# Final Input On Backup Cameras



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I want to finally add the backup camera to my TV/Outback and I wanted to get everyones last input on these.

Please give me a 1-10 rating on the make/model you bought.

Price is somewhat of a concern, but I just finished my taxes and I've got some money to burn...









Thanks!!!


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

great topic oregon camper!! DH wants one of these, so come on everybody give us some input!! PLEASE








Ember


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, I have one of those cheapie wireless ones and that is about what it is worth.








Don't know the brand because it is hooked to the OB in storage.
Someone mounted their's high on the OB and reported improved reception. I'll try that this spring, but so far it is a bust.

I can tell you my next truck WILL have an integrated backup camera as the new ones from Ford are really nice (centerline, distance markings and all displayed in the rearview mirror).








Unfortunately, no OEM's seem to want to interface with a camera on the trailer, and I'm guessing your tax return isn't that big!


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Absolutely LOVE it. A 10. Little spendy though


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Jim

Nice new truck. The factory backup cameras are awesome and they work at night as well. I had one in my Avalanche and it is option I miss.

Thor


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## 4ME (Sep 11, 2006)

So far the cheap wally world one I bought for just over 100.00 has been hit or mis. I mounted the camera in the back window of the Ob and it is powered off the crappy plug 12v in the trailer.
I want to try replacing the plug before I give up. Mine is a modified installation and not exactly what it was intended for.
It works great when the units are closer together (truck parked next to Ob) but going down the road the signal gets lost either from too much distance between the units or from the crappy plug not making good contact.
I think it would work better installed as directed and used for the intended purpose.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

California Jim said:


> Absolutely LOVE it. A 10. Little spendy though


That is indeed a sweet setup. Can you add another camera for the back of the Outback?

Reason I'm asking is with my 10 weeks off this summer, I'm planning on taking the boys out camping for a 3-4 trips without my DW. Backing up the Outback WITH my DW is hard enough....would be impossible with a 12 year old shouting directions.


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## luckylynn (Jan 9, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Absolutely LOVE it. A 10. Little spendy though


That is indeed a sweet setup. Can you add another camera for the back of the Outback?

Reason I'm asking is with my 10 weeks off this summer, I'm planning on taking the boys out camping for a 3-4 trips without my DW. Backing up the Outback WITH my DW is hard enough....would be impossible with a 12 year old shouting directions.
[/quote]

Say, don't cut the 12 year old short ...try some practice times before you give up. Get one of your male friends that is good at "ground guiding" to help and give him some lesons. I say this in good faith ...that our kids always surprise us.....we have 3 girls,they are ALL better at ground guiding than me. One of them learned in Girl Scouts at about your sons age..........the youngest & oldest learned to help each other at dog shows.The youngest also worked as a dive master for several years and had to guide trucks with boats into boat ramps as well as lots of other places. Oh and another thing they are all married with families of their own now and are better at GG than their husbands and almost better at backing trailers than their husbands.

Well my point is Try to TEACH your son how to ground guide you..........you might discover he would be a natural. Of course you would start with Teaching him the Correct hand signals,then work up to just backing into the driveway to a certain mark with just the truck or car. If that worked out you could go to a empty parking lot with the OB and try a few times. These are some of the ways my DH helped our girls to learn.

Just a thought of course.


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## Crismon4 (Jan 25, 2005)

luckylynn said:


> Say, don't cut the 12 year old short ...try some practice times before you give up. Get one of your male friends that is good at "ground guiding" to help and give him some lesons. I say this in good faith ...that our kids always surprise us.....we have 3 girls,they are ALL better at ground guiding than me. One of them learned in Girl Scouts at about your sons age..........the youngest & oldest learned to help each other at dog shows.The youngest also worked as a dive master for several years and had to guide trucks with boats into boat ramps as well as lots of other places. Oh and another thing they are all married with families of their own now and are better at GG than their husbands and almost better at backing trailers than their husbands.
> 
> Well my point is Try to TEACH your son how to ground guide you..........you might discover he would be a natural. Of course you would start with Teaching him the Correct hand signals,then work up to just backing into the driveway to a certain mark with just the truck or car. If that worked out you could go to a empty parking lot with the OB and try a few times. These are some of the ways my DH helped our girls to learn.


....Ahhh!!!! Maybe I'll pass these on to DH......there's hope for us yet


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

luckylynn said:


> Say, don't cut the 12 year old short ...try some practice times before you give up. Get one of your male friends that is good at "ground guiding" to help and give him some lesons. I say this in good faith ...that our kids always surprise us.....we have 3 girls,they are ALL better at ground guiding than me. One of them learned in Girl Scouts at about your sons age..........the youngest & oldest learned to help each other at dog shows.The youngest also worked as a dive master for several years and had to guide trucks with boats into boat ramps as well as lots of other places. Oh and another thing they are all married with families of their own now and are better at GG than their husbands and almost better at backing trailers than their husbands.
> 
> Well my point is Try to TEACH your son how to ground guide you..........you might discover he would be a natural. Of course you would start with Teaching him the Correct hand signals,then work up to just backing into the driveway to a certain mark with just the truck or car. If that worked out you could go to a empty parking lot with the OB and try a few times. These are some of the ways my DH helped our girls to learn.
> 
> Just a thought of course.


Not a bad idea. There have been times with my DW and I (glad she doesn't read this) that I thought she was speaking Greek as she gave "directions". So, the 12 years doesn't have far to go to beat the competition (did I say how glad I am my DW doesn't read this?)


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I have my girls stand in the place where I want the back corner of the trailer to be. I tell them just like I tell my DW, only yell if I am close to hitting something. Solves 2 problems. One, the extra set of eyes, two, I know where they are when I am backing up.

