Sunshade For Dash Mounted Gps

[+TeamGonzo]

I posed this question in another thread, but I thought I'd start a new topic for discussion. Has anyone come up with a decent "sunshade" for a 76cs (or any dash mounted handheld) while it's in the auto kit cradle? On a hot sunny day the thing just bakes there on the dash board, and of course there's glare on the screen when the sun is at certain angles. I've gotten pretty creative with my origami cabanas for it. An 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper with some creative folding works nicely, but it sure looks tacky! Anybody have any good ideas to share(besides a little cocktail umbrella)?

Edited March 21, 2005 by TeamGonzo

[SergZak]

I've owned many GPS units & found that as long as the mounting/viewing angle is set correctly, you can pretty much eliminate screen glare. The exception to this was the 76C...for some reason, I just could not get it right with the Garmin mounting bracket. But then again, I didn't try very hard since I returned the unit the same day I purchased it. It just didn't feel right to me for some reason (I got a Quest instead). I'd still say to fiddle with the forward/backward tilt to see if you can find a happy medium. My car is well suited to GPS mounting since it has a black interior. I could forward tilt it to reflect off of the rear of the black headliner, eliminating all visible reflections. Light-colored interiors would be a challenge though...you also don't want to reflect off the rear window.

Edited March 21, 2005 by SergZak

[+GOT GPS?]

I find I have to have the backlight on all the time with my 60C on the Dashboard, because of glare. I wished there was an anti-glare coating on the inside and outside of the plastic window covering the LCD display module. when your inside the car, the screen can be hard to see in ambient light, because of glare, but the GPS's screen is perfect outside the car.

 

Edited in more to say.

Edited March 21, 2005 by GOT GPS?

[+TeamGonzo]

Tried something today that actually worked pretty well (although it still looks a bit tacky!). A child's baseball cap. After installing the GPS in the auto kit's bean bag footed cradle, I threaded the GPS (and DC power cable) up through the gap in the back of the hat above the size adjustment band. The cap covered the top of the unit and the visor rested just above the GPS buttons and screen. The sides curved around nicely to help with glare.

 

Now I've got to find hat a bit cooler than Thomas the Tank Engine!

[+TeamGonzo]

Ok...I thought my description sounded a bit goofy-er than it really was, so here's a photo of my baseball cap dashboard sunshade (replaced the Thomas The Tank Engine Hat with a plain black cap):

 

 

If anybody's got a better idea, I'm still looking!

Edited March 23, 2005 by TeamGonzo

[SergZak]

I find I have to have the backlight on all the time with my 60C on the Dashboard, because of glare. I wished there was an anti-glare coating on the inside and outside of the plastic window covering the LCD display module. when your inside the car, the screen can be hard to see in ambient light, because of glare, but the GPS's screen is perfect outside the car.

 

Edited in more to say.

My Quest has an anti-glare coating on the screen and it does help a bit, but if the unit is angled wrong where it pickes up reflections off of the rear window or elsewhere, no amount of anti-glare coating will help much. The key is to aim the unit to pick up the least amount of reflection and use the backlight. I've always used the backlight on my Garmin color units (Quest, 60C, 60CS and Vista C) in the daytime. Without it, the screen is too dim unless the sun is shining directly on it, which does not happen very often in a car.

[SergZak]

The cap covered the top of the unit and the visor rested just above the GPS buttons and screen. The sides curved around nicely to help with glare.

Nice hat-trick!

[+sbell111]

... so here's a photo of my baseball cap dashboard sunshade ...

How do you

• see out your windshield and
  
• avoid getting ticketed?
  

[+TeamGonzo]

OK...it's not that big! It's a kids cap, not an adult size. On the center dash console of our Honda Oddessey (kid hauler!) it doesn't seem to obstruct too much view for me.

 

Didn't think about traffic tickets...will they ticket you for a GPS being up on the dashboard (with or without a sunshade)? Law enforcement please chime in here....

 

I'm still looking for a better idea if anybody has one!

[+sbell111]

I'm interested in the opinion of LEOs on this, but I would think that a vertically mounted GPS could attract a ticket.

[+sbell111]

This is the California law regarding this issue:

 

VEHICLE CODE 26708(a)(2)

No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield or side windows.

[+TeamGonzo]

I wonder about the practical application of that law. To follow it to the letter would mean that my rear view mirror, the built in sunshades in the car, the transponder that I have in the front window for the toll roads, the little sticker in the corner from Jiffy-Lube, the windshield wipers, and my wife sitting in the passenger seat would all be violations. With a GPS being only a few inches wide, does it technically "obstruct or reduce" the driver's clear view? Large trucks sometimes have a center support beam in the middle of the front window. A GPS obstructs less than that.

 

I bought the dashboard mount as part of an "Auto Nav Kit" by Garmin. If the GPS was not allowed on the dash, I'm sure they wouldn't be selling such contraband.

 

OK....enough of that...I don't want to start a debate (although I guess I was kinda debating there). I'm still just looking for some suggestions to protect my new favorite gadget from the hot California sun (at least we used to have sun before it rained all the time here!).

[+RB_Nielsen]

Night-time driving seems to have a similar problem with windshield glare in that the GPS screen reflects on the windshield at night. I've thought about making a visor attached via Velcro to solve this problem. But so far, I have not yet done anything (typical procrastination).

[+webscouter.]

I moved my GPS to the lower right corner of the window and it has reduced the glare tremendously. It now sits right next to the drivers side piller.

[+TeamGonzo]

Hmmmm.....I never thought of putting it on the other side. Will have to try that tomorrow.

[+bigdog999]

Just curious about the Garmin auto mount, how does it mount on the dash...suction, adhesive ?? In the process of obtaining a 60c, so I was curious about the mount.

[+TeamGonzo]

The Auto Kit that I got (which was for the 76CS) doesn't actually mount to the dashboard. There is a weighted bean bag with a non-skid bottom surface to keep it from sliding around. Out of the middle of that there is a simple adjustable plastic cradle that the GPS slides into. There's a slot in the back of the cradle that locks the external power connection in place. It does a great job of holding the GPS in place and in my experience hasn't fallen off of the dash as of yet. It's also easy to stow (the entire assembly GPS and beanbag mount) under the seat because of no actual physical connection to the dash. My only negative comment about this unit would be that the cradle kinda chews up the rubber corner edges of the GPS if you attempt to slide it in and you don't have it lined up perfectly.

Edited April 4, 2005 by TeamGonzo

[+wornout]

I used a suction cup mount next to the post on the left inside windshield on my Dodge Truck. It is out of the way and works for me. I put a piece of double sided tape on the suction cup rubber and stuck it to the glass, and even in the heat/sun of Baja, it hasn't come off.

Inside Pic

Outside Pic

Edited April 4, 2005 by wornout

[Team Sidewinder]

The two-way tape thing is a good idea. I have had my suction cup mount from RAM come off the glass after being put on. It is always a suprise when it comes off and the gps drops to the floor of the car. I have tried cleaning the window glass and the suction cup with window cleaner but after awhile it still comes off. I have tied a safety leash to the mount and looped it around the sunvisor so when it does pop off it won't fall all the way to the floor. It could be the heat that builds up under the suction cup after sitting in the window for awhile but I can never count on the thing staying on the window. I have two cars that I use the gps in so I like the way I can switch the suction-cup mount between the two and the two-way tape might be a little too permanent for me. Thanks for the idea though.