Pros: Very easy to move between cars, doesn't block or mar windshield.
Cons: May move in aggressive driving or accident.
The Bottom Line: An excellent solution if you want to easily move your portable navigator between cars or leave in one car without blocking any of the windshield.
jsquarejj's Full Review: Garmin (010-10306-00) Mounting Unit
The Problem
When we first got our Garmin Nuvi navigator, we used the suction cup windshield mount that came with it. Unfortunately, that caused a couple problems. First, the mount sometimes refused to stick to the insisde of the windshield. You'd be driving along, and suddenly the navigator was in your lap or on the dash or floor. Fortunately, a little saliva on the rubber suction cup usually solved that problem, but it created a second one. After being mounted for a while, the bond became so strong that it was nearly impossible to get the mount off without damaging the suction cup. Our solution was to just have a suction cup mount in each of our cars.
But then we discovered another problem. Some states, including ours at the time, forbid windshield mounting of such devices. Fortunately, we found out before getting a ticket.
Solution
Gladly, we discovered this device, Garmin's "dashboard beanbag." With its high friction bottom covering, it sits where you put it on the dashboard and rarely moves even with aggressive driving. On top of the beanbag, there's a mounting bracket. You have to buy the beanbag, and either buy or already have the adapter that connects to the beanbag's bracket and the navigator itself. In our case, the appropriate bracket was included with the navigator along with the window mount bracket, so all we had to do was buy the beanbag.
The trick is to make sure you know which parts you have and which you need, but the Garmin site and other retailers make the choice pretty easy.
Use and Flexibility
The beanbag is easy to use. Just place it where you want it on most dash boards. In our case, there's plenty of room in the middle of the dash on all our cars, but you should make sure there's at least an area of about six to eight inches diameter where you can put it.
There's a place to plug in the power cord on the mounting bracket, so all you have to do for a "permanent installation" is snap the navigator into place. To move it to a different car, just unplug the power adapter from the power socket and move the whole setup.
Possible Problems
Since it's just friction holding it in place, the unit could move or be thrown by highly aggressive driving or an accident. We haven't found this to be a problem.
Some people may find the whole thing sitting on their dashboard visually displeasing. If so, it's not the solution for you.
Bottom Line
For us, this has been a convenient, multi-car solution for inexpensive navigation.
Main FeaturesManufacturer: Garmin, LtdManufacturer Part Number: 010-10306-00Manufacturer Website Address: www.garmin.comProduct Type: Vehicle MountMore at cameraworld.com
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