Illking
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Jason
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2021
- Threads
- 37
- Messages
- 271
- Reaction score
- 1,074
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Vehicle(s)
- 2022 Ford Ranger XL
- Thread starter
- #1
I wanted to follow up on my Wolfbox install. I was the lucky winner of a Tripro 900 from the Christmas giveaway. I’ll spare most of the install details since others here have already done a great job documenting the process.
My install dragged out over almost 2 months. Not because anything was difficult, but because I chipped away at it in small chunks or ran into minor roadblocks and had to come back to it. My free time is mostly consumed by work and a 6-year-old, so I get pretty creative with when and where I can work on the truck. Lunch break in the parking garage at work? It would be a lot cooler if it was acceptable for me to have a beer at my work place while working on the truck. I hope no one noticed me working on the mirror in my cubicle on the clock
Unboxing & First Impressions
The unboxing experience is great. I normally don’t care much about unboxing stuff—especially on YouTube. It drives me nuts when you’re trying to find out if a product is any good and it’s just 10 minutes of someone showing what’s in the box, reading specs from the website with no real-world experience. Everything is solid and quality, nothing feels cheap.
Wolfbox does a great job including everything you need, and it’s packaged really nicely. I bench-tested everything using my Jackery before running wires. Everything powered up perfectly and immediately got me excited to get it installed. I still have many camera spare mounts, cable clips and taps.
(screen is blue from protective film / white balance differences on my phone camera)
Mirror & Rear Camera Experience
My next step was mounting the mirror and rear camera and doing a dry fit without routing cables, just to see how I liked it. It was a little messy with wires hanging out, but I’m really glad I did this first. I settled on the rear camera mounted just to the left of my rear plate so there is clearance for the tailgate to open.
I’ll be honest: for the first day or two, I kind of disliked the whole system and even questioned whether I wanted it at all. It’s a very different experience compared to an optical mirror. But what really messed with my brain was catching both the optical mirror reflection and the video feed at the same time.
Once I angled the mirror so there was no rear optical reflection, everything clicked. The viewing experience became a pleasure. It’s still different and takes some getting used to, but I really like it now.
If you prefer an optical mirror, you can simply turn the power off. The optical mirror is slightly darker than the stock mirror, but still totally usable. If you like to look at yourself a lot in the mirror or check on occupants in the backseat keep this in mind. You could run it this way and only power the screen on when you need it—for example, as a trail camera. I tried going back and forth between the two, but for my experience it works best to just use the screen full-time.
If you have no rear visibility—like with a topper and no back window—this is a no-brainer. If you have a clear rear view, the Ranger already has excellent stock visibility, so it comes down to personal preference and needs.
In my case, I run a soft topper. The vinyl window isn’t very clear, and when we go camping the rear view is completely blocked with gear, which isn’t safe. The Wolfbox solves that problem completely, and I’m really happy to have that safety back. I really wish I had something like this in my old Sportsmobile.
I really enjoy having the GPS compass, and clock / date built into the mirror. I didn’t bother tapping into the reverse camera trigger since the truck already has a really good factory backup camera with guides.
Second Camera (Bumper / Underbody Camera)
Now for the fun part—the second camera. Instead of a traditional bumper or forward-facing camera, I installed it under the truck.
I don’t find the Ranger’s hood particularly long or hard to judge, so forward visibility isn’t an issue for me. A bumper camera might be nice for parallel parking, but after living in cities most of my life, I’m comfortable without it.
I do most of my wheeling alone or just with my family, and having a camera to check wheel placement or see underneath the truck for clearance is very useful. I did this once with a GoPro and live view on my phone when I had my Sportsmobile, and it was super helpful in making sure i didn't bash a greywater, propane or extended fuel tank.
Plus… let’s be honest… the footage is going to be sick. I love making videos of our adventures, and having an always-on, interesting angle recording is a big bonus.
For mounting, I wanted something solid and simple. The gas tank strap turned out to be the ideal solution. I loosened it just enough to slip the hinged Wolfbox bracket between the tank and the strap, then snugged it back up tight. Cable routing was easy using the rear cab grommets, and it’s actually higher than the frame itself. I don’t think it’ll get hit by anything other than potentially rocks flung up by the tread.
I know it’s a bit of a risky placement, but I’ll report back on durability and once I’ve gotten it off-road a few times.
