Use Scangauge and Garmin on new Ford E-450?

lonelyryder wrote:
have a 2014 Ford E350 and it has no trip computer or any other goodies. Power windows and locks are about it. I bought a suction cup mount for my Garman and put it on the windshield in the lower left corner. It's right there in front of me in the corner and doesn't block anything. I direct wired it right underneath there to the ignition. There are a lot of places right under there to hook it up. I am interested in getting a scanguage so let me know how it works.
BTW the factory speakers in the doors and elsewhere are real junk. Cheapest Chinese you have ever seen. I had them replaced with some Polks from Crutchfield @$75 per pair and it is all the difference in the world. Highly recommended if you want to listen to music or talk.

My Garmin came with a dash suction mount, but I see no where big enough or flat to mount it. It also has a 12v plug adapter to power it. Not set up for hardwiring as there is some antenna thing in the power cord.
Last year I was driving a new Ford van at work for 6 months and it had a computer in the dash. You hit the mileage reset and it moved you thru the menu of modes giving MPG gallons left in tank and miles left. Maybe that was on option that RV's don't get.
My scan gauge is great to have. Gives accurate updates of volts, water temp, tach, mpg current and average, gallons used, gallon left, transmission temperature and more. Hooks up to the OBD plug under the steering wheel. It also has an engine trouble code treader and reset function. I think it's worth the money and has more than paid for itself with money saved because of my lead foot.
The MH we are getting is supposed to have surround sound and DVD. I don't know if it's only on the TV or if the radio too. The radio has all these things like an equalizer and subwolfer, so I don't think the speakers are cheap.

I have a 2014 Ford E350 and it has no trip computer or any other goodies. Power windows and locks are about it. I bought a suction cup mount for my Garman and put it on the windshield in the lower left corner. It's right there in front of me in the corner and doesn't block anything. I direct wired it right underneath there to the ignition. There are a lot of places right under there to hook it up. I am interested in getting a scanguage so let me know how it works.
BTW the factory speakers in the doors and elsewhere are real junk. Cheapest Chinese you have ever seen. I had them replaced with some Polks from Crutchfield @$75 per pair and it is all the difference in the world. Highly recommended if you want to listen to music or talk.

DAS26miles wrote:
The new MH will come with navigation, but will it be as good as my Garmin?

Regarding your Garmin over built-in navigation ... "that depends".

IMHO, a modern Nuvi (ours is an LM3550, for instance) can be made into a powerful tool that just might best a built-in navigator if you do your part.

How we keep our 3550 going as a super navigation gadget is this way:

- First off, it has a larger internal memory than many earlier Nuvi models ... so hundreds of thousands of Points of Interest can be kept stored in it and always on tap for instant access by it's computer.

- We keep it's operating system and base maps updated at all times.

- We've added an additional 8GB memory chip into the slot in the side of it.

- We currently have nearly 700,000 third party Points of Interest stored in it (which we update to keep current), such as ... as many as possible gas stations in all of the U.S. and Canada, as many as possible campgrounds of all types in all of the U.S. and Canada, as many as possible bodies of water in all of the U.S., as many as possible medical facilities in all of the U.S., as many as possible fast food restaurants in all of the U.S., as many as possible Camping World stores in all of the U.S., as many as possible locations of Ford service points in all of the U.S., a commercial Point of Interest database of all overpass/bridge heights in all of the U.S. (cost = about $17/yr), etc., etc..

We combine our Gamin with super detailed Benchmark Map atlases of each state for which their atlases are available. A complete atlas for each state, if available, obviously contains a wealth of information - including showing every trail and road of any and all qualities. There's "no way" we could get lost (famous last words) in the RV with these two items allong.:W

(Oooppps .... I almost forgot. We had to pull over and ask a gentleman alongside the road what the route was to Fossil Beach a few weeks ago in Oregon.)

johnwalkerpa1-thanks, any chance for a photo or two?
Ford dash

DAS26miles wrote:
We are buying a new 2016 Class C on the Ford chassis. I have been using scan gauge II and a Garmin Nuvi the past years in our 2004 Ford E-350. I think the new Ford has a built in tach, MPG and other functions but is missing the digital transmission temp, volts and engine temp on the scan gauge. The new MH will come with navigation, but will it be as good as my Garmin?
Another issue with the scan gauge and Garmin is where to put them if I want to use them. There doesn't seem to be any room for attaching with velcro or suction plate.

I have a 2015 but since the E450 hasn't changed (and likely won't again) since 2011 (I think), it should be the same. It does have a tach, engine temp, voltage, and oil P gauge, but none are digital. No tran temp and no MPG indicator. On my scangauge I keep tran temp, water temp (to be more precise than the dash gauge), MPG, and well, I forget the 4th one! For the tran temp, the x gauge lists 4 possibilities for the numbers...I had to use the 3rd one...first two didn't read.

The Garmin will most likely be better than what is built in but that depends on what brand/model you get. the one built in mine is ok if you just want to search for a restaurant or such, but I like to put detailed trip plans in mine..

For mounting, I pulled out the little insert that covers the area high on the dash where the upfitter switches would go (I don't have them), reshaped it a bit with a dremel and mounted the scan gauge there. Then ran the cable behind the console. Of course, this won't work if you have upfitter switches.

For the Garmin, I mounted it on top of the dash with an adhesive base mount and again routed the power cable under the dash and hardwired it to avoid dangling cords. Works well...My Garmin uses the newer mounts where the power cable plugs into the mount rather than directly to the GPS so I can remove it without unplugging each time which is handy

Aleady have the tranny code in use on my scan gauge. Easy to download from their sight. Use it all the time when mountain driving or really hot days with traffic. We have no toad, so no extra strain on trans or engine.

The tranny temperature requires you to enter a code into the scan gauge. I do not know the code.