backup Camera install

FTWingRiders · 04-20-2015, 07:27 PM

Hello all,

Thought I'd post my install here. Perhaps people will have a suggestion or two, or perhaps this will help in their install.

I've been backing trailers 35 years or so staring with the tractor on the farm, so I'm pretty good at it, but thought a back up camera might be a help now. I was single for a number of years, and my two boys and I always spent our vacations camping with a 24' TT up at a lake, and they were great at being spotters for me whenever I got into tight quarters, which worked fine. However when my wife and I got married a few years back, we moved to a new house with a long drive, bought a new 325SRX and my boys grew and aren't with us all the time. So now I have a dear wife, who is ever helpful, but isn't the best spotter to put it kindly.. which lead me to putting a camera system on the rig.

Heres the new set up with my 6' son in front of it..

and a bad picture of the driveway with my old truck I need to back up..

Yes, that big oak leans over the drive, but I can make it with about 18" of clearance. Yes, the wife said I could take it down, but I hate the thought of it..lol..

So last year I bought a 3 camera wireless system from rviewsafety.com.. Claimed to work up to 70 feet. Felt like quality equipment.. Install was pretty straight forward, and it seamed to work well... in the driveway. In real world I lost the rear camera 75-80% of the time, and even the side cameras where choppy. Disappointing.. However a call to rear view safety, (can't say enough good things about them), and they were happy to exchange to the wired system for free. By this time it was late fall, I took the old camera off and sent them back, and received the new ones, but the 5'er was tuck in the barn, and a billion other projects pushed install until now.

I should add that most of the time, we're getting home in the dark.. Which adds a whole bunch of fun getting up the drive, so I added side LED spot lights which help immensely. I added one on either side, but now that I'm running wires from front to back, I'm adding a third spot light to the rear.. the 2 spots worked good, but I still had a huge shadow behind the camper which rendered the rear camera useless so the third spot should make a huge difference.

The side lights..

Only 4 pictures per post allowed.. so to be continued..

FTWingRiders · 04-20-2015, 07:32 PM

I stuck the switch for the lights inside the drivers side propane door. Easy enough to reach.. I always get out and survey before backing anyway.

I must say with the dual tanks, and front storage, running wires hasn't been a real chore so far.. Here's the new system: 7" quad screen..

harnesses for truck side..

quick disconnect..

FTWingRiders · 04-20-2015, 07:36 PM

Cameras and camper wires..

FTWingRiders · 04-20-2015, 07:46 PM

So now I've bought all, (but I'm sure it isn't), I need to install. 50' of schedule 40 3/4" pipe and fittings to go under the rig. I'm going to mount it right next to the frame rail, I can actually see from front to back right down it. I hope to slide it without having to drop the underside, except at the rear to get it where I want.

I'm getting in touch with a gentleman who does car stereo installs to see if I can hire him for the truck side.. Not a big fan of that part, and if he will, I'll be that much happier..

I'll be taking pictures as I go along, I hope to get it done this week. Any suggestions or critiques are always welcome!!

buzzcop63 · 04-20-2015, 09:12 PM

WOW, thanks for posting!

TomHaycraft · 04-21-2015, 04:20 AM

While camping this past weekend, along with a couple mods which had been on my list but no time at home to do them ... replaced thermostat with a digital from Coleman, added an arrester for water hammer to supply line for toilet ... I started the install of a wireless camera that came with my Garmin 760LMT GPS. Got it wired to power using the puck lamp under cabinets in back of my trailer. I will add a switch so the camera and transmitter only have power when I'm towing. View with camera danging inside is better than what I expected.

In the coming week I will drill through the back and into said cabinet to complete the install. I'll post pictures. With only 28' of trailer, I'm hopeful the wireless technology will be acceptable. Sure do like the looks of your 3 camera system though!

frankenstang · 04-21-2015, 04:32 AM

Looking forward to seeing more updates. I have that system on my truck. The basic one camera from Costco. Been working flawlessly for a couple years. I love the fact that the camera faces the hitch when going down the road and I can see the bars and chains the whole time.

New truck has backup cam in the dash and I'd like to re-use the old one on the camper itself (35.5 ft long!) It would be nice to see behind the trailer while driving. So I'd need a way to disconnect the feed from the trailer. The idea of 3/4 PVC to run the lines under the camper is great!

grampscamper · 04-21-2015, 09:39 AM

My wife isn't thrilled about spotting either so I purchased a Garmin wireless camera for my RV760 GPS. I also purchased the 50' extension cable so I could mount the transmitter in the front storage compartment of our 5th wheel.
I installed it on the weekend in approximately 3 hours. I mounted the camera on the license plate bracket and ran the wire along the underside of the 5th wheel. I used wire loom to protect the wire. I also shrink wrapped any connections that would be exposed to the elements.
Here are a few pictures. It seems to work quite well.

tirnanah · 04-21-2015, 10:53 AM

I have the same rear camera (only) for my trailer, but I'm so hesitate to drill into the back of the trailer to mount it... I know I have to in order to make it solid, but what are you going to use to attach it? Pushing on the wall on the back of my trailer the other day, I couldn't find a "solid" point that felt like a stud along the entire back (I know there has to be because there is a big window back there that must be braced with SOMETHING). The only solid part I could find was right up at the top where the roof bracing is...

