Securing a Desktop PC when Traveling

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IowaNomads

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 24, 2017
Posts
52
Location
Iowa
We are new to RVing. We have a class A motorhome and looking for advise on how to best secure my PC while we're moving. It will be under the dinette and is heavy enough to probably ride unsecured as a light foam drink glass rode 200 miles on the doghouse without spilling, but we have almost $2,000 tied up in this computer so the better half is concerned. Any suggestions on how to immobilize it?
 
Way back in the early days of personal computers I was a member of a Linux club. We drove to a meeting place with our CPUs and monitors and set them up together.

Usual practice was to have the box on it's side on non-skid material (rubber shelf liner was popular) and the monitor face down on a pillow.

These days I have a laptop that is powerful enough for my on-the-road needs.
 
We used a floor standing desktop unit for a dozen years and 75k miles without any special precautions other than making sure it didn't tip over.  The big monitor on the desktop was secured with a bungy cord during travel, just to be sure it didn't tip or slide off the desk.
 
I use a laptop with an external monitor on a desk. Quake Hold (earthquake putty aka museum putty) prevents the monitor from moving.
 
You have a good plan. bit of overkill in my opinion.. My "Desktop" rides in a spot that is just big enough for it and is very secure when traveling but no reason it can not sit on the bed. (the printer has never gotten up and wandered off the bed) or on the floor most anywhere that is blocked from flying to the front in a panic stop.

The only advice or caution I will give is make sure you TURN IT OFF and let it complete the power down sequence.

WHY: Well if you have a mechanical hard drive,  this parks the head where it won't damage the platters if you hit a bump.    I forgot to do that once. had to buy a new hard drive and re-install EVERYTHIGN.
 
John is correct about making sure it's turned off properly if you have a mechanical hard drive.  I would also take note on how the hard drive is positioned inside the case.  Sometimes drives are mounted "sideways" instead of horizontal.  If that's the case, secure your computer tower on its side so that the hard drive is laying flat.  This is because if it's sideways, a good bump can move it out of its parked position and damage the disk.
Hopefully you have solid state drives (SSD), and if not, it might be best to invest in them.  They are quite a bit more expensive, but they can't be damaged as easily with bumps and vibrations because they don't have moving parts.

If you have any PCI cards inside, I would also open the case and ensure that all the screws that hold the PCI cards (video cards, sound cards etc) are tight.  I've always built my own PC's and find that sometimes a short car ride can loosen already loose screws.
 

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