Video Back-up camera. Which one?

[David & Terry]

Anyone have any input on a good wireless, in-vehicle, video camera for rear viewing while driving? I have a black & white one off of an Ice Cream truck. I haven't installed it yet because of the vehicle lenghth and then the RV lenghth and the connector between the two! Seems like a lot of wire routing. Then I heard of a wireless video-cam. That would be great! Anybody know of a good brand or model? Does anyone have one?

[Bonnie]

Anyone have any input on a good wireless, in-vehicle, video camera for rear viewing while driving? I have a black & white one off of an Ice Cream truck. I haven't installed it yet because of the vehicle lenghth and then the RV lenghth and the connector between the two! Seems like a lot of wire routing. Then I heard of a wireless video-cam. That would be great! Anybody know of a good brand or model? Does anyone have one?

Here's one discussion:
Back-up Camera on a FGRV

[John H]

Anyone have any input on a good wireless, in-vehicle, video camera for rear viewing while driving? I have a black & white one off of an Ice Cream truck. I haven't installed it yet because of the vehicle lenghth and then the RV lenghth and the connector between the two! Seems like a lot of wire routing. Then I heard of a wireless video-cam. That would be great! Anybody know of a good brand or model? Does anyone have one?

Here's how mine works. Mine is hardwired and I have used it for five years. I have it set up where it takes less than a second to hook it up. It is turned on all the time. My wife (co pilot) used to complain that she could not see what was behind the trailer in the "blind spot", so I installed this. Normally I run the camera as an inset window always on top and about 3 x 5, but it can go full size just with a mouse click. This is a $25 dome camera from Ebay that works just great. I run composite video on a RG-59 (cable TV coax) from the rear to the front underneath and put a RCA plug at the hitch area. Mine was CATV cable that had the power siamesed along with coax. This allows easy connect and disconnect at the trailer plug (hitch). The cable is attached in the convenient frame holes that run full the length of the trailer. This is a quick and easy attachment to the tow vehicle. This allowed me to just drop the wiring to the bottom left and then attach along the underside. On my Bigfoot there was no drilling, just a few cable ties. All wires go through the bottom of the camera so there is no problem with water. It has been through many rain storms. It has not special sealing other than being shielded from the rain under the plastic dome. Mine was black, so I painted it white. The camera is attached with double sided stick tape. The wires at the present are tied to the ladder, but later on I will bring them out under center red clearance light. I have used it for 5 seasons and 25K miles.

I then have another coax cable from the rear of the Suburban to the WinTV usb tuner for the computer. You could use just a display screen, a DVD player that has composite input, or a computer. The camera powers from the trailer battery and has a switch in the front propane storage to turn off the power when not needed. These cameras can be found very cheaply on Ebay.

This is a 40 second video from my rear view camera that I captured while traveling CR 23 Connell Rd just outside the Kanawha State park just south of Charleston WV. These roads are narrow, hilly, and very curvy. The day was Oct 11 2006 and the fall foliage was just beginning to change in this area. The glare is caused by the low angle of the sun. This is a nice state park, but very hard to get to.
http://64.185.13.2/images/bigfoot/10112006rearview1.wmv

More ways to use your computer while traveling
http://64.185.13.2/images/bigfoot/[b]compmap.jpg
http://64.185.13.2/images/bigfoot/[b]camera.jpg
http://64.185.13.2/images/bigfoot/[b]wintv.jpg
http://64.185.13.2/images/bigfoot/[b]compscantool.jpg

[Sandra L]

Thanks John. Could you post more pictures showing more of the details? Sam's Club is now selling a wireless back-up camera for about $100.00. It has a license plate mounted camera, with a plug-in (cigarette lighter) 7" color dash mounted monitor. I'm wondering if it can be made to operate when the vehicle is moving forward and travelling.

[David & Terry]

Sandra L,
Maybe they are indicating a back up camera for a CAR and not for your RV. $100 may be for an analog camera that goes on your car's license plate. That distance may work fine but for an additional what, 20 feet more, you may have to get a digital wireless unit that sells for more.

[David & Terry]

Hey! I didn't post this. We don't have an ice cream truck.

[David & Terry]

I didn't post this.