~6" GPS in new Caravan -- where to mount???
Tue, 09/26/2017 - 5:23pm
  15 years
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I'm looking at moving to a newer and larger unit. One problem I currently have with my Nuvi 650 is mounting it. I'm using a vent mount with suction disk. This positions the Nuvi a couple of inches out, and even when I can get the darn thing to stick, it tends to fall out.
So if I get a bigger unit what is a good way to mount it? New cars and van have almost no flat surfaces, and almost no open spaces. A 6"+ unit is too big to stick in the front window.
So how do you folks with newish vehicles mount your gps units?
Many
Many of use don't use the windshield mounts at all anymore. In place of them we use Garmin's Bean Bag mounts and Portable Friction Mounts which sit very well on most dashboards.
For your information here are links to the 2 Garmin mounts which are available on Amazon, E-Bay and in brick and mortar stores:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/63953
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/33040
I personally use the Bean Bag mount 100% of the time now with no issues.
Although at 6" the unit may be to big for this, but I have in the past mounted the GPS on the windshield to the left of the steering wheel and as near as possible to the vehicle's A pillar. Never had an issue with it falling off from that location and it's not in the way of you seeing the road ahead.
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.
Bean bag
Yup, that's what I do with my 2797 which has a 7" screen.
Almost the size of my very first B/W TV long ago.
Nuvi 2797LMT, DriveSmart 50 LMT-HD, Using Windows 10. DashCam A108C with GPS.
Ok, I can see how a bean bag
Ok, I can see how a bean bag would do a good job. I'm not wedded to the suction cup.
Anybody using one with a Caravan?
Bean bag
Just for what it's worth, I did not find the bottom of the beanbag to be sticky enough. So I stuck some Non-Slip matting from a Dollar store on the bottom base. I used double sided Gorilla tape to stick it on.
Nuvi 2797LMT, DriveSmart 50 LMT-HD, Using Windows 10. DashCam A108C with GPS.
My solution..
I took a hockey puck, cut it in half (the hard way) and scalloped the bottom to suit my dash (Toyota Highlander) then glued it permanently to the dash with Gorilla glue. I then removed the rubber part of the suction mount and glued the suction mount assembly to the hockey puck. A very permanent non slip approach.
This allows me to have my GPS next to the A frame pillar and far enough back (closer to me) to be offset where it almost touches the door / window. Places it where it is easy to reach.. and view without blocking the windshield.
When I sell my vehicle, I will take a hacksaw and remove the suction mount.. leaving a black "flat bump" for the next owner to wonder about.
Lives in Edmonton AB A volunteer driver for Drive Happiness.ca and now (since June 20 2021) uses a DS65 to find his clients.
Sucks
We mount ours (2595) low on the windshield via suction mount (as low as possible, just above the vent) Pontiac Montana.
This way it's not infringing on field of view,stays put in case of a sudden stop and with voice command we never need to touch it aside from mounting and turning on.
Nuvi 2595LMT, Nuvi 40, GPSMAP 62s, TomTom One XL -Change what you can, manage what you can't.
I Use
a bean bag mount with both my 7" RV 760 and 5" 3597 in my Chevy Uplander minivan. Although it isn't a Caravan, I imagine the geometry is similar.
There is some loss of vision with the bean bag but not as much as a windshield suction cup mount.
I also like the bean bag since it is easily picked up and stashed out of sight when parked.
Couple of factors to consider
I see you are in VA (me too).
If you use a Bean Bag mount or other, be sure that the GPS profile is "Below the hood line". Most law enforcement folks are tolerant about it, but you never know.
No ArmorAll on the dash where the mount sits. Else, when you make a panic stop the unit will slide forward and can be hard to retrieve in some vans. Alcohol will clean dash, but it takes a long time to remove it.
Metricman DriveSmart 76 Williamsburg, VA
A yes, I do recall that we
Ah yes, I do recall that we (in VA at least) are not suppose to have things blocking forward view. Even hang tags from the mirror are out, though you do see a lot of them and I never heard of anyone pulled over for something like that.
The new vehicles are challenging to find a place to mount a gps, especially if they are 6" or larger. Our Caravan is a 2014 and my wife's Hyundai is a 2013, neither have any easy way to use a gps. I currently use a vent mount + suction cup in the Caravan, but my 650 at 4" screen is pretty light. A 6"-7" unit is pushing a pound. Breaking a vent grill would probably be expensive to fix, and I know my gps sitting out ~3" or so does exaggerate the cars movement on bumps, etc.
Glad for the responses, have to keep thinking about this. A larger unit, to say nothing of it being newer and having Traffic, would sure be nice.
I have a 2014 Caravan,
and the dashes are identical. Like Ralphy6410 above,
I removed the rubber part of the suction mount and screwed the suction mount assembly to the center of the air/heat vents in the center of the dash. Only one tiny hole when I get rid of the van.
"As life runs on, the road grows strange with faces new - and near the end. The milestones into headstones change, Neath every one a friend." - James Russell Lowell Garmin StreetPilot C330, Garmin NUVI 765T, Garmin DriveSmart 60LMT
Alleghany, I'll have to look
Alleghany,
I'll have to look at our van to see if I want to do that, might be one of the few options. What size unit do you have?