A while back I started a thread about alternative sat nav mounts. Well forget about vent mounting Pro Clips at £30. If you are

a bit handy, have a look at this one I blagged from Rav4 World, simply brilliant ? Or brilliantly simple ?

[url="http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531"]http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531[/url]

Clever stuff

[quote name='dave.m' post='767322' date='Jun 26 2008, 09:40 PM']A while back I started a thread about alternative sat nav mounts. Well forget about vent mounting Pro Clips at £30. If you are

a bit handy, have a look at this one I blagged from Rav4 World, simply brilliant ? Or brilliantly simple ?

[url="http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531"]http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531[/url][/quote]Very clever and simple,as you say Dave, now how do we attach a Tom Tom bracket to the bull dog clip, 3m tape? Araldite? pop rivet? any suggestions..

[quote name='local hero' post='767421' date='Jun 27 2008, 06:29 AM'][quote name='dave.m' post='767322' date='Jun 26 2008, 09:40 PM']A while back I started a thread about alternative sat nav mounts. Well forget about vent mounting Pro Clips at £30. If you are

a bit handy, have a look at this one I blagged from Rav4 World, simply brilliant ? Or brilliantly simple ?

[url="http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531"]http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531[/url][/quote]Very clever and simple,as you say Dave, now how do we attach a Tom Tom bracket to the bull dog clip, 3m tape? Araldite? pop rivet? any suggestions..
[/quote]

Allready having a look mate just remember if you try to put a hole in said clip dont drill it, use a dremill or similar with a small grinding wheel.

Might need to put the engineering head on again.

[quote name='dave.m' post='767440' date='Jun 27 2008, 08:32 AM'][quote name='local hero' post='767421' date='Jun 27 2008, 06:29 AM'][quote name='dave.m' post='767322' date='Jun 26 2008, 09:40 PM']A while back I started a thread about alternative sat nav mounts. Well forget about vent mounting Pro Clips at £30. If you are

a bit handy, have a look at this one I blagged from Rav4 World, simply brilliant ? Or brilliantly simple ?

[url="http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531"]http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16531[/url][/quote]Very clever and simple,as you say Dave, now how do we attach a Tom Tom bracket to the bull dog clip, 3m tape? Araldite? pop rivet? any suggestions..
[/quote]

Allready having a look mate just remember if you try to put a hole in said clip dont drill it, use a dremill or similar with a small grinding wheel.

Might need to put the engineering head on again.
[/quote]
Tried the clip thing Dave a brilliant idea, but i have a tom tom 1XL and when i put it in place it obscured the whole vent, and made it very awkward to get to the open and close wheels on the ctre vents, and of course you loose one vent looking at one of these at the moment..
[url="http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX"]http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX[/url]

[quote name='local hero' post='768180' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:14 PM']looking at one of these at the moment..
[url="http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX"]http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX[/url][/quote]

I have bought one of those actually.

Good value for money, Sat Nav fits in neatly, built in power when docked

Now the bad news - I have had it about 2 weeks and am still stumped on where I can mount it - the angle the mounting pad is at has limited adjustment and at the moment I have not identified a single place other then the windscreen (aka - "come break in and look for my Satnav" invitation) where it can physically go

Your 4.3 RAV4 may be different, but on my 4.2 I am stuck and think I will have to fabricate a mounting to replace the supplied one.

[quote name='Hoovie' post='768200' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:54 PM'][quote name='local hero' post='768180' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:14 PM']looking at one of these at the moment..
[url="http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX"]http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX[/url][/quote]

I have bought one of those actually.

Good value for money, Sat Nav fits in neatly, built in power when docked

Now the bad news - I have had it about 2 weeks and am still stumped on where I can mount it - the angle the mounting pad is at has limited adjustment and at the moment I have not identified a single place other then the windscreen (aka - "come break in and look for my Satnav" invitation) where it can physically go

Your 4.3 RAV4 may be different, but on my 4.2 I am stuck and think I will have to fabricate a mounting to replace the supplied one.
[/quote]Hoovie, i am struggling to recall the dash layout on my 4.2, but if all else fails what about central on top of the dash, i think Dave made a lovely one for his 4.2, in that position, i know it could be seen, but you could always throw a baseball cap or similar over it how big is the pad on the flexi mount? if you have a tom tom i have a spare mounting kit for it including a screw on mounting plate you can have, its the tom tom alternate mounting kit on the same site, but its only for the one XL, as far as i know

[quote name='local hero' post='768210' date='Jun 29 2008, 08:45 PM'][quote name='Hoovie' post='768200' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:54 PM'][quote name='local hero' post='768180' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:14 PM']looking at one of these at the moment..
[url="http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX"]http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=111ATTXLFLEX[/url][/quote]

I have bought one of those actually.

