Looking for a dash cam...

[AzScorpion]

I wired it quickly, thinking I’d rework it later? but here are some pics. I placed the front cam on the driver side because I was planning on hard wiring using the fuse panel. But I really haven’t been too motivated to hard wire considering the 12v plug keeps the cam on for over an hour- enough for most of my shopping needs.
My rear cam was originally facing outside but I got an RSI shell so I need to relocate it. The cord should be long enough, I just need to work myself up to put a hole in the rubber grommet on the firewall. I just ran the cord for the rear cam on the ground, tucked under the trim where I could and then behind the rear seat.

Thanks Ray I appreciate the pictures! I ordered the ODB cable so it'll be easy to connect and also turn the camera off when it's just sitting in the garage for days. Now the wait is on until they get more in stock.

BTW you need to vacuum your truck out. ?

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[AutobotXJ]

Thanks Ray I appreciate the pictures! I ordered the ODB cable so it'll be easy to connect and also turn the camera off when it's just sitting in the garage for days. Now the wait is on until they get more in stock.

BTW you need to vacuum your truck out. ?

This my truck after I clean it! ? i wish the floor mats actually went under the pedal... since my damper install, my arms are no longer strong enough to hold a vacuum hose?

 

[AzScorpion]

This my truck after I clean it! ? i wish the floor mats actually went under the pedal... since my damper install, my arms are no longer strong enough to hold a vacuum hose?

Somehow I feel responsible for this. lol ? If you were closer I would help you vacuum it out because it would take two of us with these twigs for arms we now have.?

 

[Gunza]

Looks like I'm going to follow your lead and get the Thinkware U1000 2ch. For now I'm going to wait on the radar module and the iVolt battery. I talked with BlackboxMyCar and told them what I was looking for and intended use and he said to start with this set up first. I added the ODB cable and will draw power from that. I like that it has a shut off switch built into it so when if I'm home parked for an extended time I can just shut it completely off.

I rarely leave my truck anywhere for days (besides my garage) so getting the radar and iVolt just didn't make sense right now. It's backordered until 6/3/21 but that's fine as I'm in no rush for it. The only drawback is it will be scorching hot here by then doing the install. It shouldn't be to bad just running the rear camera wire and the ODB line down the headliner.

Thanks for all the links and info!

Glad to help someone besides me spend money!

The radar and battery make sense for me because the joys of apartment living, but in your situation i can see where they wouldn't get much usage. I'm getting mine sometime this week supposedly, probably will fiddle with it this weekend if the weather holds up, I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Murphie]

I know I'm a little late, but on my previous vehicle I had a Thinkware F770 dual camera system. I had the rear camera pointed out the rear window, but you could just as easily mount it to record the cabin instead.

They make a kit to hardwire it to your vehicle so the camera powers on when you turn on your truck, and also can record when it's off and parked. The camera has settings to power off if you're vehicle battery gets to a certain level so it doesn't kill your battery, definitely something to consider if you want to record while parked! I usually just had it record a few minutes before it would power down, but I could have changed the settings to record a picture every few seconds instead of video to get more timeframe coverage.

I had that camera for a few years and loved it. I did wish the camera quality was a bit better, front was 1080p while the rear was 720p, but the newer ones are available in 4k (which is important if you're trying to read a license plate). They also sell a battery pack so it can last longer when parked and not run off the vehicle battery, but it's not cheap and I never got it.

I'm considering getting one of the newer 4k models for my new ranger, (hello by the way lol) I still have my older F770 but might throw that in my wife's car.

Before I bought the Thinkware I was also looking at BlackVue which offers similar competing models, but ultimately I liked the flat profile of the Thinkware.

Only problem with the Ranger is I can't figure out where the heck I'm going to mount a camera since there's that massive thing behind the rear view mirror. I wish car manufacturers would just build these things into the vehicle like a rear view camera for backing up.

