Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - dimdip

Howdo,

Does anyone have experience of the sub-£5 friction mounts available through popular internet auction sites, please?

They look like a flat oblong mat (20 x 16 cm) with a shiny circle to attach your suction mount to.

If they work, they'd be a welcome saving over the likes of Garmin's 'toad' friction mount which goes for around £15.

But I wonder if they are big and heavy enough to anchor a 5"+ sat-nav with dangling umbillical cable.

Alternatively, which type of mounting method do you prefer for your sat-nav?

Many thanks.

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - gordonbennet

I know the sort you mean, rubber mat, plastic disc set-in.

My Garmin is a 7" jobbie and it's too heavy under braking or cornering for such a mat to cope, i suspect a smaller sat nav would be OK.

My 7" Garmin will travel quite happily sitting on one of the heavier weighted more solid mobile pads though, daresay extreme cornering or 1g braking would shift even that though, if you have room for one of those they are superb.

My wife keeps one of those semi sticky washable rubberised pads (usual auction site again) on the dash, the sort that will keep your phone in place, by sticking one of the round hard plastic discs to that and then her 5" Garmin to the disc, she has no problems despite her quite rapid driving.

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - Big John

I've tried all-sorts over the years including home brew vent mount clips made from old PC expansin slot blanking plates (worked OK on my Octavia and Superb with TomTom 930)

I now have a TomTom 5000 and have used Brodit clips in my Skoda Superb I and now Superb II. Very neat and solid although not the cheapest

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - focussed

For many years I have made my own sat-nav dashboard mounts from a 3 inch or so diameter perspex disc bonded to the dashboard surface with double-sided tape. The vacumn disc sticks to the shiny surface of the perspex aided by a smear of veggie oil on the sucker if you want it to remain permanently.

You don't get a sucker-disc-mark on the screen which can attract sat-nav thieves and it enables you to put the sat nav where you want it.

Edited by focussed on 30/09/2015 at 23:34

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - dimdip

Thanks for your posts.

The Brodit clips are interesting. The idea of a properly engineered fitting is appealing, but the price is a tear-jerker and I'm wary of having to look so far down from the view ahead to check the route. Also I guess that partly stays in place when you park up, so perhaps also a slightly greater security risk?

The DIY solutions also leave a tell-tale of some kind I guess, but the innovation is admirable!

Overall, think I'll play safe (and cheap) and hold out for a secondhand example of Garmin's less bulky dash-top mount that looks more compact than the beanbag type, but (per gb's post) should hold on better than the chinese £5 specials.

Cheers

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - galileo

Self adhesive discs from TomTom are cheap, under a fiver for two) and stick like the proverbial.

When I remove the Satnav (don't tempt scrotes by leaving it in when parked) I lay a black microfibre cloth over the shiny disc.

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - oldgit

I have a Brodit mount that goes in the air vent, nearest the driver's window, in my Golf. This is just the mount itself but the width, when highly polished will take my earlier TT's sucker without failing but my new TT 5000 GO needed a self-adhesive circular disc applied to the Brodit as the Go 5000's sucker was slightly wider in diameter. Now all is OK.

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - Big John

I have a Brodit mount that goes in the air vent, nearest the driver's window, in my Golf. This is just the mount itself but the width, when highly polished will take my earlier TT's sucker without failing but my new TT 5000 GO needed a self-adhesive circular disc applied to the Brodit as the Go 5000's sucker was slightly wider in diameter. Now all is OK.

My Brodit for the Go 5000 comes in two parts :-

1) Piece of plastic that clips to the dashboards - custom made for Skoda Superb II - looks good though

2) Ball joint adapter that screws to the clip above - custom made for the Tomtom Go 5000 - the mag mount pulls off from the sucker mount and pushes onto this

Works well..

When I change car - replace 1)

When I change satnav - replace 2)

Sat-nav dashboard friction mounts or other mount ? - chewer1

Bought a Rheme Friction Mount off '' a popular internet auction site'' Weighted base with friction coating underneath. My garmin mount clips securely to it and it sits on the dash and does not move. Tried type with smoooth disc for sucker attachment but not a patch on this and only £6.99