Thread: How do you make suction caps stick

Problem is that some of the cheaper holders, and name brand doesn't necessarily = higher quality either! ... the rubber hardens and makes it harder to stick.
I'd lost count of the number of mounts I've been through, and resting the device on the dash to take some of the weight doesn't help either.
Once that rubber suction cup hardens .. it all over and you only waste time trying to get it to work.

Cleaning doesn't help ... no matter the cleaning product. It holds for a short while again but with a bit of heat, it's back to the same crappy grip.


Oooh! that reminded me, I had Qi magnetic phone holder to fix too!

Well... since you wanted convoluted...
When the rubber dries out, you could always treat it with some Einszett Gummi Pflege rubber conditioner. That stuff is the duck's nuts.

I was about to suggest something to condition the rubber, like soaking it in canola oil, but then Toxic A came up with the duck's nuts.

I was about to post about the bee's knees, but then I remembered something better

Well thanks for all those comments - I can assure you cleaning the glass etc and then spitting on the sucker does not work for long. That special tape looks promising.

However first I will try some some sort if thicker oil - like olive oil to see if that works - as I said the caps pop in hot weather where the space between the glass and sucker expands and causes the cap to pop off.

I will see what happens

Thanks for the input.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

.... as I said the caps pop in hot weather where the space between the glass and sucker expands and causes the cap to pop off.

.....

I don't think it's the space between glass and sucker expanding that's the real issue.
Like I said, I reckon I've been through about 20 different types over the past 15 years, and they all have the same issue.
When new they work well, after a few months of always stuck on type usage, the sun and/or heat must harden the rubber sucker gripper vacuum thingie part, and when you fit it it doesn't grip like when it was new.
Some have even hardened to the point where they don't stick on at all.

My cars have always been parked bum first in my driveway, but that means the front faces north, and hence the sun .. so in about 6 months they've all failed.
That is, except the RAM mount I used to have for my courier PDA device(which weighed a ton compared to phones and tablets and stuff like that) .. and the RAM arm the company setup for us were all of the long variety too.
That mount has never failed in about 5 years of constant use.
No longer courier tho, so I hacked up a mount for my 7" tablet using the holder of one of the failed mounts onto the arm and suction cup of the RAM mount. It's never fallen off .. ever!
So I reckon that RAM mount (I'm using for the tablet now) is about 12 years old now.

I then purchased another RAM mount with a proper slidey tablet holder thing, and another arm and suction cup.
That suction cup and arm got cobbled with various phone holders to hold the phone, but the phone is placed on the RHS of the D1's window, which has a tighter curve. That one falls off once a month or so, and I reckon more so due to the sharper curve of that section of the screen.
Otherwise makes no sense why the heavier tablet on the centre of the screen never falls off, but the phone one does(with the new suction cup).

For Goodness sake try the Dual Lock . My son told me he also uses it for that type of thing also without problems. Get the thicker one on ebay in transparent tape.

3M Dual Lock (12mm/25mm) Reclosable Adhesive Tape Black/Clear 20cm-10m Hook Loop | eBay

Regards Philip A
PS I just bought some more as it is incredibly useful even to my wife using it to hold her Golf GPS on her buggy.

Interesting looking stuff .. didn't know of it.

Only problem is it's not ideal for all applications, eg. in my situation where at work I drive a different truck every day, and may be in the same truck in a couple of months time .. so having it on the windscreen side may not be practical in some situations.

otherwise .. I've just ordered a 1m roll too!