"I wish car manufacturers would just build these things into the vehicle like a rear view camera for backing up." I just wish they'd supply a USB in the rear view mirror so I don't have to deal with dangling cables, or routing it around the headliner.

 

[AzScorpion]

"I wish car manufacturers would just build these things into the vehicle like a rear view camera for backing up." I just wish they'd supply a USB in the rear view mirror so I don't have to deal with dangling cables, or routing it around the headliner.

I don't care that they're not built in but the USB port would be great! There are to many different dash cams out there and to find one that would please everyone would be difficult. I hear people complaining about the radios all the time never mind adding a dash cam. lol

 

[slowmachine]

There is already a forward-facing camera in the truck for the pre-collision system, etc. It would be interesting to see if the captured imagery is useful for dashcam purposes. If so, it could be possible to split the video feed off to a recording device.

 

[GTGallop]

Close call today

 

[Tom_C]

I mentioned in another thread that I wanted to add a front facing cam like the rear with SD memory slots somewhere, like the glove box for example.

I also saw AUS has a USB port on the windshield, which would be a step in the right direction.

 

[AzScorpion]

Close call today

Shit like this is why I finally decided to get a dash cam, it should be here this week. It's bad enough he cut you off but these jackasses don't care if the lights red they just plow right through them. There are so many accidents right by me because of this. Glad you weren't a victim from this moron!

 

[Housemanager]

I have a new dash cam that can also handle a rear camera. Having a hard time figuring out how to mount it neatly. Then someone mentioned taking my old dash cam and using it on the rear window. My questions are:

How did you mount your rear camera?
Would using suction cup on rear window WITH defogger lines on window surface do damage?

Thanks

 

[AzScorpion]

I have a new dash cam that can also handle a rear camera. Having a hard time figuring out how to mount it neatly. Then someone mentioned taking my old dash cam and using it on the rear window. My questions are:

How did you mount your rear camera?
Would using suction cup on rear window WITH defogger lines on window surface do damage?

Thanks

Mine came with 3m tape. I mounted it in the middle of the sliding window as I never use it but you could also mount it to the stationary one right between the defroster lines.

 

[Tom_C]

I have a new dash cam that can also handle a rear camera. Having a hard time figuring out how to mount it neatly. Then someone mentioned taking my old dash cam and using it on the rear window. My questions are:

How did you mount your rear camera?
Would using suction cup on rear window WITH defogger lines on window surface do damage?

Thanks

I guess anything is possible. I took my cameras from my old car, and for the rear cam I used the same mount and tape. The tape was previously used but stuck fine. If you use tape, you could stick to something and remove it so it's not as strong and possibly won't cause any damage to the defrost wires.

I stuck it to the right side window as looking backwards, just to the right of the sliding windows.

 

[AzScorpion]

After having it installed now for a couple weeks I really like the Thinkware U1000. The only feature I really wish it had was the LTE and being able to view your footage and parking without having to be on wifi. Other than that the clarity is excellent with the front 4K camera and the rear 1080 camera.


Some install pictures. I wanted all the excess wire to be behind the rear seat. I connected the rear cam wire and played everything lose to the front cam. I ran the front camera wire first tucking into the headliner and around the A-pillar, across the top door rubber strip to the B-pillar, down and across the floor under the sill plate, back up the rear door rubber strip to where the plastic splits than down and behind the rear seat. The rear cam wire was already ran down the headliner and tucked down through the plastic where it separates and down behind the rear seat where I zip tied it off out of the way.

For power I went with a ODB cable as I don't plan on using any extra backup battery. You can still use parking mode with this as it has constant power unlike the 12v plug where it powers down after 20 minutes or so. This was super easy as you just plug it into the camera and run it across the headliner, around the A-pillar, down the door rubber to where the plastic splits and across to the port. What I like with this set up is if you're not going to be driving for a while you can just unplug it easily so you're not just filming your garage wall every time it senses movement.

 

[AzScorpion]

A couple images from front and rear cams day and night driving.

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