Rear View Camera Question

[War Eagle]

Carl, Our camera is not permanently mounted. We have a spare tire mounted on the rear bumper, and we clip the camera to the spokes of the spare tire where it's recessed and fairly well protected. It's only about 3 feet off the ground, but the view tells us everything we want to know - if there is someone directly behind us that we can't see in the tow vehicle's side mirrors. When we stop to do some sightseeing or get where we're going to camp, we just remove it and store it inside the tow vehicle or camper until we need it again. Not being permanently mounted, it's easy to use for other purposes and with other vehicles when not needed for towing our camper. Dale

[Jon Vermilye]

I have a 2 camera system purchased from Rear View Safety. With the trailer kit they supply a cable with connectors to go between the trailer & tow vehicle. It is a bit of a pain - much heavier than necessary (it is a round 7 pin trailer connector).

It uses a 5" monitor mounted on the dash at the driver's extreme left. Good location since it is line with the outside rear view mirrors; does not distract while viewing. A switch on the monitor is used to go between cameras. I don't believe they have the 5" monitor any more - they now supply a 7".

The one I added to the back of the RAV4 is slightly off center about 6" above the hitch ball. I couldn't center it because of the license plate mount - the offset takes a bit of getting used to when hitching.

The camera on the Escape is mounted center above the rear window. Good location. I have found it useful as an extra rear view mirror, but not all that helpful backing into a site - the very wide angle view produces a false sense of distance...

[honda03842]

Jon,

I assume your camera image provides a lined overlay on your display. Doesn't this overlay help define distance and position?

We have mounted our camera display in the center because Ginny likes seeing what's happening behind us; she really behaves like a second driver.

[honda03842]

Jon,

Our display has a lined overlay to indicate distances on the displayed image. I calibrated mine. We're finding the calibrated display of the Odyssey to be particularly valuable when parking since we're still getting used to the size.

We mount our display in the center because Ginny likes to know what's happening behind us. She's really like a second driver and really the primary observer of passenger side traffic. I never move right without her OK.

[Jon Vermilye]

No overlay, just a picture.

[honda03842]

Odyssey Backup Camera Overlay

This is a picture of the Odyssey's backup camera display. It is similar to the one for the trailer except the distances from bar to bar are about 3 to 4 times as great.

An advantage of the trailer's display is that each horizontal line is a different color.

On the Odyssey the dotted line is 2 feet from the ball. The first solid line is 3 feet, the second 5' and the third 8 '. The width at the 3 foot line is 8'.



Sent from my SCH-I545 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[Daniel A.]

I don't use a backup camera but do use a dash cam in the back window to record tailgaters so I can report them.

If I am slowing traffic down then I pull over and let them go but this is not normally the case with my driving style.

Aggressive drivers is the only reason the camera is in place.

[honda03842]

Daniel,

I rarely find aggressive drivers on my tail. Generally we drive roads where it's not necessary. On Interstates we stay to the right.

On non Interstates we are generally slower than much of the traffic and will always pull over if passing zones are not available. Fortunately we travel little traveled roads most of the time.

The aggressive drivers I see are those that dash from lane to lane attempting to gain advantage on multi-lane roads.

[Fran L]

WE use the PK0RB camera system and mount the camera temporarily in the rear window of the Escape (did the same with our previous Scamp). Works well for us. Amazon.com: Peak PKC0RB Wireless Back-Up Camera System with 3.5-Inch LCD Color Monitor: Automotive

We had previously (for the Scamp) mounted the camera to a piece of wood which we attached via magnets to the overhead cabinet. Went a different route in the Escape, using a suction cup OXO basket.
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Stro...rds=OXO+basket

Tapped into a light in the loft to power the transmitter which we tuck in between the mattress and the nose of the trailer.

[Stretcher]

[QUOTE=honda03842;481230]One of the main reasons for putting our camera inside the rear windows was to protect it from water. So many of the reviews talked about water infiltration.


Hi Norm,

Where did you mount your transmitter? How did you orient it relative to the monitor/receiver?

We just bought a Garmin RV760 GPS with back-up camera. I like the idea of mounting the camera inside the rear window for all of the reasons you have mentioned. We also want it to act in place of a rearview mirror, while driving in daylight.

Thanks,

David

[honda03842]

David,

We mounted the camera in the rear window, clipping it onto the bottom window track, in a corner so the window could still open.

We locally powered the camera, tapping into a light. We then ran a signal cable from the camera to the transmitter. We used a 25 foot RCA cable bought on Amazon.

We mounted the transmitter in a corner of the front window. We attached the transmitter to the board used for the couch's hinges. We powered the transmitter from a light near the transmitter.

We have never used our camera at night because we don't tow at night. We used to mount the camera on the center of the dash. Now we mount it on the left side of the dash.

[Stretcher]

Thanks Norm,

Our camera has about a 6' cable connecting to the transmitter and a longer cable from the transmitter to attach to common a power source for both. It's supposed to transmit up to 45' and it can't be more than 25' from the rear of the Scamp to the truck's dash, so it should work with the transmitter anywhere inside the Scamp.

I'll let you know how it works,

David

[Roger C H]

There is no use in getting upset. It is just logical. If you are driving faster than someone else, you are going to catch up to them and conversely, if someone is driving faster than you, they will catch up to you. Getting angry is counter-productive.

Here is a picture of the Subaru Forester back up camera display:



It is a Motor Trend picture taken from their website on the 2014 SUV of the year. Our Outback is the same. The red lines are about 1 foot from the car. The others, I haven't measured.