After getting my Nuvi 350 GPS (and wasting endless hours toying with it!), I was trying to find a good place to mount the unit in my MINI. I don't like the suction cup, and was trying to find a clean, in-dash solution. What ways have people here mounted their GPS units in their vehicle? I've heard the Panavise mounts mentioned as a good alternative - does one need a separate cradle to attach the gps to it? Are there other in-dash mounts available?

 

Panavise will do it, very clean

or http://www.proclipusa.com/choosecoun...secountry.aspx

 

We use the supplied suction cup mount stuck to an upside down plastic cap from a can of spray paint in one of the cupholders.

 

Thats a good idea!

 

We got the idea from somebody in our MINI club - you will probably have to try several different caps to find on that will hold suction for more than a few minutes. Ones with a glossy finish seem to work best. Ours will stick for a full day.

 

Chows4us, how many satelites does your gps pick up? I believe the typical hookup is 12 satellites at a time...but since your gps is 'hidden' down by the radio, im just curious how your reception is.

Im currently researching some gps's and how/where to mount it in my Mini...but assumend it wouldn't work where you have yours mounted. (unless you purchased an external antenna)

 

hi All - I have had good luck with the Proclip angled low mount ( Link Here ) to which I mounted a ball/swivel joint and the factory-supplied Magellan cradle for the 6000T. The swivel joint lets you adjust the viewing angle of the screen through a pretty good range. I got Item No. 213018 "Tilt Swivel Mount" also from Proclip.

The ProClip mount attaches to the passenger-side downtube with some 3m adhesive tape. It DOES interfere with the glove box opening IF you place it too high. In the position I chose the GB door stops about 2" higher than normal, which for me was not a big deal. You can press-fit the clip before locking it down with the adhesive strips, which you probably want to do.

The GPS does not get good reception on its interal antenna in this location, which I anticipated from some SOTP testing. I bought and routed an external antenna along the passenger-side dash along the bottom of the glove box and up to the passenger side A pillar. I secured it with a 3M removeable mounting square. It's inconspicous and works great - see upper right of photo.

I chose the 6000T for the BT speakerphone and for the built-in traffic updates. I also like the real buttons as opposed to only a touch-screen.

Overall I am really pleased with the results!!

regards,

robc

 

I'm happy with my suction mount - I take it all out when I'm driving around home ('cause I know where i'm gooing ) but when I need it, I mount it up in my field of vision so I don't have to take my eyes too far away from the road (which is a problem I have with the other styles of mounts like the proclip). It looks a bit busy when it's all set up, but I don't mind because it can all be packed away.


(btw - not my hands... )

 

Bingo What you don't see is the external antenna snaked throught headliner and was back behind the shorty regular antenna

BTW, its highly doubtful you track all 12 satellites because they are all in different positions in the sky. However, with the external antenna, the signal lock on the Magallan is "blue" meaning the strongest signal it can receive.

HOWEVER ... todays receivers are MUCH more sensitive as in the NUVIs. They would pick up the satellites even so low.

 

Nice! Id be interested in how difficult it was for you to wire the external antenna thru your mini and into the cars' antenna housing.. Any pictures by any chance??

 

Its not into the antenna housing, it has its own antenna. Although this shows XM, just picture another one beside it.

 

Ah very cool.
Ive heard that some people have installed their antenna inside the newer-style Mini antenna 05+? (my antenna base is larger). Thus using the same hole as the fm cable.

 

Here is my setup of my Garmin. It works well.

 

Yeah that works too. Im thinking of placing mine (when i finally decide on which one to get), just to the right of the steering wheel on the dash...somehow. Ill think about that when i get it.
If i get the garmin c3xx, it has a sort of rounded profile that would look pretty good in with the dash...

 

No one has mentioned the Kuda mount yet. Perfect position, very close to your view yet doesn't block the road:



Read more here:
http://www.jwardell.com/mini/nav.html

 

I just got a TomTomGP300 for my b'day! (yay!)


**Update (02/08/07): The "mount" shown below has not worked out as well as I had wished. Looks great on paper/in print, and works great for highway driving. However, for sharp and even medium turns at a different speed, it falls out of the cup-holder. I love the location- Any suggestions, folks?)**


Technically, I shouldn't mount it on the windshield due to California Vehicle Code something or other... Yet another use for the "American cup holder".

My prototype "American Cup Holder Nav Mount":

I cut out a piece of plexiglas to fit snugly into the base of the cupholder; The suction cup sticks to the plexiglas. I've had this for about 5 hours, so we'll see how it goes...










read my blog entry

 

So - I've had my Cabrio for 7 days and finally got all my mounts installed.

Thanks to the many who have posted before me on this topic - it was a huge help in planning what I wanted to do.

The key things I wanted to accomplish:
* Get rid of the crime-against-nature cupholder, and end up with two good cupholders
* Mount my Treo 650 and my Nuvi 350 within easy reach but out of the way (yes, I know this is a MINI...)
* Not interfere with the glovebox or radio controls
* Reuse my existing ProClip Treo holder if possible
* Not use the suction cup on the windshield or speedo (though I've done both temporarily)
* If possible, NOT require an external GPS antenna
* Make the cabling reasonably clean (but I'm not OCD about this stuff).
* No drilling holes in my new baby!

