Custom GPS Mounting

[Joseph Levandoski]

I'm working on a custom mount for my Garmin Tread since Arctic Cat won't have their GPS Trail Mounting Kit in stock until at least late February or early March. I've purchased a GPS mounting plate from Travis at Barn of Parts (BOP) and am expecting delivery by the end of the week. A friend is going to use his CNC machine to drill mounting holes for the GPS and add a slot to slide the Group Ride Radio through in order to sandwich the plate between that and what the GPS actually mounts to (this will keep the bulkiness down relative to using a RAM mount since the Group Ride Radio adds considerable thickness as well as create a strong mounting point to the snowmobile).

My challenge is the location of the antenna. Arctic Cat has the antenna attached directly to the mount on their Trail kit, but this won't work in my case since the BOP mount is metal and the Arctic Cat is plastic (Garmin indicates the antenna must be mounted a few inches away from metal surfaces). I've been looking at how Arctic Cat attached the antenna on their GPS Mountain Mounting Kit and like the idea of using current fasteners to mount a plate (which I can make myself). My questions are what size is the screw and how much space is below the screw and the little bump that the windshield sits against and is bolted to (the general area is circled in red below).

I don't have access to my sled as it's stored in northern Maine in the moment getting ready for the season - your help is greatly appreciated!

JL

 

[max rolph]

cat has an above the guage dash box thats new that fits real nice, that GPS attaches too, i used a flat piece of aluminum cut to shape and two way taped with good tape on top of area in front of guage and then bent up above guage then gps is mounted against the aluminum ... wrks perfect and you cant even see mount.

 

[yamadoo]

I custom mounted using 1/2 inch strap metal bent in an open rectangle open on the bottom, with each arm attached to the screw circled above and then I used a garmin ball attached to a ‘double ball mount with the second ball on the back of the GPS works well. The GPS screen is exactly above the gauges so my old eyes can maintain the focal length……I can see the trail speed and ‘next intersection info’. Moving I don’t try to check details. Sorry rotated and not sharp

 

[GR8BBQ]

I mounted a gps waterproof case for motorcycles by screwing it direct to a BOP GPS mount plate. I put a flat 5w heater element in the case to keep the gps warm and the display working even when it gets really cold out. No antenna for me, so I can't help with that end of things.

 

[1nc 2000]

I mounted a gps waterproof case for motorcycles by screwing it direct to a BOP GPS mount plate. I put a flat 5w heater element in the case to keep the gps warm and the display working even when it gets really cold out. No antenna for me, so I can't help with that end of things.View attachment 164968

Do you have a link for that heating element?

 

[GR8BBQ]

I bought it on ebay for about $5. I don't see the exact one I bought listed now; it was rectangular. This one is similar tho... https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-DC-50m...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

Here's a pic of the one I bought:

I also put a 12v to 5v usb power converter and power cord for my Garmin in the case so it was powered too:

 

[sailor joe]

I have the BOP mount and it is above the instrument cluster...fits perfect, not sure about a antenna though.I use a Montana 680t receiver that attaches to the BOP mount. Are you trying to add a vhf radio to your sled? Pretty cool if you are but is it needed? For emergency Garmin has a inreach mini that is generally affordable and 2 way communication when things go seriously wrong. Communication is not talked about much on this site, it should be, I'd be good to hear the different approaches to emergency calls and response that we all are using. Joe

 

[Upstater57]

cat has an above the guage dash box thats new that fits real nice, that GPS attaches too, i used a flat piece of aluminum cut to shape and two way taped with good tape on top of area in front of guage and then bent up above guage then gps is mounted against the aluminum ... wrks perfect and you cant even see mount.

Max - is that little 310 number at the top left of the pic the time of day or what tune your running?

