Backup Monitor/Camera???

[89Suburban]

Anybody here use them? I hook to a boat trailer everyday and my lic plate is getting a beating. I would like to hear what you use for a rear camera and where it is mounted, etc. I would really like to have one looking down from the barn doors at the hitch ball/bumper. And to they work at night?

 

[crazy4offroad]

I have one on my 02 Sierra and love it. It's "wireless" meaning you dont have to run a wire from the cab to the back. The cam attaches at the license plate and wires into your backup lght wire to power on, and the same with the screen in the cab. You find your reverse light lead on your column and tie into it to power the screen. The cam at the back has a thin wire about a foot long that you ziptie up out of the way that handles the wireless signal. Now it only takes me one try to back up to my trailer, where before I had to get out a hundred times and figure out which way I needed to move. I got mine at Wal-Mart, similar to this one...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyle-Wire...ision-Camera-System/14575739?findingMethod=rr
Mine isnt nightvision but honestly when your backup lights are on you dont really need nightvision IMO.

 

[HotRodPC]

I used one on the self loader repo truck for backing under cars with the stinger not to hit the oil pan. It worked like hell until you got close enough to block the sun so you could see. But it worked good otherwise as long as the sunlight wasn't coming at it. Night time with back up work lights it was great or the opposite direction of the sun. Could have been a quality factor too, but the sunlight white washed the screen so bad you couldn't see with it at times. I wouldn't rely on it totally. I just got used to dropping the stinger and aim it for the center hood emblem and when I hear the stinger dragging the groud, I knew it was all the way down. Sometimes the cam angle can throw you off. So, Pros and Cons.

 

[timbo350]

get the peak brand one from discount auto parts i have it and it works great no more in and out of the truck and yes it works great at nite I have 2.5 percent tint on my windows which means I cant see crap at nite and this thing shows everything behind the truck

 

[89Suburban]

So from that lic plate angle you can see good enough to get the ball close to the hitch? There is enough of a down view?

I am also worried about having a monitor that people can see and want to break into your car. So I will have to mount it up high, like next to the rear view or something.

Also don;t want an extra cord to plug in the CL. Are these all hard wired?

 

[J Knight]

The link says its has night vision, if you still cant see mount a spot light under the bumper. I need this for my wifes car.

 

[crazy4offroad]

So from that lic plate angle you can see good enough to get the ball close to the hitch? There is enough of a down view?

They are usually up/down adjustable. I only wish mine had the distance indicator lines, sometimes at parking lots I cant be sure how close I am when backig up towards other parked vehicles.

 

[Jims86]

Good thread...If I dont quit experimenting in the kitchen so much, I may need one to see when my balls get close...gettin hard ta see over muh belly!

 

[crazy4offroad]

Good thread...If I dont quit experimenting in the kitchen so much, I may need one to see when my balls get close...gettin hard ta see over muh belly!

That's called Dickey-Do Disorder. Your belly sticks out further than your dickey do hahaha

 

[Jims86]

That's called Dickey-Do Disorder. Your belly sticks out further than your dickey do hahaha

Dunlop...belly dunloped over my belt.

 

[Stumpuller6.5]

My 2010 sierra has one, I find its really fish eyed, gives you no sense of depth perception, however its is better than no camera at all.

its good for backing up and avoiding the kids toys in the driveway.

 

[HotRodPC]

That's called Dickey-Do Disorder. Your belly sticks out further than your dickey do hahaha

I'm just thankful God gave me 10 1/2 inches. I can still see mine... after a few minutes with the lastest Playboy edition.

 

[HotRodPC]

My 2010 sierra has one, I find its really fish eyed, gives you no sense of depth perception, however its is better than no camera at all.

its good for backing up and avoiding the kids toys in the driveway.

Uhh yeah, so back at the ranch....

Does anyone else have the problem of the cam getting white washed out from sunlight like the one I used did???

 

[crazy4offroad]

Mine doesn't. Main reason I got mine was for hooking up to the trailer and it works great. I dont depend heavily on it at a parking lot, still look over my shoulders, mirrors, etc. I just feel safer looking all around instead of that little screen.

 

[HotRodPC]

Mine doesn't. Main reason I got mine was for hooking up to the trailer and it works great. I dont depend heavily on it at a parking lot, still look over my shoulders, mirrors, etc. I just feel safer looking all around instead of that little screen.

For sure. As Stump said, other than the kids leaving a bike or toy behind the truck... I only used mine to stab cars with the stinger. Didn't even rely on that much because after driving a truck first that didn't have a cam, I got fairly confident with how to feel where the stinger was by looking at the center of the car, and the boom. All you had to then was feel the truck dragging it, then you know it was on the ground. Cars with front flat tire were a real bitch, but I always got out and eyeballed those first. It's not hard to puncture a diff cover or an oil pan with one of those self loaders.