Garmin Beanbag Mount

[pinecone]

I have tried to find a place for a Ram Mount in my Dodge Ram truck. No way without drilling holes in the dash or going with a suction cup mount. I'm just not sure I want it hanging from my windshield with the power cord hanging from it.

 

Will the Garmin beanbag stay in one place and not float around on top of the dash. I will be using a GPS V and would like to switch it between two vehicles.

[+Miragee]

I have the beanbag mount for my Vista C. My friend uses the beanbag mount for her GPSMap60cs. We go from cache to cache with one GPSr set to "Follow Road" and the other set on the arrow.

 

The beanbag mounts stay in place just fine.

[+Thrak]

I have the suction cup mount and it works pretty well. Very stable. My dash is so rounded up by the steering wheel that I wasn't real sure I'd like the bean bag mount - thought it might put the unit too far away from me to see. With an external antenna though I can put the unit in the cup holder on the console and it works just fine there.

[Hammerli]

Instead of the usual center windshield mount I have my suction mount on the left right alongside the A pillar. That allows routing the power cord under the dash in my car so only a couple of inches of cord are visible. It also allows routing an external antenna cable in the pillar or down along the sill without it being visible either. I find the unit is actually closer to my position on the left, the pillar shields some glare and I found no difference in antenna reception. It also blocks a less important area as you look out, since you wouldn't typically look right down alongside the pillar but normally the center area is routinely scanned.

[+wornout]

I have tried to find a place for a Ram Mount in my Dodge Ram truck.  No way without drilling holes in the dash or going with a suction cup mount.  I'm just not sure I want it hanging from my windshield with the power cord hanging from it.

 

I have a Dodge Ram Truck and mounted the suction cup mount, where Hammerli indicated, next to the pillar, on the windshielf, on the left side of the steering wheel. The only thing I did different was put two sided tape on the suction part so it would stay on the windshield. I ran the power cord under my dash cover and down the left side of the dash board right to the fuse panel. Works for me.....

[robertlipe]

I've used the beanbag in several vehicles. Like you, I was skeptical that it was a good plan. It's my experience that passengers will complain about G forces before that bag moves. I imagine that a sufficiently bumpy road (of the "hitting your head on the roof" variet) could break the grip.

 

I have always sort of had a mental image of this lead-filled bean bag becoming airborn during an accident, but it's not something I fret about terribly. I do keep them away from any airbags.

[+PDOP's]

Will the Garmin beanbag stay in one place and not float around on top of the dash. I will be using a GPS V and would like to switch it between two vehicles.

I think it depends on your vehicle and the road. I have an Accord which has a sloping dash and use the Garmin beanbag mount with my 76C. It's OK for highway driving but does fall off the dash during hard acceleration and on bumpy roads (gravel).

[+Allen_L]

About 3 years ago I got a garmin beanbag mount and it worked like a charm for a long time . But then it got to where it wouldn't stay in place. So I just put velcro on my dash see picture. works great the GPS V always stays in place.

[+Cache Viking]

I too have a Garmin V and a Bean Bag mount that I use in my Truck and Car. Works great and only slips ever so slightly over many many miles in my truck and stays totally in place in the car.

[pinecone]

Thanks for the replys. As usual, I can see why both applications work. I am assuming the suction cup mounts, like Wornout is using are the Ram Mounts and not Garmin. I have read where others used some type of adhesive to hold the suction cup to the windshield. I am wondering how necessary this is?

I want to be able to move the mount to another vehicle without too much trouble.

[+Thrak]

My suction cup mount is the RAM mount and there is no need at all for tape. That sucker holds tightly to the windshield. It has a swivel on it and you just turn the swivel to make it suck down tight. Turn it the other way and it releases. Very easy to use.

[+bigdog999]

I have the Garmin suction cup mount and there's no adhesive tape used. It stays on for over a month without falling off. Funny enough, it has fallen off when the GPSr is not attached to it, but that's a rare occurance.

[+horsegeeks]

We haven't had much luck with the suction mounts. we have the beanbag for out Streetpilot 2629 and it works great, never has let us down.