(still a lot of mud from baja underneath I need to clean :/)
Dashcam Performance
The dashcam quality is excellent. I’ve never had a dashcam before, but just this week my wifes car was sideswiped in a hit-and-run at a red light. Luckily, she was able to react quickly and got the license plate, but it really drove home how nice it is to know that if something happens, I can focus on reacting safely and know the evidence is already on the SD card.
Mounting & Power
I used the Wolfbox mirror mount kit along with an adapter that was a total nightmare and I had some wobble issues until I found a different mirror stalk that worked perfectly—without having to permanently alter my stock mirror or trim. You just have to move the metal ring and tension bars over from your stock mirror to the replacement stalk. (ebay seller xrc-tech bracket #158)
I don’t have the auto-dimming mirror, so the piggyback mount would’ve been fine, but I wanted the cleanest install possible and to get the mirror as far from my face as I could. The mirror is large, but not in a bad way—any bigger and it might start to feel obstructive, but as-is it feels just right.
As for power, I ran the cigarette lighter adapter for about a month before finally installing the hardwire kit. The cig adapter honestly isn’t bad at all, and the built-in USB-C charging port is a really nice touch. That said, the hardwire kit is obviously much cleaner, and I’m glad I eventually did it. Wolfbox has some really helpfull videos they posted on the forums here. For B+ (yellow) I used fuse #26 and ACC (red) i used fuse #33 with the provided fuse taps.
User Experience
The UI/UX is really easy to use and feels intuitive. If you've ever made any bluetooth/wifi connection or used a camera touch screen menu everything should feel very familiar. The touchscreen is responsive, and I haven’t had any problems with the voice commands. I updated the firmware and noticed a few really welcome improvements. I especially like being able to customize what info is shown on the screen at all times, and the two camera split-screen view is a nice option.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m super stoked on this setup. I giddily showed my wife and she just replied "......Why?" clearly she doesn't share my enthusiasm but I'll remind her next time I need a spotter and its either a huge drop to climb out the passanger side or raining and super muddy.
My daughter thinks its so cool and i have to turn off the "Hey Wolfbox" command cause she keeps changing the camera on me, at least until she forgets that feature. Huge thanks to @Wolfbox for the giveaway, and thanks to the Ranger 5G community for voting for me and my Ranger. I’m very grateful, and I hope this is helpful to others.
Happy to answer any questions.
My install dragged out over almost 2 months. Not because anything was difficult, but because I chipped away at it in small chunks or ran into minor roadblocks and had to come back to it. My free time is mostly consumed by work and a 6-year-old, so I get pretty creative with when and where I can work on the truck. Lunch break in the parking garage at work? It would be a lot cooler if it was acceptable for me to have a beer at my work place while working on the truck. I hope no one noticed me working on the mirror in my cubicle on the clock
Unboxing & First Impressions
The unboxing experience is great. I normally don’t care much about unboxing stuff—especially on YouTube. It drives me nuts when you’re trying to find out if a product is any good and it’s just 10 minutes of someone showing what’s in the box, reading specs from the website with no real-world experience. Everything is solid and quality, nothing feels cheap.
Wolfbox does a great job including everything you need, and it’s packaged really nicely. I bench-tested everything using my Jackery before running wires. Everything powered up perfectly and immediately got me excited to get it installed. I still have many camera spare mounts, cable clips and taps.
(screen is blue from protective film / white balance differences on my phone camera)
Mirror & Rear Camera Experience
My next step was mounting the mirror and rear camera and doing a dry fit without routing cables, just to see how I liked it. It was a little messy with wires hanging out, but I’m really glad I did this first. I settled on the rear camera mounted just to the left of my rear plate so there is clearance for the tailgate to open.
I’ll be honest: for the first day or two, I kind of disliked the whole system and even questioned whether I wanted it at all. It’s a very different experience compared to an optical mirror. But what really messed with my brain was catching both the optical mirror reflection and the video feed at the same time.
Once I angled the mirror so there was no rear optical reflection, everything clicked. The viewing experience became a pleasure. It’s still different and takes some getting used to, but I really like it now.
If you prefer an optical mirror, you can simply turn the power off. The optical mirror is slightly darker than the stock mirror, but still totally usable. If you like to look at yourself a lot in the mirror or check on occupants in the backseat keep this in mind. You could run it this way and only power the screen on when you need it—for example, as a trail camera. I tried going back and forth between the two, but for my experience it works best to just use the screen full-time.