Good value for money, Sat Nav fits in neatly, built in power when docked

Now the bad news - I have had it about 2 weeks and am still stumped on where I can mount it - the angle the mounting pad is at has limited adjustment and at the moment I have not identified a single place other then the windscreen (aka - "come break in and look for my Satnav" invitation) where it can physically go

Your 4.3 RAV4 may be different, but on my 4.2 I am stuck and think I will have to fabricate a mounting to replace the supplied one.
[/quote]Hoovie, i am struggling to recall the dash layout on my 4.2, but if all else fails what about central on top of the dash, i think Dave made a lovely one for his 4.2, in that position, i know it could be seen, but you could always throw a baseball cap or similar over it how big is the pad on the flexi mount? if you have a tom tom i have a spare mounting kit for it including a screw on mounting plate you can have, its the tom tom alternate mounting kit on the same site, but its only for the one XL, as far as i know
[/quote]

I'll take a few pics of this cradle, mounting pad, etc so you have have a look before you buy one if you like. I also have the TomTom One XL like you.

It is a fair sized pad, but one of the limitations is that it has only about +/- 20 Deg from the pad having to be mounted vertical - so if I were to stick it on top of the dash, it would be facing too far up - And I have yet to find a flatish near vertical dash area which would work for me.

Despite these mounting issues, I have decided to keep it as I think it was good value for money and I am sure I can fashion a mount.
One place I am tempted to use as a mounting position is the ashtry as that is pretty solid in the way it pushes in; if I have to use screws to mount, a new ashtray to make good if I sell is gonna be fairly cheap and I can just pull out the ashtray entirely if I park somewhere where I really need to show no trace of valuables in the car.

Just looked back at the site - I did not see so many examples of fittings when I bought my cradle. It does appear very versatile in mounting, but I really couldn't find a good place to fit, so I am a bit confused with myself now - you would think something would work (I did pretty well discount REALLY visible places though)

I looked at the "Alternate Mount Kit" on there you mentioned, and that flexible gooseneck part is the kind of thing I had in mind to bring the Ashtray into play. If this is the kit you have and do not need, I would be interested in buying this off you to try and combine with the cradle.

[quote name='Hoovie' post='768220' date='Jun 29 2008, 09:10 PM']Just looked back at the site - I did not see so many examples of fittings when I bought my cradle. It does appear very versatile in mounting, but I really couldn't find a good place to fit, so I am a bit confused with myself now - you would think something would work (I did pretty well discount REALLY visible places though)

I looked at the "Alternate Mount Kit" on there you mentioned, and that flexible gooseneck part is the kind of thing I had in mind to bring the Ashtray into play. If this is the kit you have and do not need, I would be interested in buying this off you to try and combine with the cradle.[/quote]I actually ordered the flexi mount on saturday, so if it works out will PM you for details, and post you that part,don't want anything for it, if you got a one XL i have got a spare charge lead if you need one

Most kind of you Lets hope the new cradle fits in a good place for you

One thing I noticed when I bought the cradle is that the min-USB power plug didn't go into the Sat-Nav well at all the first time I tried to fit the Xl into it, but then I tried again and it was perfect.
IRRC, I ordered the cradle about 4:50PM on day and it arrived the next morning, so you may well get yours tomorrow!

[quote name='Hoovie' post='768233' date='Jun 29 2008, 09:46 PM']Most kind of you Lets hope the new cradle fits in a good place for you

One thing I noticed when I bought the cradle is that the min-USB power plug didn't go into the Sat-Nav well at all the first time I tried to fit the Xl into it, but then I tried again and it was perfect.
IRRC, I ordered the cradle about 4:50PM on day and it arrived the next morning, so you may well get yours tomorrow![/quote]
I've got one of these you can have if it helps with the project hoovie;

[url="http://www.dashmount.co.uk/Additsaugust/71321.htm"]http://www.dashmount.co.uk/Additsaugust/71321.htm[/url]

[quote name='anchorman' post='768283' date='Jun 30 2008, 12:18 AM']I've got one of these you can have if it helps with the project hoovie;
[url="http://www.dashmount.co.uk/Additsaugust/71321.htm"]http://www.dashmount.co.uk/Additsaugust/71321.htm[/url][/quote]

Had one of those for my old Nokia car kit I had fitted...Very good...

