Anyone else noticing how many of the old Easyport mounts are failing?

[LukeDavis]

I happen to own a Start 60, Start (first gen) and a TomTom Car Kit.

All 3 use Easyport Mounts (the type with the ball joint) and they've all failed. Be it the suction cup cracking or the Rubber ball material crumbling,

Exposure to sunlight and the aging devices are a definite factor to the failures, however I want to know if it's just a spate of bad luck or if anyone else has happened one fail recently.

Thankfully you can buy brand new Easyport mounts aftermarket or OEM, thanks TomTom!

I'll replace them and hopefully get my devices going again.

 

[Arno]

I had that on a VIA 1535 a few years ago.

Also have problems with the suction cup on the GO 620.

 

[canderson]

Surprised your "suction cup" has cracked - are you talking about the actual silicone rubber suction part, or instead, the hard plastic part behind it?

Are you really in the UK? I'm here in Colorado where the UV is truly intense due to altitude that you'd never see anywhere in the UK, and haven't ever had a mount fail for what appear to be UV issues.

Mostly what we hear here are issues with the ball becoming looser in the mount due to reduced friction, causing the device to keep drooping. There's a couple of semi-fixes for that. We don't hear often about more catastrophic failures of the sort you describe.

@Arno
What did you have other than the 'droop' issue with your 1535?

 

[LukeDavis]

Surprised your "suction cup" has cracked - are you talking about the actual silicone rubber suction part, or instead, the hard plastic part behind it?

Are you really in the UK? I'm here in Colorado where the UV is truly intense due to altitude that you'd never see anywhere in the UK, and haven't ever had a mount fail for what appear to be UV issues.

Mostly what we hear here are issues with the ball becoming looser in the mount due to reduced friction, causing the device to keep drooping. There's a couple of semi-fixes for that. We don't hear often about more catastrophic failures of the sort you describe.

@Arno
What did you have other than the 'droop' issue with your 1535?

I am based in the UK, the rubber component's seem to be the failing Pieces, I'm gonna likely go with the age and the rubber merely degrading being a cause other than UV causing it.

 

[Arno]

USER=19897]@Arno[/USER]
What did you have other than the 'droop' issue with your 1535?

It had hardened and broken into chards.

 

[ATLAS1]

You may want to consider improvising and making your own customized mount that doesn't attach to the windshield or a/c vent. Something that's simple, easy to make from inexpensive and readily available materials, stable, allows you to easily reach and see the gps screen, out of direct sunlight, doesn't obstruct your vision, and allows you to quickly and easily install and remove the device from the car so it's portable and doesn't involve damaging the dashboard.

Make a base out of wood or layers of cardboard glued together and shaped to fit / wedge into a cup holder, ash tray, etc. Use a machine screw, nuts and washers as a post. drill a hole in the middle of the mount and secure the gps in place with a wingnut. (Just an idea)

 

[Arno]

It may help someone else.

I have not been using this device for quite a few years as a rogue QuickGPSFix update, that cannot be moved, blocks all downloads ergo, ancient maps.
I liked that lowly VIA 1535 LIVE better as it was much faster than the GO 600 on hand.

 

[ATLAS1]

I've been using google maps. Occasionally I'll use an old tomtom as a second opinion.

 

[Silberpfeil]

It had hardened and broken into chards.

Same with my VIA125. I had to replace this part two years ago.
I could buy a new one on Amazon, it was not expensive and an original TomTom part.

 

[ATLAS1]

Just an idea.

 

[ATLAS1]

I REMOVED WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE VINYL SUCTION CUP WITH A DREMEL SO THE MOUNT FITS FLUSH TO THE BASE AND REMOVED THE SPIRAL SPRING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOUNT WITH A PAIR OF NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS. THE SPRING BECAME APPARENT AFTER DRILLING INTO IT. THE BASE IS THE SAME DESIGN USED FOR THE OLDER STYLE MOUNT SO IT FITS THE SAME WAY IN THE DASH.