Originally posted in another place

I decided NOT to hijack the thread discussing various units, and concentrate on mounts. I HATE the one that came with my Tomtom One XL.
1. Mounted on the windshield, its either too far away or obscures vision too much
2. Ugly circle of plastic on the dash
3. Shakes a bit too much
4. Falls off now and then - this is what REALLY fries me

So, I looked at the Proclip, but I don't think I like the choices it offers as to locations. Right now, I have it pretty close to my right hand at the 2-oclock position. The Kuda looks better, but before I spend $96, I'd feel better if others who have gone before me gave me some assurance that it is a real solution. I did see a car at MOTD where the owner had fabricated a mount that screwed to the back of the tach. It was a creative solution, I thought, but I don't know if it solved the vibration problem, since I didn't get to talk to anyone. And, I know things like that sometimes take more than one attempt before they go together as intended.

 

oops

 

I did all this research this weekend and came away with "I'm ordering the Kuda"

I like the fact its leather wrapped, has a nice fit to the '08 dash and looks better than a piece of plastic stuck on the glove box.

The price is a little steap, but I can live with that.

 

Here's mine http://tiermini.com/?p=108

 

I the Ram Mounting System windscreen version for my Garmin. Here the Tom Tom version...

http://asp.ram-mount.com/rammount/pr...=RAM-B-166-TO5

 

I would love to see some more pictures of it when you get it, both before and after installation.

 

Check on KUDA's ebay store as well (userid = kudausa). I ordered my mount there and saved about $15. Comes straight from the company, and awesome customer service. My 2008 cabrio is on order, but i ordered the KUDA already. They sent me the "post 2006 model" (which is for the R56) and when I realized it two weeks later I emailed them back. They are sending the correct mount to me via express mail, despite the fact that I told them to take their time as it is going to just sit in a box for another 6-8 weeks!

 

Post #57 of this thread shows the dash-mount Kuda in my cabrio, with a Garmin Nuvi 660. We've had the Kuda in both of our MINIs for a little over a year now, and love them. My only minor gripe is that the black leather on the Kuda mount is darker than the dash, but that's not a big deal.

 

AGRANGER has the best looking GPS mount for a MINI. I saw it this year when we did the run up from Cleveland, TN to the dragon. I will PM him and let me tell you which one it is.

 

Here is my latest design. It's rigid, requires no tools to install or remove. Sets up in less than 5 seconds. Puts the GPS in easy reach, and further adjustable via micro ball mount. Fabricated out of steel. Mounts on either side of the down tube.



Doesn't block cups in cup holder


Doesn't block access to headunit controls


Mounted to opposite down tube (sorry for the camera phone pix)








Drove over 1,000 miles in the past week and it performed flawlessly. Very rigid, easy to control. Didn't swing or move about when driving aggressively.

 

My custom solution....







If you do a search there is also at least one other thread with 4 pages on this topic.

 

Thanks, guys - I think I'm ready to rock & roll.

 

I too have a Tomtom one xl and I have the Kuda mount with integrated power supply. The only issue I have is that it blocks the speedometer visibility (between about 20-60/70 mph). After you get past that it's a good place, easy to reach, easy to see, though I do get a little concerned with knowing that someone walking past my car would know that a GPS was in the car and may break in thinking it's in the glove box (though I guess any mount would have that associated with it).

 

I'm a little confused as to exactly which Kuda model is the right one if I want to install it on the right down tube of a 2008 cabrio, replacing the wire-frame cup holder. Looking at the photos, it seems as if the 2002-06 mount (item #092345 on their website) is the only down tube model, and as if the "2007 and later" bracket would *not* work in a 2008 Cabrio. Is this correct?

 

The Kuda site should identify the downtube mount as being for "2002-06 and convertibles", just to avoid confusion. But you're correct - if you're looking for a mount for a convertible, look in the 2002-06 section, not the 2007+ section.

