GPS mounting in an XJ.....

[cshontz]

John, I like RAM.

Get an aluminum ball. The picture below is on a plastic ball, and has since broken. Too much leverage on the ball. I went to move it to make room for fast food one night, thought it was loose but it wasn't - so it snapped. The plastic ball still lasted a really long time, and is generally strong enough for shorter arms.

 

[LUISJG]

more info check here
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2184&page=2

 

[John90XJ]

So I took your advice, found the RAM mount and installed it tonight. I'll do the wiring tomorrow night.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdherrick/smdscf2444.jpg

Sorry for the blurry pic but at least you can see the mount.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdherrick/smdscf2450.jpg

The plan is to mount the "puck" on the cowl between the hood and windshield, running the cable down to the PS, out the drain, into the fender and back through with the radio antenna. The power wires will be extended to an aftermarket fuse panel on the DS firewall that has the CB radio, power seats and all the extra lighting.

Thanks again for all the help.

Edit: added links. Not sure why the photos are not working, they work at my end.

 

[bucyouup68]

Pics No Worky....LOL

 

[John90XJ]

I added some links....not sure why you can't see them.

 

[bucyouup68]

Nice. I was unable to mount mine there because the Glove Box, and i had to move my CB Back, which means the Passenger Seat Will not go up anymore. Sorry For the Fools In the Back Seat. LOL

 

[John90XJ]

So this "fall back" business is really putting a damper on my weeknight projects. It's hard enough driving in the dark all the time, now I need to work on the Jeep with shoplights, lousy weather and short evenings.

Monday I got the unit mounted, Tuesday was the power cable, Wednesday I got the antenna "puck" mounted on the cowl between the wiper arms and pulled the PS fender back to create a space for the cable. The cable has a short section from the antenna that will come out of the cowl and into the engine compartment on the firewall. The long cable will be attached there and then go down inside the PS fender to enter the PS kick panel with the radio antenna. Hopefully this will get wrapped up on Sunday when I get back from hanging out in our new Cabela's store.

From the looks of it with a few options, like another RAM mount ball and power cable, I could easily move this from rig to rig. I would like it in the Suburban for a tentative Baja trip this fall.

 

[86cj]

RAM gets my vote......The possibilities are endless (Adult Tinker toys)....Very high quality stuff and your right the aluminum is pure beef.....Mine came from GPS City....

 

[John90XJ]

So I finally got the antenna mounted, saw a problem and remounted.

Turns out my chosen location is too close to the hood when it's being opened and it makes contact. I looked at putting it elsewhere but the need to keep it away from tree limbs and off the roof had me thinking that I should keep it where it was. I double checked the clearance and was able to use the marine mount and lift it just an inch or two with a riser. I'm open to suggestions but at this point it works great, clears the hood, is out of danger from limbs and doesn't get in the way of your vision when driving.

Now I need to work on some mapping software as the base map is not as detailed as I had hoped. But all in all, it's a good unit.