Hi guys, still thinking about this one.

Stewart, never considered the vent problem as I never use that vent.

Hoovie, before I made my 4.2 mount, I had one of those black metal discs stuck to the top of dash.
I then used sucker mount on disc instead of winscreen. The disc was about 60 or 70 MM dia so easily
compensated for contours of dash. To disguise the disc, use an air freshner, cheap compass etc.

Dave - Was it your car that had the disc fitting directly above the vents mounted on the top? And the device screwed onto it? I saw something like that and thought it looked very neat.

Anchorman - I made up a bracket similar to that from a PC PCI Slot Blanking plate bent into shape and it worked [i]fairly [/i]well. Screwed the sticking-out end onto a Brodit cradle for a PDA/Phone which I used for Sat-Nav (Gave up with that last year though as PDA Sat-Nav is PITA Sat-Nav ). I may well take you up on that kind offer as well and see what options it brings.
I looked carefully at the Cradle that I have and Local Hero is getting, and the mouting plate at the back - where the flex mount goes - is fitted with 4 screws that would match the dashmount fittings very nicely in fact.

I drove Mrs Hoovie to the train station this morning and spent the journey there and back looking around at the dash at possible locations - I now remember that I had discounted most of left of the centre console because of the passenger AirBag deployment, which leaves the centre console or to the right of the wheel using an extension device like the flexible gooseneck.
I need to find some solution as it is annoying to keep trying to find that sucker-mount (lost it again this morning )

If anyone is interested in bean bag mounts have a look at these

[url="http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=135647"]http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=135647[/url]

[url="http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=135644"]http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=135644[/url]

[quote name='Hoovie' post='768319' date='Jun 30 2008, 09:02 AM']Dave - Was it your car that had the disc fitting directly above the vents mounted on the top? And the device screwed onto it? I saw something like that and thought it looked very neat.

Anchorman - I made up a bracket similar to that from a PC PCI Slot Blanking plate bent into shape and it worked [i]fairly [/i]well. Screwed the sticking-out end onto a Brodit cradle for a PDA/Phone which I used for Sat-Nav (Gave up with that last year though as PDA Sat-Nav is PITA Sat-Nav ). I may well take you up on that kind offer as well and see what options it brings.
I looked carefully at the Cradle that I have and Local Hero is getting, and the mouting plate at the back - where the flex mount goes - is fitted with 4 screws that would match the dashmount fittings very nicely in fact.

I drove Mrs Hoovie to the train station this morning and spent the journey there and back looking around at the dash at possible locations - I now remember that I had discounted most of left of the centre console because of the passenger AirBag deployment, which leaves the centre console or to the right of the wheel using an extension device like the flexible gooseneck.
I need to find some solution as it is annoying to keep trying to find that sucker-mount (lost it again this morning )[/quote]

Middle of dash right above the vents, here's link to origonal thread -

[url="http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74917&hl=satnav+mount"]http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...hl=satnav+mount[/url]

yup - that's the one I was thinking of

So if I understand right, you have/are ditching that and going for a mount that clips to the vent (bulldog fashion)?

If so, how come? that looked really good!

[quote name='Hoovie' post='768343' date='Jun 30 2008, 11:03 AM']yup - that's the one I was thinking of

So if I understand right, you have/are ditching that and going for a mount that clips to the vent (bulldog fashion)?

If so, how come? that looked really good![/quote]

Ni I'm not ditching it mate, just my engineering mind, like to tinker a bit

Plus its good to share ideas

[quote name='dave.m' post='768346' date='Jun 30 2008, 11:16 AM'][quote name='Hoovie' post='768343' date='Jun 30 2008, 11:03 AM']yup - that's the one I was thinking of

So if I understand right, you have/are ditching that and going for a mount that clips to the vent (bulldog fashion)?

