Garmin GPS mount questions

[terryd]

Hey guys, I just picked up a eTrex Legend GPS the other day and was looking for suggestions for mounts to put it in my 98 XJ. I was looking at the windshield mount that Garmin sells, and putting it on the windshield on the left hand side of the gauge cluster in the open area between it and the a-pillar. If anyone has suggestions on what kind of mount to use that'll stand up to off-road abuse w/o dropping my GPS everytime I hit a bump, it'd help. Pictures would also be good. Thanks for any information guys!

 

[bcmaxx]

I ve got a garmin gps60cx handheld an it fits perfectly into my cb mount, just added another mount to my jeep

 

[MG2000XJ]

I have a garmin ique, and I have mine in the cradle next to the a pillar sitting on the dash, doesnt bounce around or any movement. I would go window mount if I could though.

 

[FitchVA]

i use the garmin marine mount. i thought about mounting it where you're talking about, but i seem to always have mud there, so i put it on the other side of the wheel

 

[Pharaoh XJ]

I use the Gramin suction mount on my 60CSX holds up great, I use the dashboard as bottom support stayed there for 3 days & never came off

 

[terryd]

I ve got a garmin gps60cx handheld an it fits perfectly into my cb mount, just added another mount to my jeep

Do you have pictures? I'm not sure what you mean by cb mount.

i use the garmin marine mount. i thought about mounting it where you're talking about, but i seem to always have mud there, so i put it on the other side of the wheel

I like that mount, but I just can't bring myself to drill holes in my dash. How do you think the ones that use the adhesive disc would work? They are really similar in design, but don't require any mounting holes.

Or possibly this one?
http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/ram-b-166-ga16.htm

 

[bcmaxx]

Do you have pictures? I'm not sure what you mean by cb mount.



I like that mount, but I just can't bring myself to drill holes in my dash. How do you think the ones that use the adhesive disc would work? They are really similar in design, but don't require any mounting holes.

Or possibly this one?
http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/ram-b-166-ga16.htm

same unit as above, it came with a belt holder, and the knob on the gps that clips into the belt holder fits my cb mic holder. I can get a pic tonight when i get home

 

[FitchVA]

I like that mount, but I just can't bring myself to drill holes in my dash. How do you think the ones that use the adhesive disc would work? They are really similar in design, but don't require any mounting holes.

i completely forgot to add...i use heavy duty velcro to hold it to the dash. i use the gps in both the trail xj and the dd'er xj so i needed the ability to swap the mount over sometimes. it holds up great. after a few years on the green xj, i needed to reapply the part of the velcro that was on the dash cause the sun had gotten to it. but other than that, that's all that's holding it on. and it works grrrrrrreat

 

[terryd]

same unit as above, it came with a belt holder, and the knob on the gps that clips into the belt holder fits my cb mic holder. I can get a pic tonight when i get home

Ok, I see what you're saying now, the clip for the CB mic! My GPS doesn't have anything like that on it, so I can't go that route, but that's a sweet idea!

i completely forgot to add...i use heavy duty velcro to hold it to the dash. i use the gps in both the trail xj and the dd'er xj so i needed the ability to swap the mount over sometimes. it holds up great. after a few years on the green xj, i needed to reapply the part of the velcro that was on the dash cause the sun had gotten to it. but other than that, that's all that's holding it on. and it works grrrrrrreat

I like that, that way I could use the mount in my XJ as well as Julie's ZX2. Where did you get the velcro? The last velcro I bought like that didn't hardly last two weeks.

 

[FitchVA]

when i first mounted it to the green jeep, i used some from, of all places, k-mart. then when i got the white jeep, i picked up another box of the exact same stuff from northern tool. i've also seen it at wal-mart.

this is the stuff i used. each strip is about 1.5" - 2" wide. the narrow stuff just doesn't hold. i put 2 strips side by side on the dash so i can fine tune where it goes and it gives more surface area of sticky stuff

 

[casm]

i use the garmin marine mount. i thought about mounting it where you're talking about, but i seem to always have mud there, so i put it on the other side of the wheel

Same mount here, but I did the between-the-cluster-and-A-pillar location:

That unit has since been replaced with a 60CSX, and both fit in there just fine. It's screwed down with some faucet washers under it to even out the bevel on the edge of the dash, and I ran the combination power/serial cable under there at the same time as I put the mount in. More photos of the install can be found here; unfortunately, I didn't take any of how the power adapter tucks in behind the heater controls.

