Garmin "Bean Bag" Mount

The Bean Bag is still my favorite mount.

When it starts losing it's gripping ability due to dirt and dust on the bottom, I just use some soap & water on a cloth and it starts to grip like new again.

Me too-

Same here.

What if you have a dashboard cover?

Love my beanbag mount and hope that when I get a new unit, will still be able to use it.

bean bag the only way to go

So, does the unit not show outside the vehicle when a bean bag mount is used?

Only if you leave the unit in plain sight.

My beanbag just sits in my closet, I never use it.

Just take the GPS in with you at night, and hide the beanbag, and then there are no signs of a GPS left for people to look for.

This is pretty effective, but you may also want to remove it from the car while you are at work too, if you can put it in your locker or desk-drawer, or at least your back-pack.

How stable are those mounts? I wouldn't want my brand new 3590 to get scratched the first time i turn a corner... Any suggestions?

I have been using it for over 3 years without any problems.

If you drive in a normal fashion you should not have any problems at all. I use it exclusively on all 3 of my units. I've never used any of the windshield suction cup mounts that came with the units.
I Armor All my dashboard for sun protection and it does have a slick surface, even with the Armor All applied it stays in place.

It's a great theft deterrent, why display the windshield mount and have the thief break into your car causing damage and inconvenience only to discover there is no GPS in the car because the owner took it with him.

I finally had a problem with mine after about 6 years. Seam unstitched at edge and metal shot leaked. I'm sure it's from all the use packing and unpacking for flights, etc.

Five + years of use in a number of vehicles and with a number of Nuvi's. It's never moved from where I've placed it.

Got one on Ebay a couple of years ago and it works great after adding a twist tie to better hold it in place. It keeps the gps low enough that it's not obvious that one is in the car.

I am looking for a vent mount for my 1490 - does yours happen to have a manufacturer stamped in anywhere?

love mine, got one for wife also. extremely stable on dash of Prius. mine is placed on top of steering wheel in the instrument cavity on my Odyssey van. VERY inconspicuous. I have to keep moving it to see the gas guage when it is on, then the speedo when it is off.

We've got 3 of those bean bag mounts and they work really well in all our cars. We use the first one in 2007 and bought one for each garmin and never had any problems with it moving out of place. Highly recommended.

I've used beanbag, windshield and dash-disc mounting. So far, the beanbag and the dash disc have done the best. Both have come loose however when I've pushed the vehicle down some unimproved "roads". Other than that, I've had good luck with both.

Have used the bean bag mount for many years and I am completely happy with it. The price is excellent. I would not use any other mount at any price but I have a friend that bought a Garmin Friction Mount. He was unhappy with it because the bottom has silicone on it and leaves a residue on the dash. Our retirement job is to deliver new Mercedes cars to customers and a stain on the dash is a no no. He just exchanged it for a bean bag mount and loves it.

It is so easy to lift off the dash and place under the seat with the GPS still mounted. Best thing since sliced toast (don't like raw bread LOL)

Thank you for the comments,I just ordered mine from gpscity.ca ($20)

Looking at the GPScity site I se they offer several models. The one for 19.95 is not the ones I've used so I can't comment how well it works. I do believe the ones most of us are using have the four arms that contour with any dashboard, The 19.95 one is one solid piece.

The 19.95 link
http://www.gpscity.com/arkon-garmin-g-ball-deluxe-friction-d...

22.95 with 4 arms
http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-non-skid-mount.html

Mine is like the 22.95 but does not have the Garmin name on the fabric. If you are able to change your order I would do so since I'm not sure how well the one piece would work.

Works so much better than suction cup mounts, and as mentioned above, just take it off the dash and hide under the seat.

When I got my new GPS for xmas, they also gave me the solid one and did try it but never really stayed in place, I have had the bean bag one with the four arms and wire in them for flex. for a very long time (5 years in fact) and sitll love it.. It stay in place with very little movment and .. well works VERY well and would not get anything else. If fact, THe solid one, you need to use your suction cup on it and that even poped off once in a while.

You get what you pay for I guess

We are on our second Garmin with bean bag mount and consider it, not perfect, but the best overall solution.

The pro is that we can move it from the RV to the tow car easily and the unit is physically closer to my eyes than if it were on the windshield. I don't want it on the side window.

The con is that if we are on a rough road, the vibration will cause it to creep toward the windshield, and at some point, it is on enough slope to slide. When this is a problem, I have trained myself to reposition it occasionally or to cause it to hang slightly off the the near edge of the dashboard to give it a better grip. I do this now on autopilot, so I don't really think about it, just do it.

So, while not perfect, I still prefer the bean bag to the windshield mount.

I use this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coethK0zQ1w

I like it because it slides la bit less than the traditional bean bag mounts

.

I initially bought it to use on trips, as it is smaller, and you never know what dashboards these rentals have, or even their configurations. I am very, very pleased with this model and highly recommend it to anyone here, as I have tried all the ones on the market, and always come back to this one. Bootman is right.

I love the friction mount! Thanks for posting

After having the windshield mount fall off countless times, the bean-bag is the only way to go. Doesn't slide around either.

The Bean Bag works but should be hidden when car is left unattended.

I took a piece of tool box liner and set under my bean bag mount and it doesn't move around as much.

I've used that one on small winding roads in Corsica, driving my Landrover Freelander - and I only have good things to say about it. Heck, I even paid less than twenty Euro for it !

I now have an integrated Garmin in my Wrangler Unlimited, but the 205T and its friction mount are still available in the car. You never know when you won't have your car's body around ya - and I have too many addresses listed in my 205, too !

Last advantage of the 205 over the integrated model that came in the Jeep: it displays my speed, whereas the one in the Jeep doesn't. And I have moments when I friggin' hate that absence ! There are so many speed traps here in Southern France... With little blue men hiding in them, ready to jump out. I'm not a fan of speed, but I dislike the chance of loosing points on my driving license !

Are these like little green men or do they come from a different planet?

Some call them Smurves, but I would prefer not to, they have those green pieces of paper they give ya, and ya gotta pay to turn them in afterwards...

Ah - green papers in France, I never saw them in the US so wouldn't be able to comment

EDIT: I now remember that they are indeed quite green in Germany, for example - but blue in France, in Belgium, and immaculate white in Monte Carlo

How do you route the power cord on one of these things? I've been using a vent mount for years. I mount it on the left side of the steering wheel and run the cord over the back of the steering column. I've been very happy with it.

So, how DO you keep/maintain the grabbyness?

My growing hatred of the beanbag is one of the reasons I picked up an upgraded unit recently. Gets really annoying to have to reach out to catch the GPS when I need to give the gas pedal a good stab.

nice, i like the bean bag, better than mounting on your window

Wash it as described here http://www.poi-factory.com/node/11546

using something like Armor-all on the dash. This leaves a very slick silicone based film that the bag can't grip.

We have two and love them! We take the GPS in when we leave the car and put the beanbag mounts under the console between the front seats out of sight.

The one piece works fantastic! Never had a problem at all! Hope this helps-

good solid advice!

I thought you might have said something like SLICK!

Buy one and don't look back. A great way to use your Garmin.

So it's the bean bag mount then!

I've had one since my first Garmin 660 and never looked back, it is the only way to mount your garmin on car

we love ours even though we don't use it because I keep the gps in mine most of the time unless we take our Minivan..it does stay in place well though and hasn't moved, but we should take it off the dash so it doesn't pick up too much dust, etc