If so, how come? that looked really good![/quote]

Ni I'm not ditching it mate, just my engineering mind, like to tinker a bit

Plus its good to share ideas
[/quote] [img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/tomtommounts001.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/tomtommounts002.jpg[/img]
These are photos of the mounts i have, the top left is a standard mount with suction device removed and drilled to simply screw anywhere on dash etc..
top right is tom tom attachment which would probably attach very nicely to AM's dash mount..
bottom photo, shows same plate fixed to flexi extension, black disc on bottom can be stuck onto surface, although it isnt very flexible, then acts as base for suction pad, if any of this helps Hoovie, let me know what you want, plate top photo on right is strictly for TT one XL, i also have one for the TTone

Hi Stewart,

Looking at the pics above and the OneXL Flex Cradle that I have and you are getting and these are my thoughts.

The bottom left mount looks great for a permanent mount similar to Chatmans dashtop mounting - and it looks like this is connected to the actual slide in mount with two screws, which could be undone and fitted to flexcradle.

The Gooseneck looks similar and would probably fit onto the ashtray and bend around.

and Finally the flexmount itself would be good for adaption onto AMs dashmount.

I'll be honest - I would like to try all options and see which works out best - I'll PM you

[quote name='Hoovie' post='768200' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:54 PM']Your 4.3 RAV4 may be different, but on my 4.2 I am stuck and think I will have to fabricate a mounting to replace the supplied one.[/quote]I have now got my (flexi-mount) and have secured it to the silver trim next to the radio facia, see 1st pic
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/005.jpg[/img]
Ihave fed the wire behind the speedo surrounds and down behind the dash, so only a little bit of the wire showing, which looks quite neat IMO
so it now looks like this..
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/003-1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/004-1.jpg[/img]
obviously it can be seen, but throwing an old wooly hat over disguises it, and it can be unscrewed in 10 secs if required, with my disklok fitted
it is almost invisible from outside the car..
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/006.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk126/sjones0610/008.jpg[/img]
for the moment i have it plugged into the cig lighter, and it is a very small plug so doesn't interfere with the drinks holder, I would like to hardwire it
but dont know which 2 wires to tap into for a feed, any suggestions would be appreciated..
P.S. in this position it doesn't obscure anything, and i can touch the tom tom screen without taking my hands off the steering wheel

Very neat Stewart

Looks good, Stew.

As far as hardwiring it, When I had my PDA SatNav wired up with a pseudo-dashmount (bent PC slot blanking plate ), I took the power from the backside of the Cigar lighter and ran the cable up behind the dash and along the mounting.
With the 4.2 it was easy to put one of the silver trims off, route the cable and then just push the cable back. Not sure if you have a similar bit of trim?

[quote name='local hero' post='769736' date='Jul 3 2008, 07:33 PM']obviously it can be seen, but throwing an old wooly hat over disguises it, and it can be unscrewed in 10 secs if required, with my disklok fitted
it is almost invisible from outside the car..[/quote]

Would a cloth cap not provide better coverage and would not look out of place in your area

[quote name='chatman' post='770167' date='Jul 4 2008, 10:19 PM'][quote name='local hero' post='769736' date='Jul 3 2008, 07:33 PM']obviously it can be seen, but throwing an old wooly hat over disguises it, and it can be unscrewed in 10 secs if required, with my disklok fitted
it is almost invisible from outside the car..[/quote]

Would a cloth cap not provide better coverage and would not look out of place in your area :rolleye s:
[/quote]

To far south for cloth caps

Got the various options now - The flexmount I bought, plus the Gooseneck kit from Stew and the Dashmount from AM - very much appreciated, guys

Sitting in the car and trying all the various possibilities, I think I will end up mounting the Sat Nav in exactly the same place as Local Hero - seems to give the best combination of not blocking any switches, withing easy reach, stays in eyeline when driving and not TOO obvious for your average passing lowlife.

On the 4.2, the dash at that point is a lot more horizontal then on the 4.3, but offering up the Gooseneck kit takes care of that very nicely

Only problem now is I am not sure if I will be using the flexmount cradle I bought at all as the extra depth may be just enough to interfere with the left steering wheel stalk - hand banging it when moving up.
Will have to mount the disc/gooseneck and try both standard and flexmount fitted on end of goosneck to see, so need to go and buy some doublesided tape before phase 2.