If you have no rear visibility—like with a topper and no back window—this is a no-brainer. If you have a clear rear view, the Ranger already has excellent stock visibility, so it comes down to personal preference and needs.
In my case, I run a soft topper. The vinyl window isn’t very clear, and when we go camping the rear view is completely blocked with gear, which isn’t safe. The Wolfbox solves that problem completely, and I’m really happy to have that safety back. I really wish I had something like this in my old Sportsmobile.
I really enjoy having the GPS compass, and clock / date built into the mirror. I didn’t bother tapping into the reverse camera trigger since the truck already has a really good factory backup camera with guides.
Second Camera (Bumper / Underbody Camera)
Now for the fun part—the second camera. Instead of a traditional bumper or forward-facing camera, I installed it under the truck.
I don’t find the Ranger’s hood particularly long or hard to judge, so forward visibility isn’t an issue for me. A bumper camera might be nice for parallel parking, but after living in cities most of my life, I’m comfortable without it.
I do most of my wheeling alone or just with my family, and having a camera to check wheel placement or see underneath the truck for clearance is very useful. I did this once with a GoPro and live view on my phone when I had my Sportsmobile, and it was super helpful in making sure i didn't bash a greywater, propane or extended fuel tank.
Plus… let’s be honest… the footage is going to be sick. I love making videos of our adventures, and having an always-on, interesting angle recording is a big bonus.
For mounting, I wanted something solid and simple. The gas tank strap turned out to be the ideal solution. I loosened it just enough to slip the hinged Wolfbox bracket between the tank and the strap, then snugged it back up tight. Cable routing was easy using the rear cab grommets, and it’s actually higher than the frame itself. I don’t think it’ll get hit by anything other than potentially rocks flung up by the tread.
I know it’s a bit of a risky placement, but I’ll report back on durability and once I’ve gotten it off-road a few times.
(still a lot of mud from baja underneath I need to clean :/)
Dashcam Performance
The dashcam quality is excellent. I’ve never had a dashcam before, but just this week my wifes car was sideswiped in a hit-and-run at a red light. Luckily, she was able to react quickly and got the license plate, but it really drove home how nice it is to know that if something happens, I can focus on reacting safely and know the evidence is already on the SD card.
Mounting & Power
I used the Wolfbox mirror mount kit along with an adapter that was a total nightmare and I had some wobble issues until I found a different mirror stalk that worked perfectly—without having to permanently alter my stock mirror or trim. You just have to move the metal ring and tension bars over from your stock mirror to the replacement stalk. (ebay seller xrc-tech bracket #158)
I don’t have the auto-dimming mirror, so the piggyback mount would’ve been fine, but I wanted the cleanest install possible and to get the mirror as far from my face as I could. The mirror is large, but not in a bad way—any bigger and it might start to feel obstructive, but as-is it feels just right.
As for power, I ran the cigarette lighter adapter for about a month before finally installing the hardwire kit. The cig adapter honestly isn’t bad at all, and the built-in USB-C charging port is a really nice touch. That said, the hardwire kit is obviously much cleaner, and I’m glad I eventually did it. Wolfbox has some really helpfull videos they posted on the forums here. For B+ (yellow) I used fuse #26 and ACC (red) i used fuse #33 with the provided fuse taps.
User Experience
The UI/UX is really easy to use and feels intuitive. If you've ever made any bluetooth/wifi connection or used a camera touch screen menu everything should feel very familiar. The touchscreen is responsive, and I haven’t had any problems with the voice commands. I updated the firmware and noticed a few really welcome improvements. I especially like being able to customize what info is shown on the screen at all times, and the two camera split-screen view is a nice option.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m super stoked on this setup. I giddily showed my wife and she just replied "......Why?" clearly she doesn't share my enthusiasm but I'll remind her next time I need a spotter and its either a huge drop to climb out the passanger side or raining and super muddy.
My daughter thinks its so cool and i have to turn off the "Hey Wolfbox" command cause she keeps changing the camera on me, at least until she forgets that feature. Huge thanks to @Wolfbox for the giveaway, and thanks to the Ranger 5G community for voting for me and my Ranger. I’m very grateful, and I hope this is helpful to others.
Happy to answer any questions.
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