How to safely attach a GoPro to your car or truck

I could have called this “How to fit a GoPro to your car or truck,” pointed you to a cheap suction mount, and told you to have fun.

But the problem with this is that this is a fast track to mayhem. If — or more likely, when — the GoPro flies off the car, the best you can hope for is that you’re down a GoPro. Worse, it could go through someone else’s windshield, hit a passerby, or damage something or someone.

And that someone or something might be you or yours or your stuff.

I always work to minimize the risk to others and other people’s property, and to minimize the risk to me and my property. This is why I only use good quality mounts such as the 3 Footed Monster Pro.

Now the 3 Footed Monster Pro is big and expensive (and very often on back order). But it’s a high quality mount. The magnetic base is strong and does a good job of fixing to ferrous surfaces such as car body panels, street lights, and pretty much anything magnetic you can think of. 

The magnets have spring shock absorbers that do a fantastic job at minimizing vibration, and the mount is more than enough to hold a GoPro or other action camera to your car or truck (there’s also a holder for a smartphone, although I wouldn’t recommend using your best daily-driver smartphone for this).

It’s also a good idea to clean the area you’re going to stick the magnets down onto of any dirt and grime. Not only will that mean the magnets stick better, it’ll also reduce any risk of damaging the paintwork.

Now, as good as this mount is, and as reliable it has been so far — it’s never let me down — I still wouldn’t be happy with relying solely on the magnets. 

It’s a good idea to attach the mount to the vehicle using strong cord or straps. I use 550lb breaking strain paracord because I have loads of it, and it’s cheap and very reliable.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way secure the mount and camera to the car.

The wrong way is to dangle it from a wing mirror. If the mount breaks loose (which is very unlikely with a magnetic mount because magnets are always magnets), the it’s going to dangle and swing about uncontrollably and cause all sorts of pandemonium.

The right way is to attach it at both ends. Here I’ve wrapped the cord around the car door so even if the mount was to come loose, it can’t move much.

Note that it’s very possible that you mount and the camera is going to get dirty and muddy, and that stones can fly up and hit the camera at high speed. This is something that can be harsh on cameras, and it’s why I don’t recommend using your smartphone.

I drove quite a few miles over rough and wet country roads with the mount attached, and it didn’t move in the least. 

Alternatives to consider

OK, but what if you don’t want to spend $250 on a mount? Maybe you’re only going to use it a few times? Are there any options open to you?

Yes.

Now you can go have fun!