 

The Proclip site has the same problem. But yeah, while the Kuda is pricey, I'm really tempted to get it for my Tomtom GO 930...the angle of the windscreen on the cabrio seems to make mounting it there a challenge, and on the dash it seems like it would be either too close to me or too far away. I've attempted to mount it with Tomtom's gooseneck "alternative mount" bu attaching an adhesive disc to the bottom of the cupholder and then sticking oun the mount with the suction cup, but that hasn't been working too well--even when I let disc bond to the cupholder for the proscribed 24 hours before attaching the mount (I've gone through two discs now), its weight always caused the mount to tip over, detaching the disc from the cupholder. I think the deal is that the bumps on the bottom of the cupholder reduce the amount of surface area which the glue is capable of attaching to, inevitably leading to a weaker bond.

Including the price of shipping and whatnot, the Proclip mount seems comes in at $20 less than the Kuda. Is the Kuda superior enough to justify the extra expense? Or, turning the question around, is the Proclip good enough to be a real bargain at $20 less than the Kuda?

 

Well, I got the Kuda mount and my friend and I took a crack at installing it when we were motoring around last night. I was quite disappointed when we had to abandon the task because we couldn't remove the cup holder from the downtube of my MCSC. We used a Torx key to remove the two screws, per everything I've read online, but the assembly remained attached to the downtube. My friend was working on it from the passenger seat while I was behind the wheel (we were parked on the street, don't worry), so I didn't actually handle it myself, but Dan appeared to be applying quite a bit of force to the assembly in his attempt to remove it, and it just wasn't gonna give. He said it felt strong enough that he wouldn't be surprised if, during manufacturing, they'd used a drop of epoxy to secure the cupholder to the downtube. I haven't read anything online about anything like this being done at the factory...do you think we just weren't applying enough force? Dan said he thought using a screwdriver to pry them apart might work, but he said it totally felt as though there was a significant risk of cracking the downtube if he kept trying to separate them with his hands.

 

The double sided tape can be VERY strong.... you may need to heat it up (hairdryer or heat gun on low) and/or use fishing line to "saw" through the tape to break it loose. But I highly doubt that there is anything besides tape holding it on there.

 

The tape was strong as hell, and it was stuck on horizontally, not vertically as I'd assumed, which made the process even tougher. After breaking a few pieces of dental floss, I succeeded in removing the mount with my hands. It came off with a loud snapping sound that had me worried I might have cracked the downtube or the cup holder mount, but fortunately both are intact. There's still a big ugly piece of tape on the downtube, which I'll probably attack with Goo Gone before I put on the Kuda mount.

One last thing about the Kuda which I'm unclear on given its skimpy instructions--am I really supposed to drill holes into that nice piece of leather in order to attach the Tomtom bracket to the mount? It seems weird for someone to make such a nice product which you kind of have to mess up in order to use, but I can't see any other way of attaching it, and that's what most of the online info seems to suggest...

 

I like your solution Motor on. I think I'll experiment with a similar solution once I get the stereo fixed. In the meantime I'll just have the girlfriend hold the TomTom or keep picking it up off the floor when driving alone.

 

I have a Tom Tom One and I've been wrestling with the subject of a good mounting spot since I received it. While I like the placement of a windshield mount for visibilty, I've read that theives look for the suction cup ring mark on your windshield. I've been through the hastle of broken windows with radar detectors years ago and don't want a repeat. I feel that the mounts on the downtubes are too low and I'd have to take my eyes off the road for too long. "MINI Do More" on the NAM vendor directory offers a mount for the back of the tach. Looks clean and brings the height of the GPS closer to the windscreen. Anyone tried this? Their arm accepts Pro-clips mounts. My other question: How difficult is it to hardwire a GPS? I've run the Tom Tom cigarette lighter adaptor behind the centor console and up behind the dash. While it looks clean enough, I must unplug it if I should have to recharge my cell phone.

Thanks!
Paul