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Nifty permanent no-drill cellphone mount

10K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  casm  
#1 · (Edited)
I ran across this cellphone mount a few weeks ago, ordered one, and thought others may find it handy. Here's what it looks like installed in my SF:

Image


Despite looking somewhat like an oddly-styled Domokun, it's actually a Pro-Fit vehicle-specific mount for SF Foresters - but they also have them for SG and SH models. The design is modular with three parts to it: the vehicle-specific mount, Easy Swivel, and MI-200 miniGRIP holder.

Installation takes about 15-20 minutes (instructions for an SF in .PDF format are here) - what you basically do is remove the trim around the shifter and A/C controls, remove two of the screws that hold the A/C controls in place, then mount the screw holes in the bracket over the A/C control screw holes and reuse the same screws to hold it in place. Reassemble everything and it's ready to go.

The bracket itself is sturdy metal, and the swivel and grip are some pretty beefy plastic. The legs at the bottom of the grip could be a bit sturdier-feeling, but should hold up fine in practice. Because the swivel screws to the bracket, it's a good idea to attach it to the bracket prior to installation; the grip itself snaps firmly to the swivel, so it can be put on after the bracket is in place which makes everything a lot easier to wrangle during the install.

What I particularly like about this setup is that my phone also does duty as my sat-nav and media streamer, so this gets it up into a visible location where it can be both seen and operated safely. As I was using my phone to take the picture it wasn't possible to get a shot of it in the holder, but with it in place there is no interference with the glovebox lid or in-dash cupholder. When open the cupholder does obscure roughly the top 0.5" by 0.5" left corner of the phone's display (I have a T-Mobile G2, so YMMV), but in practice it's nothing really fatal.

Note that the swivel is not strictly required - the miniGRIP will attach directly to the bracket. However, I would strongly recommend getting the swivel as well: not only does it help greatly with the viewing angle, but it also spaces the miniGRIP out an extra useful 1.5" or so closer to the driver. An inch-and-a-half may not sound like a lot, but it is definitely noticeable if it's not there.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this, and it beats beanbag/windshield/cupholder mounts hands-down in my book. Not the cheapest solution out there (though I have a discount code that can help with that), certainly, but definitely worth what you pay for it. Recommended.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
EFFFING BRILLIANT!!!!!

Sorry for the caps, but I had to shout that.

Edit - Wow, yeah that is going to be spendy. hehee I have a universal monut I might be able to bastardize and modify in some way to save about $25. But the bracket alone is $50 and the swivel mount is another $15 still.

But it sure beats mounting the damn phone in a vent where I cant see from the angle anyway.
 
#4 ·
Edit - Wow, yeah that is going to be spendy. hehee I have a universal monut I might be able to bastardize and modify in some way to save about $25. But the bracket alone is $50 and the swivel mount is another $15 still.
Shop around Amazon and eBay for the various bits. I managed to get all three for just under $60. It's not cheap, but this was one area where I was willing to spend the money to come up with something workable.

But it sure beats mounting the damn phone in a vent where I cant see from the angle anyway.
Exactly. And I really hate windscreen (too far away; obscure vision) and beanbag (too far away, obscure vision, slide around) mounts.

same as a Dashmount, yes?
Essentially, yes, except without the exchange rate issues :icon_wink: According to Dashmount's instructions, however, the Pro-Fit bracket uses both A/C control screw holes whereas the Dashmount only uses one. The Pro-Fit bracket also looks to be more substantial.
 
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