After many hours of shopping for a GPS for my car I settled on a TomTom model XL 330 S. Being brand new to these navigation systems I didn't think I needed anything more sophisticated. I think I made a great choice and I'm very happy with the brand and model I chose. What I'm not nearly as happy with is the TomTom GPS Dashboard Mount for TomTom GPS Navigators I bought at the same time. It looks like it's made well enough, as it's heavy and substantial, but when you try to attach the GPS's suction cup to it to try to anchor the GPS to it, there is just no way! I removed the protective film that protects the surface on the mounting plate from scratching during shipment and cleaned the surface with an alcohol swab they include. I cleaned the suction cup on the back of the XL 330 and tried it again, no better result. I still am using the Dashboard Mount but now the plate which is attached to my GPS sits "under" the Mount as it is heavy enough to keep it from moving too far. A brick would serve the same purpose, but would scratch your dashboard and wouldn't look as nice. Then again the Dashboard Mount looks kind of goofy too. The Mount is not a good/wise investment. rob TomTom GPS Dashboard Mount for TomTom GPS Navigators
This works but I don't think it is made for the 4.3 inch GPS that I have. It must be for the smaller one because my GPS doesn't fit well into the center of the mount. It would probably work for the smaller one however. Seems like that should have been clarified before I purchased it.
The TomTom GPS Dashboard Mount seemed like a great idea... it provides a way for the GPS to sit on the dashboard and is easily removed when you park without anything permanent on the dash or window. The problem is the GPS keeps falling off the mount! The GPS has a suction cup on the bottom of the attachment but it does not stay (stick) on the mount...no matter how we did it. I finally bought industrial strength velcro which I attached to the suction cup and to the mount, which works! I shouldn't have had to do that. TomTom has had complaints about this before... they should be the one to fix it!
I love my dash mount for my Tom-Tom. Attachments to the windshield can leave that tell-tale "footprint", an invitation to a break in. I grab the dash mount, I can put the whole thing in my trunk, under the dash behind a bag, nobody knows there is a GPS in the car. It's easier to adjust for the proper viewing, and I find it much less obstructing than the windshield mounts.
The Amazon webpage for this item reads "This mount works with all TomTom products..." Not True! I have the TomTom GO 720 widescreen, and it is way too big for the dash mount. Now I have to go the trouble of returning it. Amazon should change the ad copy.
The TomTom attaches to this with suction and when it's cold, the suction doesn't work. It attaches initially but then the cold makes the rubbery plastic shrink and it falls off, often with the GPS unit still attached! I tossed the box or I would return it!
When it's not especially cold, it works but I haven't had the chance to try it in very warm weather. I suspect it will be ok but not being able to use it 1/4 of the year makes this a fail for me.
I bought one of these beanbag mounts as I am in a rental car around 3 times a month and I wanted my own GPS rather than pay to rent one. I have a TomTom Go-930 which is not small but which comes with a short fixed arm on a suction mount. When I tried to attach the mount to the beanbag - I found that the power cable which is on the underside of the Go930 actually protruded below the level of the beanbag. The plug rested on the beanbag base and the Go930 bounced off the mount.
I had 2 spare mounting disks - so I stuck them one on the other then onto the base of the beanbag. This lifted the base of the Go930 sufficiently that the beanbag now worked. It must be said that it works well and doesn't leave a suction cup 'ring' on the windshield that attracts car thieves.
It is amazing that the designers did not step through the TomTom product line checking such a basic design issue as whether the suction arms lifted the GPS high enough. This amounts to just careless design.
Finally - as I said at the beginning I bought the beanbag so that I could use the GPS on rental cars - only I fly to where I pick up the cars. TSA go into bad wobble-mode when they see this thing on their x-rays and call for a check on lane. If you do need to travel with it - carry it separately through security in its own tray like a laptop. It doesn't stop the wobble mode but at least they don't insist on emptying your carry-on.
Thanks to this gadget, I was able to overcome the problems created by TomTom's poorly designed mounting bracket that is far too short for the GPS and it's connector at the bottom. The bad design of the bracket that came with my TomTom, results in the GPS hitting the dash unless you tip it up at about a 45 degree angle, which sure makes it ridiculous to use and see.
TomTom gives you a disk for mounting their GPS on top of the dash where its easier to reach, etc., and less apt to fall (when it's stuck on the windshield), but the short arm on their bracket and range of the ball-joint makes it essentially impossible to mount it there! As a retired engineer, my opinion is that their bracket was a really dumb design. (I tried to point this out to TomTom but they did not really get back to me!)
This clever weighted dashboard mount allowed me to move the GPS closer to me to where I could hang the bottom of the GPS and power connection over the front edge of the dash, where no longer hit the top of the dash. This also brings the GPS a lot closer to you than when it's mounted on the windshield where its much easier to reach to use. Mounting the GPS makes it a lot less prone to fall off and get damaged since there is also less strain on the suction cup.
Another nice feature is that it makes it easy to pick up the whole
kaboodle and hide it somewhere when you park the car. GPS units are a great incentive target for car breakins, and hiding everything makes that a lot less likely. According to the police, you don't want to even leave the mounting bracket in plain site and this mount makes hiding it very easy.
My wife also uses this type of dashboard mount in her car with her GPS, where the windshield is even further away. She really loves it. - Tomtom Dashboard Mount - Gps Dashboard Mount - Tomtom - Gps Mount'
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