Here's what I ended up with:

Components of this setup:
* ProClip 848090 Treo Holder (from www.proclipusa.com)
* ProClip 853245 Center Mount (for the Treo)
* Panavise 75146-102 MINI mounting clip (from UnlimitedCellular on eBay)
* Garmin Nuvi suction cup mount kit and 12v power cord
* 2 MiniFini cupholders (they rock)
* Treo 650 12v power cord
* cheapo adjustable 90 degree 3 socket 12v outlet expander
* 1/8" 90degree patch cable
* 1/8" ground loop isolator (from Crutchfield)

I drilled a small hole in the mount part of the Nuvi suction cup mount and affixed it to the panavise with a relatively thin, wide headed screw and locknut I had around. Since this pic was taken, I have also cut away the right side of the bracket that isn't needed and smooted the edges - no knee danger!



I also drilled a 1/2" hole in the Panavise mount to accept the Nuvi power cable.



Scratched it up a bit doing the mod, but it's on the backside. I'll touch it up later.

Easily within reach of the driver (pardon the flash glare):


And the unexpected: 4-5 bars of signal in my Cabrio, with the top up, parked IN MY GARAGE!

(yes, it's not charging because the car isn't on)

So far, so good!

I can reach everything, I can play MP3s on the Nuvi from the 4GB SD card I have in there, or switch the plug to my ipod when I'm so inclined. I can pivot the MiniFini cupholders so they don't interfere with any of the gizmos or seats, and can pivot them out to access the ashtray coinboxes or the power cabling back there.

My phone mount works great - it's familiar because I used the same cradle in my old car. i like having it closer to me. The little hook on there holds my bluetooth headset when it's not on my ear. BTW - it's a Plantronics Voyager 510 with an added foam windscreen I picked up at Radio Shack. This is the best setup I've found for top-down phone use - it's loud enough that I can hear the other party, and the built in noise cancellation plus the windscreen actually makes it usable at most speeds.

I have a audio hardwiring kit on order from www.newministuff.com to enable me to listen to the other audio sources and have the nav interrupt on the right front speaker when she has something to say. Also the power kit from them to add a couple of extra power jacks behind the dash in case I want to free up the standard one. When I get the nav audio kit installed I'll switch between this and the aux cable depending on whether I want to listen to MP3s on the Nuvi, or just have it read directions.

So my cabling etc. pretty much eats up the cubby under the toggles - but that's why I have a Euro parcel shelf...

Hope this helps someone else who's trying to figure out a good mounting approach for their stuff...

 

What mount is your treo using?

 

* ProClip 848090 Treo Holder (from www.proclipusa.com)
* ProClip 853245 Center Mount

 

im mounted mine by useing velcrow on the dash. cheesy but it works

 

Here's what happens when you have too much time on your hands and access to a big drill...

 

^^ nice interior!

 

I have a Garmin Quest and have it mounted on the center speedo with the suction cup. It is mounted on the "3 o'clock" position. Does not interfere with anything except speeds above 90 (at which time I don't need to look at the GPS). The suction will remain there for weeks at a time. It is not only higher up, so I don't have to look down, but it is also easier to reach than attached to the windshield.

 

Funny I just found this thread. I made my Garmin Nuvi 350 mount today by hacking up the MINI Cupholder and a spare Garmin Mount.



This mount can be adapted to a variety of different devices. I made this specifically for my Garmin Nuvi 350.

California passed a law recently stating that suction cup devices on the windshield are illegal. This means radar detectors, GPS units, etc.. When I purchased my Garmin Nuvi, I wanted to mount it so I could use the touchpad with my right hand since I'm right handed. So I came up with this mount which consists of the MINI cupholder and a spare Garmin Nuvi mount.

Warning!! You will have to hack up two perfectly good mounts to do this mod, but if you do it right, you'll end up with something very trick!


Here is my MINI "Aux In" port thanks to Outmotoring.com. I wanted this so I could output the audio from the Garmin into my headunit since the built in speaker isn't loud enough to hear directions with the windows down or loud music playing.


Spare Garmin mount I purchased for this mod.




Cup holder disassembled


You only need the right angle portion




This hacksaw didn't even make a scratch!


A Dremel with a cut off wheel was needed to cut the cup holder. Use a vise to hold the piping as you cut!


This is all you need of the cup holder




I drilled a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the piping for a tighter fit. This didn't last very long, so I ended up wrapping the ends with electrical tape to provide some resistance. I'm thinking that heat shrink tubing will be a better long term solution.




Cup holder mount




Glove box opens and closes just fine.


Doesn't block CD player


Nuvi 350 Mounted


Custom Mount

That's it! Took me about 30 minutes to figure this out and make it. It still needs some work to ensure that things don't get loose over time, but everything tested out great! I love the new location, it doesn't block the windshield, won't attract cops or thieves, I can still remove it since it's using the standard clip, and now I can use my right hand to control it!

 

Well, I finally got around to designing and fabricating my GPS mount. Took a few measurements from within my car, then came up with a small, inconspicuous mount using Solidworks. Looked pretty good on paper and i think it came out just the way I envisioned it to be in my Mini. The icing on the cake was the fact that we have a powdercoat paint line where I work.
Fits perfectly with a strip of automotive grade 2-way tape to secure it in place around the vent and a sliver on the dimmer button housing just to ensure there will be no rubbing. The fork design allows for a quick disconnect to put the unit in the case when I leave the car.
With the GPS installed, it happens to sit in a good location without having to take my hand off the wheel to use the screen.
Works like a charm and i still get full satellite reception. I just plug it in whenever it needs to be charged.

Installed and clean looking.

Side view, 4-way axis pivot.

Garmin mount can be left on the bracket or on the gps in the carry case. Either way its hardly noticeable. (looks like a cellphone mount).

Tried to keep the design simple.