Speaking Of Gps

Wayne02 · December 14, 2010

I recently purchased a Garmin Nuvi 1490 to put in my truck (2000 gmc sierra nbs). I’d like to mount it somehow, and I am aware that theft is a concern with these devices. I’m wondering what the options are for mounting these things.

I have tried the mounts that clip to the vents with my old tomtom but found them to be very flimsy and unsecure. The gps rarely stayed oriented properly, and if you needed to tap the screen this would also throw the gps out of kilter. Always felt we had to handle/use the gps with kid gloves with this kind of mount. Also tried the bag on top of the dash mount and by the end of the week the gps was in the far corner of the dash on the passenger side.

The window suction mount that came with the Garmin seems to hold much better than the old tomtom suction mount but the only position I like is with the gps to be on the far left, up against the A-pillar, and right down on the dash to keep it out of the line of sight as much as possible. This of course requires the power cord to be run across the dash/instrument cluster/steering wheel from the cig plug to the gps. This particular gps has traffic and the receiver is in the power cord, so the cord is no small piece of cable.

At this point I’m not necessarily opposed to drilling holes in the dash or sticking something on the dash as I want to get this problem solved. But of course it would be better if there was a workable solution that didn’t require drilling.

What type of mount do you use?

These Ram mounts look like they might be pretty stout, anybody have experience with these?

http://www.ram-mount.com/ramgps.htm

Thanks

[email protected] · December 14, 2010

I like the suction mount myself, but it also should come with this black dish that has tape on the bottom and it sticks to the dash and then the suction cup sticks to it....if you want it on the dash.

gdnelis · December 14, 2010

Those RAM mounts do look pretty solid. Keep us posted if you go with one, if you give it a thumbs up I'll probably follow your lead. I'm a little tired of the suction cup mount that came with my Garmin popping off every few days despite trying everything humanly possible with it. So far I've found the best results were achieved after wiping down the suction cup and mounting surface with an alcohol wipe (which also work excellent to breathe fresh life into aging and stiff wiper blades by the way).

I was considering making a custom "in dash" mount for my Garmin somewhere, but I'm uncertain how a flush mount or semi flush mount will affect the reception. Can anyone shed any light on whether this will kill reception? I'm not really clear how the GPS antenna inside a portable unit works but I guess I should look into an external antenna designed to be mounted in the dash and see if I find one that can work with my model to let me do what I want without killing functionality.

cgalford · December 15, 2010

Ram mounts are pretty solid, they're very popular among adventure motorcyclists to mount various electronics to the handle bars. If you only use the GPS in your truck then you can tuck the cables behind the panels so it just comes out by the unit and do a hardwire. Any auto parts store will have a 12V plug on leads that you can tap into power.

If you want it to be plug and play and turn on and off with the truck I can make you a harness that uses the upfitters port for about $40 shipped.

KMGZ400 · December 15, 2010

i see you have an 01 too. im going to go play around to day with my garmin and try and find a good spot to mount it. i might try and take the passenger airbag thing out and try and mount in there, or im gonna see of it will fit in that hole on the roof console... ill let you know if i find anything

Major_Kong · December 17, 2010

I use a Tetrax X-Way magnetic mount. It attaches to a vent slat and is solid. You have to stick a small magnetic disc on the back of whatever device you're using, but the disc is small and hardly noticeable. It uses rare-earth magnets so it can easily support a GPS unit. Here's a pic of my phone (which I use for GPS) mounted. It's kind of pricey for what you get, but to me it's worth every penny.

gregrocks89 · December 22, 2010

I have mine mounted on the window towards to the bottom left so it almost sits on my dashboard and for my cable, im a master at hiding cables in trucks plus i hate having cables hanging everywhere its kinda a pet peeve. i had mine within my dashboard

statelax3 · January 16, 2011

i currently have the same gps as you and have the garmin suction cup mount attached to the clear plastic over the tachometer.

Wayne02 · January 17, 2011

i currently have the same gps as you and have the garmin suction cup mount attached to the clear plastic over the tachometer.

Hmm, may have to try that out myself.

Right now I'm leaning towards gluing or screwing the mount to the faceplate thingy that houses the airbag key off/on switch. I don't have any other switches in this panel so the real estate is available and it positions the gps below dash level, near the 12 outlet, not in the way of any vents or the radio, but still easily reachable with my right hand.

I should order a replacement panel I suppose if in the future the truck gets sold.

cmh2001 · January 23, 2011

I have a RAM mount for my phone to the top of the dash, I like it alot. This particular one will rotate so that I can see my phone in landscape or portrait mode. It was only $30 and is very solid on the dash.

For your device you would need a different size holder, but this is a good place to mount it. I use the GPS feature on my phone all the time.