Dash Mount - Bulletpoint, RAM Mount, Something Else?

[undert0e]

+1 for 67 designs. Products are top notch and their customer service is amazing.

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[Wolf Island Diver]

Buy the twist arm, it has 2 adjustment knobs

I don’t see any product on their site called a “twist arm”. They have two “swivel arms”, which do have knobs at either end. Both of these introduce a center articulation to the arm. One is locking, one isn’t. If this is the arm you’re talking about, I don’t think introducing additional axes is a good thing to address my criticism of the Ram system. These are also only available in “B” size balls. Ram is pretty clear about weights and ball size. This also doesn’t address my critique about their arm design. I brought up this critique because 67designs arms have separate clamps by default which is superior.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

https://anviloverland.com/collections/phone-and-device-mounting-options

Have you actually tried them? I’ve been looking at anvil to switch from Ram.

 

[KevinM60]

There’s a few good ones out there.
I use bulletpoint with the full dash platform.
right now I only have the phone mount but plan on adding a hand held radio mount and GoPro mount if my windshield mount ever gives out.
I chose bulletpoint because I can position my phone out of the way of the dash and below the hood line to keep from obstructing my view.

 

[1stXMan]

If I wanted to mount several things, I'd go with Anvil Overland.

Right now I'm running Carolina Metal Masters in strategic locations plus a Velenti Designs iPad mount. Working great for me and I appreciate the uncluttered dash.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Completely new to the Jeep world, and I start with a 2023 Gladiator Mojave.

I’m looking for a dashboard mounting system for a phone, radar detector, and a dashcam. Maybe a GPS as I get further afield.

Two names I’ve heard a lot are Bulletpoint and RAM mounts. What are your experiences with these? Is there a clear winner or is it personal preference?

So a lot of people have come here to +1 Ram maybe in my response to initial criticisms but I don’t see a lot of specific discussion of the Tough-Track system Ram makes for the Jeep dash. I’ve been using that system since 2021. I’ve also been a loyal Ram user for years in kayaks, bikes, etc which is why I didn’t even consider 67designs or others. Ram has a good rep and are used extensively in vehicles. But honestly I’ve been extremely disappointed with Ram in this application.

My criticisms stem from my real experience in the Jeep for heavy items specifically. For a cell phone or Garmin inReach this doesn’t matter and you could buy any system and be fine. For an iPad or Garmin tread or other heavy and large device I wouldn’t recommend the Ram Tough-Track system.

The balls screw into the Ram Tough-Track. However even with the rubber grip at the bottom of the Tough-Track-specific balls, they will rotate with the leverage of a cantilevered arm. In other words, unscrew partially. I’ve used the Ram arm as a tool to tighten them. It’s not enough to keep them tight. I really don’t want to Locktite them in place. You have to cantilever the arm to get to the edge of the dash unless you want your iPad blocking the windshield. YMMV with State Police in that situation, but I prefer to see out along the bottom of my windshield when off roading. With an arm coming out from the Tough-Track I cannot get it tight enough that it won’t rotate if you knock into the device.

The second problem is that the balls made for the Tough-Track are rubber and they flex. This allows a heavy device to bounce. You can tighten the arms until the ball starts to deform and it will make no difference. The solution would be to brace the arm against the top of the dash. You see pictures of 67designs arms coming out from the dash mount and resting on the top of the dash. I’ve never been able to do that with Ram. It’s difficult to brace the with Ram arm because its adjustment knob is in the center. I don’t want the adjustment knob resting on the dash because I need to turn it. Ram arms also need to be rotated in a certain direction if a ball mount is rotated beyond a certain point. The height of the ball off of Tough-Track coupled with the design of the arm makes it hard to angle it back down to the dash anyway. It wants to spring back up. So overall, with this system, resting the arm against the dash to stabilize it is an unworkable solution. This is why I had to wedge high density foam between the Ram arm and my dash as a soft brace.

You can see here, the Ram arm that holds the iPad is coming out from the Tough-Track at a right angle. It would have to go negative to rest on the dash. You can see the foam I’ve wedged under there. When trying to use the GPS map the whole thing vibrates and bounces. It’s useable but annoying. Without the foam it’s unusable. Angling this up and ditching the second arm won’t actually reduce the problem because it’s not coming from the connection between the two arms. Their connection is nice and rigid. It’s coming from the Tough-Track ball. Also this would put the iPad up in the way of the view through the windshield.

My system with the “B” ball size was unusable for a tablet. It vibrated and shook all over. But Ram is clear on their website that for heavy objects you should be using the larger “C” size ball. So after buying all the B stuff for the setup I went out and bought a whole bunch of C size stuff. The C size ball mounts have the same inherent bounce starting with that rubber Tough-Track ball. It’s just less.

