Where Did You Mount Your Aftermarket GPS (not windshield)???

[AGuyNamedSteve]

My wife has an '06 Solara SE. We're taking a road trip at Xmas that will take us through California, where windshield mount GPS's aren't allowed.

I'm getting her the TomTom 920, but I have to figure out how we'll mount it when we're in CA. It would be nice to find a solution that could just work all the time too, as I'm not a big fan of windshield-mounted anything.

[kingkakyle]

its illegal?
everyone i see with a portable navi in their car has it on their windshield lol
i live in los angeles
most people i see mount in near the door so if ur in the car its on the bottom left of the windshield

[r0w]

I have mine right in the middle bottom center of my windshield. It's not the greatest place for when you first put it in but it looks great and it is out of your field of vision. Only thing I have to figure out it to snake the wire up and out the vents some where. just my two cents give it a try

[[SMAN]]

I see a lot of people mounting it on the left hand side by the A pillar. Another option would be for a "vent" mount system. I've seen several adaptors for things like sat radio that hook onto the vents.

[theprodigy79]

You have several options.

There are mounts that clip above your instruments (or other overhangs):


There are units that mount next to your radio (a la iPod or XM/Sirius units):
[img]http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/reviews/thinknavi-gps-mount/thinknavi-gps-brodit-proclip.jpg[img]

Or you can get creative and fabricate a mount in a custom location of your choice.

Google around, you'll find lots of potential ideas, then hit eBay for more.

[theprodigy79]

The bottom link apparently doesn't work, but just copy/paste it... I'm too lazy to host it on Photobucket.

[AGuyNamedSteve]

its illegal?
everyone i see with a portable navi in their car has it on their windshield lol
i live in los angeles
most people i see mount in near the door so if ur in the car its on the bottom left of the windshield

It's illegal in CA and MN. The major GPS companies (Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan - I think) mention this on their websites.

Here's an article regarding this:
http://www.technoride.com/2006/08/winds ... aw_imp.php


I'm thinking about one of the vent mount systems as it would be nice for both the passenger and driver to have access. Garmin sells the friction mount systems that sit on the dash, but I don't see TomTom with one. There are aftermarket "beanbag" types, but I have to make sure of the mounting system for this type. Plus, the Solara doesn't have the best dash for this type of system either.

[AGuyNamedSteve]

You have several options.

There are mounts that clip above your instruments (or other overhangs):


There are units that mount next to your radio (a la iPod or XM/Sirius units):
[img]http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/reviews/thinknavi-gps-mount/thinknavi-gps-brodit-proclip.jpg[img]

Or you can get creative and fabricate a mount in a custom location of your choice.

Google around, you'll find lots of potential ideas, then hit eBay for more.

TomTom's site links the ProClip site. Unfortunately none of the responses when searching by vehicle includes an upper console mount. They're all low mounts, except for the one that mounts to the left of the dash. I like the line of site for the vents as it's still ahead, but just down a little. You still can see out the windshield while glancing at the GPS.

Thank you for all the replies. I'm sure by the time I find something, I'll have googled it to death!

[AGuyNamedSteve]

I have mine right in the middle bottom center of my windshield. It's not the greatest place for when you first put it in but it looks great and it is out of your field of vision. Only thing I have to figure out it to snake the wire up and out the vents some where. just my two cents give it a try

I like this position in the Solara, however in CA it will be illegal to attach it to the windshield.

Eventually, we may need to have a custom mount made. I don't have a problem disassembling the dash. A few months ago I removed a lot of that area to install her iPod controller. (instructions in the second post of this thread: http://www.solaraguy.org/viewtopic.php?t=35333 ).

[rollaevo99]

why not just put it on the top of the dash board?.....and use velcro.