FWIW, I never had any trouble with either of them getting dirty in that location (they're watertight enough that splashes wont do much to them and I put the windows up before hitting mud), but I can see where it'd be a pain to have to clean it off if it did get dirty.

 

[jdxj]

i use the garmin marine mount. i thought about mounting it where you're talking about, but i seem to always have mud there, so i put it on the other side of the wheel

Mine is exactly the same works great. Tried the suction cup one kept falling off while wheelin!uke: Oh and get an extra usb cable and an adapter so you can run it off the cig lighter then you can keep the backlight on all the time works great and saves money ITLR:yelclap:

 

[banderso]

I use the Gramin suction mount on my 60CSX holds up great, I use the dashboard as bottom support stayed there for 3 days & never came off
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z308/gabroxy/POST/n566160075_4550856_2693.jpg

What is the trick to getting this mount to stay put? Mine falls off after about 15 minutes of on road driving. I try to get the bottom to rest on the dash, but it still falls off.

 

[casm]

What is the trick to getting this mount to stay put? Mine falls off after about 15 minutes of on road driving.

Use the marine mount.

I know that's probably not very helpful, but I've tried suction cup mounts for things before with varying degrees of success - and none of them have been particularly good at doing their job. Making sure that the glass and cup are clean before trying to stick it down helps, as does moistening the cup. Thing is, vibrations, variations in temperature or humidity, parking in direct sunlight, etc. can cause them to lose suction and pop off. Remember also that they're really not intended to be a permanent solution - if they were, they wouldn't be as easily-removable as they are.

 

[sjkimmel99]

What is the trick to getting this mount to stay put? Mine falls off after about 15 minutes of on road driving. I try to get the bottom to rest on the dash, but it still falls off.

You can also stick the suction cup to the driver's wing/vent window where it stays reasonably well.

Wet the suction cup a bit before sticking it on.

 

[Shogun]

The best thing to do with the garmin mount is throw it in the trash. Way too delicate and poor adhesion.

Use a RAM window mount. Customizable lengths of arms and plastic or aluminum. A killer suction cup that stays put (on a clean window). RAM makes all sorts of mounts, up to laptops. Available at gpscity.

I put mine on the left side and ran the wires inside the A-pillar trim.

You are using an external antenna? Again, the garmin is kinda weak. Recommend the powered ones from gillson (gpsgeek).

 

[Pharaoh XJ]

What is the trick to getting this mount to stay put? Mine falls off after about 15 minutes of on road driving. I try to get the bottom to rest on the dash, but it still falls off.

Mine never fell of yet even without resting on the dash.

make sure that the windshield & the suction cup & clean, or maybe your suction cup has a cut on its rim.

BTW: Me & everybody in my club use that type & we hit bumps going 50+.

Growing up I saw my dad licking the suction cup before sticking them, It used to be effective not sure how effective its going to be with the gps mount

 

[terryd]

You are using an external antenna? Again, the garmin is kinda weak. Recommend the powered ones from gillson (gpsgeek).

I wish I had an external antenna, but the unit I have can't take one. Its an eTrex Legend. I use it for geocaching and mapping trails, fence lines, ect. I want to up-grade to a more versitile unit later, but can't afford it right now.

Is anyone using Garmin's Dash Board mount that uses the adhesive discs? If I'm going to have to adhere something to the dash anyway, I was thinking about using this.

 

[banderso]

I'm also using a gillson external antenna. I works very well. I also have external power for the GPS. Good setup, except for the mount issue.

I'll try putting the suction mount on the wing/vent window. The glass there is flatter than the windshield, so maybe it will work. I think I didn't put it there before because I was afraid it would block the rear view mirror. If it doesn't hold there I'm trashing it.