Just curious how you attach these and fish the cable down... Getting it to the front of the trailer is easy... And the truck side is very very easy to do... I already did that done last year, and if you are comfortable doing the trailer, the truck is actually easier. For an entry point, take out your back seat (unbolt two bolts, and lift) and bring the cable in through the rear vent, then pop up your plastic entry guards. Then you can run the cable through there into the under dash area and run them where ever you need to... I had plenty of cable to bring it up to my CTS monitor (which is what I will use for viewing behind the trailer, truck camera is hooked up to the radio)...

I brought this cable + 2 CB antenna cables + a new rear camera for the truck license plate in through them and it has been 0 issues with any of them...

Williston324 · 04-21-2015, 03:24 PM

Installed a wired, one camera system last year. Still going strong!

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13792

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13793

grampscamper · 04-22-2015, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Williston324

Installed a wired, one camera system last year. Still going strong!

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13792

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13793

Professional looking installation.
Very nice job.

rjsurfer · 04-22-2015, 06:54 AM

If I had to back up your drive way my wife and I would be camping in a tent

God bless you.

Ron W

murphysranch · 04-22-2015, 11:26 AM

I need to subscribe to this thread. We had the same brand, bought from Costco last year. Headed out to go from CA to AR and it quit the first day. I returned it cus Costco has a great return policy.

This year, I ordered the same brand, slightly diff model from Amazon. We did a conf call with RVSafety to ask some questions before we attempted. Still have not installed it, and had to order more wire.

We hope to work on it next week, so I'll stay tuned.

FTWingRiders · 07-05-2015, 12:09 PM

Sorry about the long delay in continuing this.. when I started I had about a week before rotor cuff surgery, which I though was enough time, but I didn't get to it. Hence 7 weeks before I could get back to it right before a trip to Acadia NP last week, so here's a finish install and review.

I started by pushing the pvc pipe up the right side on the I beam. It went as expected, a bit of a struggle as it got caught on a few things, but fit just right from the propane tank compartment to just before the rear bumper..

Then because of the rear ramp door, there was two choices.. outside or inside the garage, inside worked the best. Took a bit to get the pvc right, but got it where I wanted..

I have paint to help blend it in, but it really doesn't stick out too far. I then had to pull the wires for the camera and rear light thru it. I have a fish tape that helped, but I had to do it in sections or it wouldn't pull thru.

FTWingRiders · 07-05-2015, 12:16 PM

Mounting the rear camera and light was next. There is a 2" square aluminum tube in the center of the wall, so the camera I drilled holes on both sides to bolt it to, and the single bolt for the light I went thru the tube.

FTWingRiders · 07-05-2015, 12:22 PM

The front cameras and lights were easy as I could get to the inside of the tank compartments, then just fish it into the front compartment and up to the back of the pin hitch.

I made a bracket for the quick disconnect..

The truck side is right below the wire harness on the side of the bed.

FTWingRiders · 07-05-2015, 12:26 PM

The monitor has a suction mount that holds it quite well. I use the quad picture, but when I use either left or right directional, is switches to that side, then back automatically.

The lights really work well, and lights up the driveway great!!

I'm real happy I made the switch to wired cameras, well worth it. The picture is perfect, and it covers the blind spot beside the camper going down the road. It's nice seeing whats going on behind, and beside the camper. I can see when I pass someone when I've cleared them using the rear view, I hit the directional, then the monitor show full view that side and I know I'm cleared to change lanes. I recommend it to anyone looking for an extra layer of safety going down the road.

slow · 07-05-2015, 01:10 PM

Nice professional install and thanks for taking the time to share the pictures. Helps me understand the challenges when I get around to doing the camera upgrade.

08quadram · 07-05-2015, 01:57 PM

Very nice. I've got those same LED lights on my tractor.

Sent from my K011 using Tapatalk

Bill & Deb · 07-06-2015, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grampscamper

My wife isn't thrilled about spotting either so I purchased a Garmin wireless camera for my RV760 GPS. I also purchased the 50' extension cable so I could mount the transmitter in the front storage compartment of our 5th wheel.
I installed it on the weekend in approximately 3 hours. I mounted the camera on the license plate bracket and ran the wire along the underside of the 5th wheel. I used wire loom to protect the wire. I also shrink wrapped any connections that would be exposed to the elements.
Here are a few pictures. It seems to work quite well.

Gramps

I have the same GPS and a backup camera that I mounted on a small plate near the top of our ladder in between vertical poles of the ladder.
I'm going to get a second camera and put it near the third break light on the truck to assist with connecting the trailer. They have 2 and 3 way video switches at Sayal Electronics that are cheap.

Does your camera show the right direction, video showing items on the right actually being on the right? We use this camera while driving while passing vehicles. First camera we had the vehicles were on the opposite side. Confusing and dangerous.

Bill

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