Garmin Nuvi 500 On ATV

I would think that vibration is the biggest concern.

I used a RAM mount to put a 255 on a bicycle a few years back. The vibration was a bigger problem than the dust. It was also difficult to read the screen in bright sun. It's hard to tell how a 500 will work out. I now use a Montana which is better suited to the task.

Thank you for the replies. On my last ATV trip, I simply removed it from the mount and put it in my cargo pants pocket. Typically, when I am ATVing, I don't actually need to see it constantly. What I need is the ability to see where I am and what turn to take on some trails sporadically, but not constantly.

my Garmin 350 for many years with the standard mounting (plus a clamp) on my 2003 Goldwing & never had it damaged. I mounted a disk just below the Goldwing emblem above the radio.
It sure makes exploring back roads enjoying because you always know where you are.

Fred
P.S. If dust is a concern you could use a clear plastic bag over it.

I often use my old 255 on my motorcycles. I use a RAM X Grip to hold it on a short RAM arm and a handle bar U mount . The bikes are both big twin engines so there is some vibration.

The first casualty was the 255's power slider - the XGrip gripped it there and the little plastic tab sheered off. So now the unit powers up when I plug it in, and turns off at the "lost power turn off or stay on prompt" or when the battery dies

As for rain and dust, I've use a plastic bag like suggested earlier. I even did a two week week long trip this way. We left central Ontario and went to Tmmins in northern Ontario, back to central Ontario then south and east to Cornwall , crossed to New York, through Vermont, and Mane ending in St Andrews New Brunswick all with the 255

One of these days I'll get a better GPS for my motorcycles and ATV. Like mentioned above I to am thinking about a Montana as I'm not sure about a Zumo's off-road use on the ATV and would like a GPS for both. I have a couple Nuvi's for the Jeep and car, and an eTrex handheld for hiking

BTW, the Nuvi 66LM won't fit in the XGrip I have so thats why I use the smaller 255

This season I bought a RAM holder for the etrex and will handle bar mount it (without power plug though.)

The RAM X Grip is a great flexible mount, useful for many devices. I use one for my smartphone. It wouldn't hold my 255 steady on my bicycle over jarring trail bumps though. I switched to a RAM "G" ball to 1" RAM ball adapter and used the snap on mount that came with the 255.

http://www.gpscity.com/ram-mount-1-inch-ball-to-garmin-g-bal...

This setup works much better.

Yes, I agree, on a jarring tail on an ATV, the X-Grip may not hold the unit properly. I've had good luck with mine on some rough roads on motorcycle, However, I switch to my handheld eTrex in a proper holder for use on my ATV

A RAM RAM-HOL-GA5 specifically.

http://www.gpscentral.ca/ram-mounts/ram-hol-ga5.html

The eTrex snaps in snuggly. However, this old handheld has few features and no maps ....

Wow, didn't know nuvis are so rugged.