I'll be back

[quote name='chatman' post='770167' date='Jul 4 2008, 10:19 PM']Would a cloth cap not provide better coverage and would not look out of place in your area [/quote] actually when M/C UTD were playing in Russia, I asked a few of my mates to bring me back one of those furry hats with ear pads , but they all let me down anyway my new sat nav mount is quite large, so i was wondering if anyone on here might have a spare topper i could use, obviously someone from (darn sarf) used to attending society events, and generally hob nobbing with the hoy palloy! How did your night slumming it in Manchester go CHATMAN?
HOOVIE, could you not adjust your steering wheel slightly to give you clearance? I have hard wired mine now, but why is the wiring on modern cars so thin?
it caused me a few problems trying to connect in to it..But all done now!

maybe you could nip over the border and get one of those Welsh witches hats

I am pretty sure I will be able to have the flexmounting there - just a bit tricky using one hand to hold the base in position, the second to keep the Sat-Nav against the other end of the gooseneck (not adapted to join yet) and the third hand to check the clearance

Did you feed off the Cigar lighter in the end?

One thing which would improve the flexmount look a lot would be be the power socket was at the back rather then the bottom - plenty of room at the back to have had it there

[quote name='local hero' post='770317' date='Jul 5 2008, 01:32 PM']( anyway my new sat nav mount is quite large, so i was wondering if anyone on here might have a spare topper i could use, obviously someone from (darn sarf) used to attending society events, and generally hob nobbing with the hoy palloy! How did your night slumming it in Manchester go CHATMAN?[/quote]

Not been to my tailor in Savile Row for a while now will ask them next time I'm there

Went well, Hotel was nice and only a short walk to the Uni.... Nice place where I was, right next to the Manchester Museum....I'm up there again next Wed night until Friday.....

Train had to make an un-scheduled stop on the way back... Lady went into labour and they needed to call an ambulance to meet us at next station.....all this on a Virgin train.... Still good journey and comfortable as well......

[quote name='Hoovie' post='770320' date='Jul 5 2008, 01:41 PM']maybe you could nip over the border and get one of those Welsh witches hats

I am pretty sure I will be able to have the flexmounting there - just a bit tricky using one hand to hold the base in position, the second to keep the Sat-Nav against the other end of the gooseneck (not adapted to join yet) and the third hand to check the clearance

Did you feed off the Cigar lighter in the end?

One thing which would improve the flexmount look a lot would be be the power socket was at the back rather then the bottom - plenty of room at the back to have had it there [/quote]Hoovie, there is a power point inside the armrest on the 4.3, so i connected to the back of that, i know they are frowned upon but i tried using those scotch locks but wiring was so thin they couldn't make a decent contact, so ended up cutting the wires and using those block connectors that come in a strip, a bit fiddly and scary..When i tried tightening the knurled nut on the back of the flex mount it didnt seem to grip very tightly on the ball, (i may of over tightened it) so i put a spot of super glue on the ball and got it into position quickly, and its all nice and rigid now..

[quote name='Hoovie' post='770320' date='Jul 5 2008, 01:41 PM']One thing which would improve the flexmount look a lot would be be the power socket was at the back rather then the bottom - plenty of room at the back to have had it there [/quote]

Not got the double-sided tape yet, but made the following mod to the Flexmount Cradle.

As I mentioned, the power plugging into the bottom looks a bit horrible to me, so I took the cradle apart and moved the Power Inverter PCB (this that takes the 12V input and converts to to 5V to the Sat-Nav) from the bottom of the unit to the rear and side.

The "Before" Cradle:
[img]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z50/Hoovie_bucket/Forums/TomTomCradle-0.jpg[/img]

The "After" Cradle:
[img]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z50/Hoovie_bucket/Forums/TomTomCradle-1.jpg[/img]
I removed one of the 4 bolt supports for the mounting bracket to make room for the PCB. The PCB is about 1-2mm too tall, so the rear cover of the cradle very slightly bulges but it is not very pronounced.
Also needed to cut a small bit (5mm) off the PCB so it would fit, drill a hole from the lower part to the rear compartment to feed the wires through from the TomTom connector to the PCB and then resolder them back on, and finally drill a suitable hole for the power plug to go through casing into socket on PCB

So this is what the side view is like:
[img]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z50/Hoovie_bucket/Forums/TomTomCradle-2.jpg[/img]

And from the rear you can see the power is nicely away from view:
[img]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z50/Hoovie_bucket/Forums/TomTomCradle-3.jpg[/img]
The holes are where the original bracket was fitted and the top two and one on other side from power plug will be reused to secure onto the Gooseneck mounting front once a bit more 'Dremeling' takes place