[+TotemLake]

This may look a little ungainly, but I gain the benefit of a RAM mounted GPS that I can have as near or as far as I need it. Even though the third picture makes it look like it's in your face, it really isn't. It barely breaks the horizon on the hood, it is off just to the right and down of my direct vision making it as convenient as looking just to the right and up of my direct vision for the rear view mirror. It is mounted on the tunnel so the holes are obscured by the carpet if I should ever remove this system. and where the flex arm bends, I utilized an existing screw on the dashboard to mount a velcro strap to wrap around the arm and hold it in place when I don't have it closer to me for editing, or when it is not being used by my navigator

 

Edited September 2, 2005 by TotemLake

[pinecone]

Hey, one more question since I already have a basic Ram Mount. Regarding the suction cup you are using: Ram makes 2 types. One is a 4" standard suction cup. The other is a 3 1/2" with a locking/relase lever for the suction. Which type are you using.

 

Thanks again for all the great mounting ideas. All are very creative. Makes me want to try them all.

[Hammerli]

I'm using the Garmin mount and haven't had any trouble with it staying put. Regardless of the manufacturer you choose, I would clean off the windshield with some alcohol to remove any residue. I have a little piece of grey foam I put between the dash and the base of the cradle since without that the unit vibrates quite a bit. From the looks of the RAM mounts, they might be substantial enough to eliminate that problem, but the foam couples the unit to the dash so for now that's working for me.

[pinecone]

The potential vibration is what concerns me. By the time you assemble the Ram Mount with the suction cup, you're out about 5" from the windshield. Even though the GPS V is light, looks as though you could get some real wobble.

 

I'm probably way over-analyzing this deal.

Edited September 2, 2005 by pinecone

[+Wrench&Wench]

I have the bean bag mount in my 2004 F-150 P/U. It fits perfect on the dash since Ford provided and square area for stuff. I couldn't be happier with it.

[+DashHammer]

The potential vibration is what concerns me.  By the time you assemble the Ram Mount with the suction cup, you're out about 5" from the windshield.  Even though the GPS V is light, looks as though you could get some real wobble.

Vibration is the reason I chose the RAM Mount. I drive a Jeep and the Ram Mount is the only one I found that could handle the vibrations and bounces.

Hey, one more question since I already have a basic Ram Mount. Regarding the suction cup you are using: Ram makes 2 types. One is a 4" standard suction cup. The other is a 3 1/2" with a locking/relase lever for the suction. Which type are you using.

I'm using the 4" suction cup. The 3 1/2" wasn't available then. Pictures: Here and Here I don't use the RAM cradle anymore since I broke it. I mated a Magellan swivel cradle/mount onto it instead.

 

Alan

Edited September 2, 2005 by alancurry

[+piper28]

I use the bean bag in both my Grand Cherokee and a Passat. Grand Cherokee is great, there's a depression in the dash that it sits perfectly in. Passat has a sloping dash, but even that I've found hasn't really been a problem. I've even done some off-road stuff in the jeep without trouble.

 

Now, that said, on cars that have a smooth dash, a washboarded road will tend to make it rotate around a lot. I'd say in general though, unless you do a lot of dirt road driivng, the bean bag is pretty adequate.

[+wornout]

Here is a picture of what I did to mount the suction mount on the dash of my Dodge Pickup, also notice the cut out section for the cord:

 

Edited September 8, 2005 by wornout

[CenTexDodger]

I have tried to find a place for a Ram Mount in my Dodge Ram truck.  No way without drilling holes in the dash or going with a suction cup mount.  I'm just not sure I want it hanging from my windshield with the power cord hanging from it.

 

I have a Dodge Ram Truck and mounted the suction cup mount, where Hammerli indicated, next to the pillar, on the windshielf, on the left side of the steering wheel. The only thing I did different was put two sided tape on the suction part so it would stay on the windshield. I ran the power cord under my dash cover and down the left side of the dash board right to the fuse panel. Works for me.....

Add me to the list of 1. Dodge ram pickup, 2. RAM locking type suction cup mount, 3. mounted near the A-pillar. I ran the wire down inside the rubber seal of the door frame and wired a cigarette lighter plug under the dash and just plug it in. The wire is hidden, and the GPS unit sort if "hides out" under the pillar.

Edited September 8, 2005 by CenTexDodger