear By
Veteran nomads share their top 6 vehicle mounts for life on the road. Discover the most secure and reliable options for keeping your devices stable.
You hit an unexpected washboard section of road, and the entire contents of your rig begin a violent symphony of rattling and clanking. Your tablet, propped on the dash, goes skittering into the footwell while you hear a sickening thud from your rear cargo area. This is the moment every nomad understands why secure mounts aren’t a luxury—they are the foundation of a functional, safe, and sane mobile life.
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Why Secure Mounts Are Non-Negotiable on the Road
Everything in a moving vehicle is in a constant state of low-grade earthquake. The continuous vibration, combined with the sudden jolts of potholes and sharp turns, will exploit any weakness in how your gear is stored. What seems secure when parked can become a dangerous projectile or a useless pile of broken parts after just a few hours on a rough road.
This isn’t just about preventing annoying rattles. A failed mount can mean losing a $200 set of recovery boards on the highway or having a full five-gallon water jug break loose inside your living space. In a sudden stop or accident, an unsecured fire extinguisher or laptop becomes a deadly missile. Securing your gear is as fundamental to safety as checking your tire pressure.
Ultimately, proper mounts are about peace of mind. Knowing that your critical equipment—from your navigation tablet to your extra fuel cans—is locked down allows you to focus on driving and enjoying the journey. It’s the difference between a rig that feels like a cohesive system and one that feels like a collection of loose items waiting to cause a problem.
RAM Mounts X-Grip: The Gold Standard for Devices
Secure your device with this 4-pack of black rubber post caps for RAM X-Grip holders. These durable caps ensure a firm grip and are compatible with all X-Grip versions.
When it comes to securing phones, tablets, and GPS units, the RAM Mounts system is the undisputed champion. It’s not just a single product but a modular ecosystem of rubber-coated balls, socket arms, and device-specific cradles. This modularity is its greatest strength, allowing you to build the perfect mounting solution for any device in any location.
The iconic X-Grip is what most people recognize. Its spring-loaded, rubber-tipped arms provide a vise-like grip on your device, while the ball-and-socket arm absorbs the road vibrations that can kill sensitive electronics over time. I’ve seen these things hold a phone steady on the handlebars of a dirt bike crossing a desert. They will not fail you in your van or truck.
Sure, you can buy a cheap, plastic vent clip mount for a fraction of the price. But you’ll be buying another one in six months after the first one breaks, likely dropping your expensive phone in the process. Investing in a RAM Mount is a one-time purchase that ensures your navigation and communication devices are always secure and functional. It’s a classic "buy once, cry once" scenario that pays for itself in reliability.
MAXTRAX Pins: Simple, Secure Recovery Board Mount
Recovery boards are big, frequently muddy, and absolutely essential for overlanding. Storing them inside eats up valuable living space and coats everything in dirt. The only logical place for them is outside the vehicle, but that requires a mounting system that is both totally secure and easily accessible.
The MAXTRAX Mounting Pin Set is the elegant, purpose-built solution. These threaded nylon pins are designed to pass through the handholds on your boards and bolt directly to a roof rack or other mounting surface. The design is brilliantly simple, with no complex mechanisms to get jammed with mud or sand. You can secure up to four boards with a single set of pins.
What makes these pins the go-to choice for veterans is their rock-solid reliability and security. Once tightened, the boards have zero play and make no noise. More importantly, each pin has a hole for a small padlock, deterring opportunistic theft at a trailhead or in a city. This simple feature means you never have to worry about your expensive recovery gear disappearing. It’s a straightforward solution that does its one job perfectly.
RotopaX DLX Pack Mount for Hauling Extra Fluids
Securely mount your RotopaX fuel cans with this durable, black anodized aluminum DLX Pack Mount. Its unique design offers extra tightening power and easy installation, with or without the included base plate.
Carrying extra fuel or water is a critical part of remote travel, but it presents a major safety challenge. Storing gasoline inside your vehicle is an unacceptable fire and fume hazard, and even water can cause catastrophic damage if a container breaks loose. You need a way to store these fluids externally and securely.
The RotopaX system, particularly their DLX Pack Mount, is the professional-grade answer. The mount itself is a solid piece of machined aluminum that bolts to your vehicle. The corresponding RotopaX container slides over the base, and a heavy-duty T-handle threads down to lock it in place with incredible force. There is no wiggle, no vibration, and no chance of it coming loose.
You can mount them virtually anywhere—on a spare tire carrier, a roof rack, or the side of a truck bed rack. The peace of mind this system provides is immense. You know your extra fuel is safe from leaks and ignition sources, and your emergency water supply is protected from puncture. This isn’t just a container holder; it’s a safety system for your rig’s most vital liquids.