 

[Joseph Levandoski]

I have the BOP mount and it is above the instrument cluster...fits perfect, not sure about a antenna though.I use a Montana 680t receiver that attaches to the BOP mount. Are you trying to add a vhf radio to your sled? Pretty cool if you are but is it needed? For emergency Garmin has a inreach mini that is generally affordable and 2 way communication when things go seriously wrong. Communication is not talked about much on this site, it should be, I'd be good to hear the different approaches to emergency calls and response that we all are using. Joe

The Group Ride Radio for the Garmin Tread has a couple different functions - one of them is a literal radio and the other shows other people in your group on the map (similar to the Polaris PIDD/7S gauge capability). The antenna is so the GPS can locate itself separately from the normal GPS locating (that all units do) and send out a signal for the Group Ride function (if that makes any sense at all). We're not going to use the actual radio, just the interactive capability if we get separated. My father and I purchased Treads so we can see where we are relative to each other when going down the trail (it doesn't have the range of the PIDD/7S display, but it should do the trick) while also having GPS on the sled (when going down Moosehead Lake in Maine in the dark, it's REALLY difficult to locate yourself sometimes).

 

[Kuzzy]

Ns1 gauges, it can also do gotenna. I believe that if somebody else has a ns1, you can see them on the screen. My father is going to get one next year based on my review of it this year. I could however use that heating pad on it, I'm not sure if there is a problem with the tablet, but it gives me an error of it not charging when it is to cold. Everything still works with the error, but it only has enough power to stay on when the key is on (doesn't charge).

 

[1nc 2000]

Thank you!

 

[earthling]

I have the BOP mount and it is above the instrument cluster...fits perfect, not sure about a antenna though.I use a Montana 680t receiver that attaches to the BOP mount. Are you trying to add a vhf radio to your sled? Pretty cool if you are but is it needed? For emergency Garmin has a inreach mini that is generally affordable and 2 way communication when things go seriously wrong. Communication is not talked about much on this site, it should be, I'd be good to hear the different approaches to emergency calls and response that we all are using. Joe

The big problem with comms comes from the helmets we use in combination with the general terrain we ride in. On my motorcycle and snowmobiles we use Cardo Packtalk Bold communicators. The challenge has been trying to find a helmet combo that works well with the Cardo. If this is of interest I can start another thread rather than hijack this one.

 

[sideshowBob]

Our riding group have all downloaded the Polaris Ride Command App on our phones so we can see or find the location of all the group's riders. We just sign into the app when we start the ride then sign out when we are done the ride. We no longer have to wonder where everyone is.
Some of our group have communicators as well and I understand what a safety feature they can be but I can't stand the chatter or the constant fiddling they do to try to get them to work right.

 

[Joseph Levandoski]

Our riding group have all downloaded the Polaris Ride Command App on our phones so we can see or find the location of all the group's riders. We just sign into the app when we start the ride then sign out when we are done the ride. We no longer have to wonder where everyone is.
Some of our group have communicators as well and I understand what a safety feature they can be but I can't stand the chatter or the constant fiddling they do to try to get them to work right.

We used that app for a while and really liked it. Unfortunately for us, it's dependent on cell coverage and we drop out of that often and would "lose" each other on the map.

 

[Joseph Levandoski]

I'm working on a custom mount for my Garmin Tread since Arctic Cat won't have their GPS Trail Mounting Kit in stock until at least late February or early March. I've purchased a GPS mounting plate from Travis at Barn of Parts (BOP) and am expecting delivery by the end of the week. A friend is going to use his CNC machine to drill mounting holes for the GPS and add a slot to slide the Group Ride Radio through in order to sandwich the plate between that and what the GPS actually mounts to (this will keep the bulkiness down relative to using a RAM mount since the Group Ride Radio adds considerable thickness as well as create a strong mounting point to the snowmobile).

My challenge is the location of the antenna. Arctic Cat has the antenna attached directly to the mount on their Trail kit, but this won't work in my case since the BOP mount is metal and the Arctic Cat is plastic (Garmin indicates the antenna must be mounted a few inches away from metal surfaces). I've been looking at how Arctic Cat attached the antenna on their GPS Mountain Mounting Kit and like the idea of using current fasteners to mount a plate (which I can make myself). My questions are what size is the screw and how much space is below the screw and the little bump that the windshield sits against and is bolted to (the general area is circled in red below).

I don't have access to my sled as it's stored in northern Maine in the moment getting ready for the season - your help is greatly appreciated!

JL

View attachment 164958

For anyone looking to go this route who will need an antenna (or use this mount for other purposes), the Arctic Cat part number is 6716-424. The Customer Service folks from Arctic Cat happily (literally, happily) sent me over the installation instructions, which includes the part numbers for each item.