I got a new Nuvi (765T) for Christmas, and I am struggling to decide how / where to mount it so I don't have to have wires dangling everywhere. I am looking at the Kuda mount that sits on the dash next to the speedometer, but there are a couple of others that look interesting and seem fairly unobtrusive. I have seen mounts from Kuda, Proclips, and Cravenspeed mentioned on NAM, and cupholder mounts on eBay, but I can't get a good idea of how they look or work in the car. Also, I don't really want an external antenna, so reception for something mounted fairly low might be a concern.

Does anyone have any good ideas, or has anyone come up with a mount they like? I would really like to see one before I spend the money. The Kuda mount is almost $100!

 

I am very happy with the one from Craven.

 

I slapped together a cheap cup mount for my iPhone by using ABS black plastic fittings from Lowes.

I glued an end cap to a coupling using 2 1/2" fittings (the OD matches the cup holder pretty good). I used double sided tape to attach the dock for the phone. It gets decent GPS reception, but it hard to see at that location...your Garmin has a much bigger screen than my phone. I mostly use it for charging the phone, and have it connected to my AUX input to get Pandora on the radio.

For a couple of bucks it may be way to try the cup mount location. I made one for a friend and used silver duct tape instead of glue...it matched her silver trim pretty good.

bob

 

Not the best picture, but I had mine screwed from the back into the a pillar and hard wired. Only about two inches of a cord can be seen. I'll try to take a better picture later

 

I have a mount specifically made for my 2005 MINI from www.proclipusa.com. It is for my Garmin Nuvi and it mounts on the right side downtube (replacing the optional cupholder) location. It is easily adjusted for viewing by the driver or the passenger. If you're interested, I can find/take photos (let me know). I like the position of the nav to be lower than the dashboard or the windshield (less glare and obstruction), so this location works nicely. ProClip makes many types of mounts (ipods, nav, cell phone, etc) for specific vehicles and my experience with them (1 mount) is positive.

 

Hi Bob, I was wondering what doc you used from Apple. I'd like to do something like that for my iphone. It currently sits in my passenger seat.

 

my Garmin is hard wired in on the left hand side. There is just enough cord to attach the garmin to the suction cup on the window. Works fine for me! Best Buy did the hardwiring for only $35. Although, I need to have my cable adjusted a bit. When Ralph Schomp put in my new dashboard (I love them for this) They left me a little shorter than I'd like. My cord is a bit bent and that could cause it to be damaged. I need to get it looked at one of these days.

 

I have the one from Craven. The install was pretty easy, and it looks great. i ended up taking the care into a local Car Toys shop. They wired it into the ignition so there are only a few inches of cord that come out of the "dash" area just behind the tach.

I really like that I can easily touch the screen. With some of the other mounts you need to reach over too much... I know you're not supposed to operate while driving, but let's be real...

 

The iPhone dock looks like the one that comes with your phone

 

#1 Cravenspeed!

 

I got the dock from the Apple store...my iPhone is the 3G. It isn't cheap, I think it was $30?

The ABS cap has a domed top, I used the thickest two sided tape I could find at Lowes to make it form to the dome. I had to remove the grey foam from the base of the mount to get it to stick. The foam peeled off the base easy, so far it has stayed put. I used a Griffin USB/lighter charger that is connected to the dock, I also used a short wire with jacks on both ends to connect the dock to the AUX. I tried using the Y-connector from Mini to hook up to the AUX, but that did not work, the direct connect from the dock to the AUX works fine.


bob

 

I wish...no dock with the 3G, Mac is cheaping out. You gotta buy it as an extra!

 

Here's mine.

 

here is mine and if you want one a have a spare one ...it in my gallery

 

I was all set to order a Proclips, but then I got 2 votes for Cravenspeed. I like the idea of having it close for easy operation like the Kuda or Craven, but I also like the idea of having out of the way a little, like Pauhana's. I really like the idea of mounting it to the "A" pillar, but I am not a fan of non reversible changes in my car. I bet the pillar cover is pretty easy to replace, though. I also like the idea of building one for the cup holder . I may do that on a temporary basis, and maybe see how the others look in person somehow.

Thanks for the terrific responses. I wouldn't have thought this would be a big deal, but I seem to have just a couple OCD tendencies. My wife isn't at all surprised, but she doesn't know me that well.

 

I like to hit the twisties a lot and one feature of the Cravenspeed is that you can keep the Nuvi down low day to day but when you want to hit the curves you can rotate it up more into your line of sight. That way you can keep an eye on what lies ahead! Really comes in handy when you don't know the road!

 

I know you asked about third party mounts, but I suggest that you at least consider using the suction cup mount that came with your NUVI, and mount it on the face of the speedometer.... and remove the whole thing, NAV plus mount, when you're not actually using it. Perhaps bad guys aren't a concern where you live, but car break-ins looking for NAVs are a big concern in many areas, and those permanent mounting brackets still announce that "a NAV is in this car" even if the NAV itself is removed. Do a search on here, the topic has been covered many times before.

 

Excellent Idea! I didn't realize the suction cup would stick there. I just spent an hour looking at mounts before I read that! I'm still going to buy a mount for my blackberry, but not for the Nuvi.