Quick Fist Clamps: Versatile Gear Organization
Securely mount tools and equipment with this 2-pack of Quick Fist clamps. Designed for diameters 1" to 2-1/4", they offer reliable, versatile holding power.
What about all the other gear? The shovels, axes, flashlights, and fishing rods that don’t have a dedicated mounting solution. This is where Quick Fist clamps become your best friend. They are, without a doubt, the most versatile and cost-effective mounting solution on the market.
Made from heavy-duty transportation-grade rubber, these clamps come in a variety of sizes to hold objects of nearly any shape. You simply bolt the clamp to a surface—an interior wall panel, a drawer front, or an exterior roof rack—and the durable rubber strap stretches to hold your item securely. The rubber absorbs vibrations, eliminating rattles completely.
I have used Quick Fists to mount everything from a full-size splitting axe on a rear door to a small flashlight next to the driver’s seat. They are perfect for securing fire extinguishers for quick access or organizing charging cables to keep them from becoming a tangled mess. They are the ultimate problem-solvers for all the awkward, hard-to-store items that are part of nomadic life. For a few dollars, you can create a custom, rattle-free storage spot for almost anything.
Kuat Pivot v2: Unrestricted Rear Door Access
Easily access your vehicle's rear with this swing-away hitch extender, allowing up to 120 degrees of movement for your bike rack. Its durable construction and patented FlatLock hitch cam ensure a secure, wobble-free experience for up to 250 lbs.
Hitch-mounted bike racks and cargo boxes are fantastic for expanding your carrying capacity, but they create one massive problem for vans, SUVs, and trucks with a tailgate: they block your rear doors. This forces you into an annoying daily routine of unloading bikes or contorting yourself to access gear from inside. It’s a huge compromise in functionality.
The Kuat Pivot v2 solves this problem completely. It’s a robust swing-away arm that installs in your hitch receiver, and your rack or cargo box then mounts to the Pivot. With the pull of a lever, the entire assembly—loaded with up to 250 pounds of gear—swings smoothly out of the way, giving you full, unimpeded access to your rear doors.
This isn’t a minor convenience; it’s a quality-of-life upgrade that transforms how you interact with your vehicle. No more asking your partner to hold your bikes while you grab something from the back. No more unpacking the entire cargo box to get to your cooler. It’s built like a tank, has an anti-rattle mechanism that actually works, and is one of those pieces of gear that, once you use it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
WeBoost OTR Mount: Boosting Your Signal Securely
Securely mount your Drive Reach Overland, OTR, or RV antenna with versatile T-slot, pole, or fixed options. This USA-made mount folds down for convenient storage and ensures reliable signal boosting.
For many nomads, a cell signal is a lifeline for remote work, communication, and safety. A cell signal booster like a WeBoost is a powerful tool, but it’s only as good as its externally mounted antenna. A cheap magnetic antenna mount will fly off on the highway or get knocked off by the first tree branch you encounter.
WeBoost’s own OTR (Over-The-Road) antenna mounts are engineered specifically for the harsh environment on top of a vehicle. They offer several options, from a 3-way mount that can attach to a roof rack or mirror post to a spring-loaded base that allows the tall antenna to flex and bounce back from impacts with low-hanging obstacles. These mounts are designed to handle constant wind resistance and vibration without failing.
The stability of the mount is directly tied to the performance of the booster. A wobbly, poorly grounded antenna will deliver a weak, inconsistent signal, defeating the whole purpose of the investment. Choosing a purpose-built mount ensures your booster system works at its peak potential when you’re deep in the backcountry and need it most. It secures both the hardware and your connection to the outside world.
Choosing the Right Mounts for Your Unique Build
There is no universal list of "must-have" mounts, because every rig and every traveler is different. The best approach is to start with a full audit of your gear. Make a list of everything that isn’t secured in a cabinet or drawer, paying special attention to heavy, valuable, or frequently used items.
Once you have your list, evaluate each item based on a few key criteria. This will help you prioritize your investments and choose the right type of solution.
- Location: Does this need to be inside and protected, or can it be mounted externally?
- Accessibility: Do you need to grab it in seconds (like a fire extinguisher) or just a few times per trip (like recovery boards)?
- Security: Is it a high-value item that needs to be locked down to prevent theft?
- Physical Properties: Is it heavy, awkward, or sensitive to vibration?
Don’t be tempted by the cheapest option. A $15 mount that fails and destroys a $1,000 tablet is no bargain. Start by securing your most critical gear with proven, high-quality solutions like the ones on this list. A quiet, organized, and secure vehicle is a safe vehicle, and that peace of mind is priceless on the open road.
Ultimately, a well-outfitted rig isn’t defined by what you carry, but by how you carry it. Thoughtful, secure mounting transforms a random collection of gear into a reliable, road-ready system. Choose wisely, install properly, and enjoy the profound satisfaction of a silent, rattle-free ride.
