placement of GPS

I don't know the specific law but I do a lot of driving in Upstate NY and my gps is Velcroed to the lower left corner of the windshield. I have gone through safety stops and have not been questioned.

It is attached by velcro because I gave up on the suction cup falling off.

This is a link to placement laws for GPSs
http://www.ehow.com/list_6920525_state-regarding-auto-mounts...

I use a bean bag mount that way I don't have to worry what state I'm driving through if it's OK to be on the windshield or not.

I didn't know there was certain spots that you need to place the garmin.

I also use a bean bag, but the fact is it DOES obstruct the view of an entirely unobstructed view through the windshield. If it's not written into law it therefore cannot be enforced.

The Bean Bag or Vent Mount would appear to be the methods that would keep you out of trouble anywhere.

Neither one will leave a suction cup ring that could entice someone to break into your car, because they think you have a GPS stored in the car. The Bean Bag is the easiest to hide, just by setting it on the floor under the front seat.

I'm lucky with my Kia Rondo. There is a flat area in front of the clock that is just big enough for the suction cup mount. It's about an inch below the dash and puts the GPS at a perfect eye level.

Vent mount would do the same.

I use a vent mount in my Dodge Grand Caravan. Just below the CD player. This is about 6 inches below the bottom of the windshield. Good reception there. I do have to take my eyes off the road to see it.

Michael

Not on either of my cars. It sits on the dash and doesn't obstruct any part of my windshield.

Honda Civic has a two-tier driving display. The critical info for drinving: speedometer, gas and temperature are on the top-tier. The secondary ones on the lower tier, behind the steering wheel with a flat area of about 5" that I can put stuff. I have a custom stand made for the GPS. The GPS is basically invisible from outside of the car and is well shaded from direct sun light. It is also straight in front of me. I just need to glance down a little to see it. This also make the hand-free blue-tooth phone works quite well.

The GPS does cover up the tachometer. But it is fine with me. I do not race the engine and I listen for odd noises. So far so good, knock on wood.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/34521

Cheers

I operated a GPS V for years using Velcro applied to a flat spot just behind the steering wheel on first a BMW 325i and then an Audi A4. As with your setup, it worked nicely and was extremely unobtrusive.

But the bigger screen of my 3790LMT is not a fit to that location, nor does the mount adapt well, so I've changed to beanbag on the dashboard. The crisp clear representation of far more streets visible in a very wide range of lighting is well worth it--not to mention vastly faster route calculation and some other features.

Thanks for this excellent link. Strephon_Alkhalikoi did a great job compiling this, and thanks again to Canuk, for having a quick link back to it.

I plan to print off and keep with my travel stuff.

This is an interesting idea. Did you actually attach it somehow or just placed it there? How about power cable, - do you keep your unit plugged in? I've been thinking about doing exactly what you did. It looks safe enough but is it?

http://tinyurl.com/msalc43

I drive Parts a couple days a week for a GM Dealer.

The suction mount on the windshield isn't practical due to the design of the van we use and my boss would be less than impressed if I glued a disk to the dash.

I could use the bean bag, but between carrying my lunch bag and note pad, I really didn't want to carry another item into work and home each day.

My solution was to use an ABS pipe cap, that was meant to cap off an ABS pipe, that you normally use for drain piping in the the house. Find a cap that has an diameter that's close to size of the cup that would fit in your vehicles cup holder. I had to glue the disk to the top of the cap, to get a surface that was smooth enough to hold a good suction, but you might be lucky and not need this. Just use the normal suction mount after that.

It might be necessary to wrap some tape around this to get a snug enough fit.

The location isn't perfect, if you like to look at the display a lot, but if you mainly want verbal directions, this does work. To input data, simply lift it out of the cup holder.

I should note that I use my old NUVI 350 for work, so it's fairly small, but depending on your cup holder, you might get away with a bigger unit. The whole setup, including the 350 is small enough to fit into a pocket in my lunch bag.

I would also test your GPS in this position, before you go out and buy parts, to ensure that it will actually pickup the satellites, considering that it is sitting under the roof line and not in direct view of the sky.

Assuming you are thinking about the way archae86 and I did, i.e. position the GPS behind the steering wheel.

I had a simple custom L-bracket made out of a piece of aluminum with a few mounting holes and attach the windshield mount to the custom bracket. I also modified the windshield mount of an old 260 to fit the mounting holes. I then attach the GPS with its standard universal joint.

I have all the adjustments as the original setup. The GPS can be detached from the mount if I need to, no difference from any other mounting methods.

I use Velcro to attach the whole unit to the flat on the dash. It is very secure. It works too without the Velcro.

I have used the same mount for 260/1370/2595 and now 3597. The 3597 just fits the open area in my Civic.