Ram makes a ton of attachments for various devices. I’ve tried two different ones for my iPad Pro. Both were awful. The Tab-Tite holder shown in the picture, which worked best for my needs rattles incessantly. I had to modify it heavily to both properly fit the iPad and to not rattle.

For small stuff the Tough-Track is fine. But I would steer clear of this setup for large heavy devices if another manufacturers doesn’t have the same flaws.

 

[ifishihuntiplay]

Have you actually tried them? I’ve been looking at anvil to switch from Ram.

I have Anvil and it suits me. But I haven't loaded it up, and haven't used a different solution to be able to provide a comparison.

 

[Silverator]

I did a LOT of research on this before purchasing enough mounts for :

- Gopro
- Driver phone
- Passenger phone
- iPad for Navigation
- Garmin Inreach Mini 2 - for texting / emergency
- Optional handheld GMRS Radio

I ended up going with a combination of the Bulletpoint Rubigrid system, along with the CMM Offroad ball mounts for A Pillar and Passenger grab handle. I've used RAM mounts on my off-road motorcycles and they make good stuff, but I went a different direction for the JT dash.....

The Garmin goes on the lower passenger or driver A pillar mount with a CMM ball (pricey but a great solution), the iPad Nav system gong on a CMM inner passenger grab handle mount (again, pricey, but worth it), and everything else is on the Bulletpoint Rubigrid Dash mounts which I think are innovative, flexible (literally and figuratively) and "out of the way'. They have all kinds of adapters and accessories to fit virtually anything you can think of - including RAM mounts. The BP balls ARE smaller than the RAM balls and require an adapter if you want to use RAM stuff.

I'd snap a pic, but I've had a broken foot for 6 weeks and won't even be able to hobble to the jeep for another 6 weeks. I'll try to remember to post one then.

But yeah - Bulletpoint gets 5 stars full on. CMM gets 4.5 stars - but only because they are expensive - otherwise they would get a 5.0 rating.

 

[Steven_B]

I'm a big fan of the Expedition Essentials dash mounts. Includes a ton of threaded holes for various mounts, a track system for Ram-style mounts, and includes a dual USB port on top to keep your cable clutter organized.

https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...expedition-essentials-jpam-powered-dash-mount

 

[Tim H]

I've used RAM but was not happy with them. I switched to anviloverland.com and i'm please with them.

 

[Alaskantinbender]

I picked up a Bullet point Grab bar mount with a one-inch ball to use all my Ram parts. It is textured but seems a little small. The plastic Ram arms won't work at all and the metal ones have to be tightened VERY hard to grab enough to hold up my cell phone. Some CMM parts are on the way so we will see how they work.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

I just picked up the Anvil Overland system to replace my Ram mount tough track. This is THE system. It’s 100% better than RAM. It’s conceptually better than any of the central mount cantilever arm type system. I honestly was pretty skeptical of the Anvil because the long rod seemed like it would be flexy, but a bunch of videos and reviews got me to pull the trigger. The rod isn’t flexy. Mounted items, particularly a GPS or tablet look more like part of the vehicle as they sit inline with the dash, rather than jutting out on arms. It looks more put together and cleaner and the bar is in the ideal position relative to the front surface of the dash. My Garmin bounced all the time with the Ram. There’s zero noticeable flex or vibration with this system. My Scan Gauge II position is also is better with this than the CMM grab handle mount I was using. The material quality is top notch and it’s metric which is nice. I can’t stand small manufacturers using imperial sized hardware on a vehicle that’s all metric. There’s also far more flexibility with this. Obviously you get more real estate but you can also rotate the mounts up or down to raise and lower items without having to change the angle of some arm.

edit: my oddly angled pictures don’t do it justice. I’ll try and take some better ones tomorrow.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Some more pics. It’s crazy how dead solid the Garmin is on this thing. Zero vibration, zero movement and zero noise. I’m not sure if I’m going to leave the RAM Tough Track up there for a GoPro or just reclaim the tray I never used anyway.

I’ve got the Garmin canted slightly. I’ve ordered a double B ball in high grade Chinesium from Bezosmart and I have a double ended mount from Anvil so I may try moving the Garmin down a bit with that. I want to keep it out of the way of the passenger airbag.

 

[Chadp82]

For those using a Bulletpoint, would a short arm fit? The kits come with standard length and photos i see, they stick out a bit. I am just wondering if the short arm would hold my phone a bit closer to the dash but still clear the dash face.

 

[mjsargent58]

I have the Bulletpoint. have two phone and one camera mounted. No vibration of any of the connectors. Solid construction. I like it a lot, a little on the pricey side would be my only negative.

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