GPS Mounting Guide

Garmin Nuvi GPS Fully Mounted

These days portable GPS units have become mainstream, nearly everyone who travels regularly and is out exploring the mountains has one of these so they can mark favorite spots, find new favorites, and even find their way back to the car at the end of the day! One challenge we all face is how best to mount the GPS for maximum visibility, safety and utility.

I’ve considered and tried several mounting options since I bought my first Garmin Nuvi in 2005. The windshield is okay but it leaves a ring when you take it down, worse yet if you just leave the device it becomes an easy theft target. On top of the dash can also work but that still takes up window space and I like having as much visibility as possible, that’s half the fun of driving to and from hikes! I also do my best to avoid running over animals, squirrels and deer when I’m out there and full viewing range is paramount in this pursuit. So what’s the answer?

I’ve finally come to the conclusion that the best place to mount a portable GPS unit in an automatic car is within the heads up display area of the dash board, right in front of the tachometer. In case you’re not sure, the tachometer displays your RPM, how fast your motor is revving, and tells you when to switch gears before you “redline”. Automatic transmission cars show this gauge just like manual’s but really, since the car is doing all of the gear shifting for you, it’s not a very useful tool. You can also tell how hard the engine is revving just by listening and feeling your car. For these reasons, placing your GPS directly in front of the tachometer is a great choice and in my experience much more functional!

After simply trying to attach the stock mounting plate that came with my newest GPS, the Garmin Nuvi 1350T, directly to the underside of the HUD, I realized that both the texture of the plastic and the curved surface in my 2001 Subaru was causing problems. It doesn’t help that I was trying to mount it from the top, gravity is constantly pulling down on the mount and thus making it even harder to fully attach. After one unsuccessful mounting operation I realized that better adhesive was necessary but I didn’t want to use gorilla glue or some other fully permanent, potentially messy solution. I chose Scotch brand outdoor super strong double sided tape which cost $5 at Orchard Supply Hardware.

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