Noliwan

Bought a Garmin Street Pilot III--Very amazed how accurate this unit is--Also finally found a perfect mount for it by RAM mounts--quick window suction disconnect...Awesome products...



The Ram mount is one of the strongest and secure mounts I've ever seen or used-- Holds the GPS unit secure & tight...



Mount releases quickly with the flick of the lever...for easy storage when not in use...

Rivalred

Any problems with visibility?

Noliwan

None-- I can position the unit low enough where not to obstruct driving vision...The Ram mount allow you to adjust for best position...

Bob_98SR5

Pics?

Bighead

I had to right-click, properties, and copy/paste the link to my browser to see the pics.

Noliwan

Are the Pictures not showing up...??? They show up fine when I view them on this thread...Anyone else having problems seeing the PIC's???

I hosted them as usual...??? try this one if not...

http://community.webshots.com/album/282551200hjrbVM/4

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Webshots does not allow direct posting outside of their domain when embedding them here.

You see them as they are in your browsers cache.
Try www.photobucket.com

Best darn photohosting for free, and they provide forum link code.

See the Community section here for more help on posting pics.

Noliwan

Thanks Corey-- I'll try using cardomain and see if it works out-- just now edited on begining of this thread... see PIC's now...???

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Here's how my SP-III is mounted:





Works well there and is out of the way.

lee

nice. heres my garmin iQue3200 mounted:

JoKEpLaYeR

Anybody have ideas on mounting a Garmin eTrex Legend? It squeezes nicely into the gauge cluster, but it blocks my fuel and e-brake lights.... gets decent reception there too.... but i'm looking for something more permanent.

GSGALLANT

I just got one of these too. I haven't thought about mounting locations yet. But am also interested in figuring something out. I am gonna use it for the first time tomorrow. Going out to a lake to do some 4wheelin' and camping.

Bob_98SR5

the ram mount is the best. i bought the same one that noli has here after seeing it at pismo. sure, its a little spendy, but you get what you pay for.

i used garmin's mount for my garming 60cs, but it was not as sturdy. dont get me wrong, it held pretty good but it shakes more than this ram mount. plus with the ram mount, you can swivel it left and right---something you can't do with the garmin mounts

one good tip is to NOT tighten it down all the way. allow it to rest on the dashboard with something soft under it. this will let it "float" and move with the motions inside the vehicle rather than fight it (which will cause it to vibrate even more). this will allow you to also swivel it in your passenger's direction if he/she is getting bored and wants to see the gps

bob

midiwall

Just as another angle, some folks may find a better solution with a reradiator antenna. This is a device that will re-broadcast the GPS signal within the truck so that the reciever doesn't have to be up high.


For example, for my Magellan Gold, I was looking at going with a RAM adhesive mount like this:

http://www.gpscity.com/item-ram/rapb104ama2.htm

But, I was going to put it down low, by the shifter. Then you'd use a reradiator antenna system like the RA-45:

http://www.prairie.mb.ca/tri_m.htm (page down to "ReRadiating Antennas")

That ends up being a $120 GPS mounting solution, but you don't have anything blocking your line-of-sight and generally creating a "heavy" feeling in front of the dash.

The downside of doing this is that you can't grab a quick glance at the GPS as you're driving.


In the end though, I didn't want to spend $120... So, I went with this:

http://www.gpscity.com/item--/rapb104ma2.htm

...and installed it up high on just under the right side vent of the center pair. It blocks the vent a bit, but it's pretty solid and the GPS catches a good signal.

Scofco

I bought the mount that Garmin makes for the Etrex series and it works great. Doesn't hold it rock steady, but steady enough.

Bob_98SR5

mark,

great info as always. do you ahve a pic of your ram mount mounted w/ the gps?

bob

midiwall

I started into that message thinking I had a pic around but then couldn't find it. doh! I figured I'd hit SUBMIT anyway.

I'll get a pic and post it up soon. The end result is kinda' bulky, but a lot of that is 'cause of the size of the Magellan Gold - it ain't no eTrex.

midiwall

Got 'em!

(click for larger pics)

This is the "net result"


This is the mount without the GPS in it


This is the "nub" without the mount


Like I said above, the end result is kinda' bulky, and not the cleanest of installs. But for me. I was comfortable drilling holes in the trim piece and having that nub there - though it's kinda' ugly.

Bob_98SR5

hey mark,

thanks for the pics! man, i thought about doing the same thing! but i did not because i was afraid of (please dont be mad for me saying this) a clumsy looking install.

the idea i had was to flatten out the the area near the bottom right screw as well as adding some plastic filler on that recessed horizontal plastic part (near the bottom left screw). this would create a flat area to mount the ram. oh, i was thinking about putting a metal plate behind all of that as well.

yeah, lots of work so i just decide to buy the suction cup mount

i will say, though, that the suction cup mount does take up alot of dash/window space. it looks quite obnoxious to me though i'm getting used to it.

bob

midiwall

Oh, I TOTALLY agree... It's a hack, and not really pretty. I'll admit that with this decision I commited the interior of my truck to become somewhat of a low-rent district. I was okay with it then, I'm kinda' 2nd guessing it now, but it's there so...


The metal plate would be a good idea. The Magellan Gold is a bit heavy and there's a bit of leverage working on that trim piece. It hasn't cracked, but it hasn't been overly trailbounced yet either.


Yeah.. I felt that whatever I did, I didn't want "something else" blocking any view through the windshield. The note pad and radar detector do a good job of that, and then I've got a bit of a larger blindspot on the left with an a-pillar gauge cluster.


Carry on!