Cheap-Home Made Car mount

[+EtrexRose]

You know, I have never forked out the money to buy a car mount for my GPSr, but it seems so easy, yet I cant come up with a effective way of doing what a 30$ car mount would do only with out the car mount...

 

I cant come up with ideas to make or design a simple and effective car mount-what do you guys do? Have you thought or designed anything usefull?

[GRANDMASTER CACHE]

Hi Mr. Rose,

 

A lot of folks rig cell-phone holders to work for them. At auto-parts stores, there are generic phone holders which adjust from the sides in, to accomodate different widths. You probably want something that will enable you to "clamp it in" quickly, and you have to keep in mind where your external power adapter plugs in (you don't want to get something your GPSr "fits" into only to find out that the area to plug in the adapter is blocked, ya know?) Clearance items at many stores can yield a great "already made" holder tha might just take a few modifications, if you don't want to build from the "ground up."

 

But do check out the holders which are made for the units, as well. The cost might justify it. For the Garmins, you can get by with a list price of $25 for the GPSV and 32 for their adjustable. Magellan's is quite a bit more - $48, but the power cord fits in to the holder, so there's no "plugging/unplugging" to be done. You simply snap the unit into the holder and you've got power! Kinda nice, and it holds it perfectly, and even rotates for "pilot/co-pilot" viewing. Kinda handy if you're "sharing" the fun. These are just some things to keep in mind. One of my friends has the "beanbag" type holder for his Garmin GPSV. I was a little apprehensive about trusting the device to hold a $$ GPSV $$ but it withstood my driving, which is the litmus test for any holder! Maybe you can see about converting a beanbag-type auto device?

 

RadioShack sells this great little "stickypad" device which really holds things down. Maybe you could use something like that on your dash, and make something to hold your GPSr which can "stick" to the pad?

 

I've often thought of what great little devices those foam beer can or coffee holders might be "converted" into. By cutting out a "window" to view your screen, and cutting out a power cord hole in the back of it, you might get something like that to work? You could then "stick" that to the stickypad thing from RadioShack. Maybe nothing here is relevant, but it might stir your creative juices anyway! HTH

 

Grandmaster Cache

[+raouljan]

http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=5740990093&m=3350999435

 

>Personally Responsible for the Recovery of .00244% of the Benchmark Database!<--watch this number!

[+IBcrashen]

I have a III+. I just put two velcro strips on the dash and it works great. installing and removing is just a slap down/pick up thing.

[targetdrone]

I found a car mount for the cell phone at the 99 cent store that acts like it was made for my Legend. I just clips to the air vent.

 

"I can't find the longitude for the North Pole"

[+EtrexRose]

Thanks guys, I guess I will go to a place with Cell Phone Holders or come up with something different.

[+Wadcutter]

I took an old 12 oz can holder, the kind that has the lip to hang over the window ledge, cut off the front 1/2 so it's only a semi-circle, put a strip of velcro on the back of my GPS and inside of the can holder. I can hange the holder anywhere convienent and the GPS sticks in fine.

[+Poindexter]

Dual-Lock. Sort'a like velcro, but much much stronger. I use this on the mount for the SPIII as well as my eTrex. I just put some on the dash of our cars and it's just a snap to move it from one car to another. This stuff is great. You'll find many uses for it. You can get it at Radio Shack (I think that's what Granmaster Cache was referring to "stickypad") but it's cheaper at Target. You can also of course, buy it on-line. Just search on Dual-Lock.

 

Poindexter

www.geocities.com/fairbank56

[Rubbertoe]

I've got an '01 Elantra GLS - and the dashboard seems suited for holding things. Not just by itself, I mean... but if you jam the Vista vertically between the dash and the windshield, you'll be hard pressed to shake it loose. That rubber strip around the Vista really helps there too.

 

The Toe Pages

[+Cleenjeep & Danger Girl]

Another vote for velcro here. I stick it to the dash, so it is sitting almost vertical. I have a jeep wrangler, so I just plop it above the stereo. Hard off roading has failed to shake it loose with the upgrade to "industrial grade" Velcro. I got it at Sams Club (similar to Costco)

It came in a 20 foot roll, about four inches wide, so there is plenty of uses for it. I also use the same method for my cell phone.

Michael

 

We are all stuck with technology, when all we really want is stuff that works.