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P.S. The 260 windshield mount came in two pieces with through holes that I use to mount it to the custom bracket. All I need is to filed off some excess. The newer generation windshield mounts is not as easily modifiable, but looks like it can be attached/glued to the bracket too.

Thanks

Another plus of a vent mount is it's low visibility to outsiders, as you can see in this photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/97612499@N05/

Hard to see it, if not powered on.

I use the disc mount on the dash. Unless you are under 4ft tall it will never block your vision.

I recommend medium earth orbit, 13,000 miles altitude, about 55 degrees inclination.

edit: Oh you mean receiver placement? Windshield mount should be ok in states (except California), but I prefer a beanbag mount or even better a vent mount. The vent mount also keeps the unit (and battery!) cool on hot summer days when they are baking in the sun.

I guess in theory then an I-Pass/E-ZPass that's Velcro'd to the windshield would be illegally mounted in many states.

Not the states that collect revenue from it. I guess that's why they want you to Velcro it to your windshield, so you can remove it when traveling in I-Pass hostile states. LOL

Not according to the link TheProf provided. Ignoring the fact that one of the talking heads in the discussion section declared that yours truly was an "idiot", most of the posts scoffed at the notion. The site itself declares the research "questionable". How is it questionable, other than the fact I'm not a lawyer? One commenter said that my interpretation was "narrow". Umm, that's deliberate. It focuses on what the law says, not on how it's enforced.

It may have helped their cause had they bothered to quote the disclaimer at the beginning of the FAQ about it not being a substitute for legal advice, rather than just the list. As it is, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I simply believe the opinions of that site are full of s#!^.

Well put!

Especially the part about not wanting to leave the tell-tale ring from a suction cup, or any other signs of a GPS, since it is statistically one of the biggest reasons that many cars are getting broken into. If they see a sign (like a suction-ring-mark) they may do one or two thousand dollars damage breaking in, to see whether it's in the glove-box... or where ever, hoping to make 20 or 30 bucks quick selling your GPS. Even if you take the GPS inside with you for the night, it does not matter, because if they see the ring or other signs of GPS use, they smash their merry way in, find nothing, and say "better luck next time" as they look for the next car with a suction-cup, and leave you with a huge repair bill!!!

The bean-bag mount is the best way!

It seems like if you don't get stopped for other issues and/or you have GPS not blocking any sightlines, you should be fine. Anyone have experience to the contrary.

What is the purpose of these laws? I'm tall enough that when I mount my GPS, the only thing in my view that is blocked is a rectangular spot on my hood and part of my windshield wipers.

Heard that too for several states but I prefer to use the beanbag anyways.

ahh, ok, I see what you've done. I was experimenting with just placing my Garmin against the instrument cluster. Works somewhat ok but, because the USB charging port is located on the back of the unit, I can't keep it plugged in this way. Also, I am not sure about whether a more permanent setup would be a good idea from the viewpoint of safety. If the whole setup is too far way from the instrument cluster (because of bracket/Velcro setup and power cord) it can interfere with the steering. And all of this would work only with a small unit, like 4.3" one. Need to find a different solution for a larger receiver. I am pondering the idea of upgrading to a 7" unit. One possibility is to use a bracket that mounts into an existing CD slot and attach Garmin mount to it. The downside is that this is more of a permanent setup, it would be a hassle to remove it each time you park your car.

Bean bag or windshield mount

I place the bean bag mount in the front left corner of the dash tucked up to the windshield. Actually, since it is behind both the NYS inspection sticker and the vehicle registration sticker, it doesn't obstruct my view at all. Much better, IMO, than a suction cup.

But can you easily reach it there (and are you right or left handed)? As a typical "righty" I find it much more convenient to use the suction cup and place it next to the rear view mirror. Up high like that it only blocks the view of UFO's, not the road. It is a lot closer than off in the far lower corner, so easier to read the small type on a little LCD screen. And I'm not trying to operate with an awkward left hand or dangerously cross my right hand over.

You point out your belief that it isn't blocking vision since it is already behind the already obstructing stickers. I can lower my perfectly legal sun visor and it will block my GPS, so I think that I can argue that it isn't blocking my view of the road either. With the slope of most windshields, high on the windshield is much closer than anywhere near the bottom of the windshield.

I was talking to someone recently that said mounting the GPS in a location like the cupholder, where you have to look down to see it, is illegal.

Does anyone know if that is true?

I'm in Ontario, but I'm curious, about other jurisdictions as well.

My truck has a pull-out holder near the top of the dash. I thought it would be perfect, but the location is too far off my line of vision for me to be comfortable.

I would say not true. If that were the case then even a vent mount would be illegal.

Agree with Strephon.

Consider all of the vehicles with built in navigation devices that require one to look down to see the display. Note that looking down is required when fiddling with the car's sound system, or its comfort controls.