Usually, they prefer going to the playground while I set up and thats OK too.









John


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

tdvffjohn said:


> Usually, they prefer going to the playground while I set up and thats OK too.


LOL...our boys like to explore the second we arrive. They come back to help set up stuff, but I prefer they are not around the Outback when I'm backing into a site.

They are only young once, so I tend to give them more freedom to play then to have a "job" to do.

Now...back to the topic. More input on the cameras please....


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Oregon_Camper said:


> That is indeed a sweet setup. Can you add another camera for the back of the Outback?


With the right aftermarket goodies I believe you can. There is a product called a GM LOCKPICK that you can install to bypass many of the factory "features". One of the Lockpick features is the ability to add a second camera. They advertise it as a way to watch your baby or little one in the back seat. But I don't see why you couldn't wire it to a rear Outback camera.









ON EDIT: Sweet! I just watched the demo video on the Lockpick site again. Hmmmm, ya got my wheels turning now


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

As I've mentioned before, I have a full-on laptop in the cab of my TV. I use it for Internet access with a broadband EVDO card (which keeps me not only email connected, but attached to streaming audio - slacker.com - so I don't need Sirius radio anymore, and traffic information, too), for my GPS using DeLorme software, and as well as the screen for backup camera.

For my backup camera, I just purchased a very cheap USB camera (about $20) and a six-foot USB cable extension (the camera is only used when I hook up the TV to the OB). I string in out the sliding rear window of the truck and use Velcro to attach the camera to the back of my truck, aiming it down at the hitch. With the camera in place I have a great (and great big) view of my hook-up. I can easily attach the truck to the trailer - it is now a one man job.

I also own a wireless camera that has about a 300' foot range. I plan on using that out of the back window of my Outback to see what's happening there - on the laptop as well. This camera needs a 12v power supply to work, but I figure I can use the 12v connection already in the OB. I don't think it really draws that much power, and I'll only be using it when I'm connected and on the road.

Next time I'm out, I'll have to shoot some photos of my set-up and post them here.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

raynardo said:


> As I've mentioned before, I have a full-on laptop in the cab of my TV. I use it for Internet access with a broadband EVDO card (which keeps me not only email connected, but attached to streaming audio - slacker.com - so I don't need Sirius radio anymore, and traffic information, too), for my GPS using DeLorme software, and as well as the screen for backup camera.
> 
> For my backup camera, I just purchased a very cheap USB camera (about $20) and a six-foot USB cable extension (the camera is only used when I hook up the TV to the OB). I string in out the sliding rear window of the truck and use Velcro to attach the camera to the back of my truck, aiming it down at the hitch. With the camera in place I have a great (and great big) view of my hook-up. I can easily attach the truck to the trailer - it is now a one man job.
> 
> ...


What is the make/model of your wireless camera?


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## garyb1st (Dec 6, 2007)

raynardo said:


> As I've mentioned before, I have a full-on laptop in the cab of my TV. I use it for Internet access with a broadband EVDO card (which keeps me not only email connected, but attached to streaming audio - slacker.com - so I don't need Sirius radio anymore, and traffic information, too), for my GPS using DeLorme software, and as well as the screen for backup camera.
> 
> For my backup camera, I just purchased a very cheap USB camera (about $20) and a six-foot USB cable extension (the camera is only used when I hook up the TV to the OB). I string in out the sliding rear window of the truck and use Velcro to attach the camera to the back of my truck, aiming it down at the hitch. With the camera in place I have a great (and great big) view of my hook-up. I can easily attach the truck to the trailer - it is now a one man job.
> 
> ...


Wow, those are some great ideas. We also plan on traveling with a laptop. It never occurred to me to use our old Canon digital camcorder. It's been collecting dust for the past 5 years. It has decent range and is so so in low light. The laptop is a 17 inch and a bit heavy but if I could mount in on a Lazy Susan perched between two front seats we could both see it. Sure would be great to have Google Maps and GPS on that 17 inch screen.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I ended up getting one at Costco for $69. Works great! Installation took about 30mins. Very easy to do...just tap into the tail lights and it comes on when you're in reverse.


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## dmnmcutler (May 12, 2008)

Oregon_Camper said:


> I ended up getting one at Costco for $69. Works great! Installation took about 30mins. Very easy to do...just tap into the tail lights and it comes on when you're in reverse.


We just saw this today and hubby wanted to buy it. Since we are new to this whole TT thing it may come in handy. Would you say it's worth the $? Pros/Cons?


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## campfirenut (Aug 9, 2006)

I would say to a back up camera. I had mine installed ( aftermarket ) on my tundra at the dealers. Screen is a little small but now I can hook up with out DW. It save on alot of those little disagreements when hitching up.

Bob


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## Allan (Dec 8, 2007)

campfirenut said:


> I would say to a back up camera. I had mine installed ( aftermarket ) on my tundra at the dealers. Screen is a little small but now I can hook up with out DW. It save on alot of those little disagreements when hitching up.
> 
> Bob


Hi,
I recently did a fair amount of research on this and bought and installed a relatively inexpensive system that allows me to have a back-up camera on my truck and one on my trailer and I oush a button to change screens. In addition, this is a 3 1/2" color screen that also provides vision at night (IR LED). On top of what is looking like a great system at a moderate price the folks at the company are incredible. When I thought I had a problem with one part of the system I sent an e-mail on a Sunday afternoon. I got a helpful call an hour later! There was nothing wrong with the equipment either. The equipment is well made, well packaged and thoughtfully designed. Here is a link.

http://www.4ucam.com/Wireless-Backup-Camer...ght-Vision.html

Allan


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

dmnmcutler said:


> I ended up getting one at Costco for $69. Works great! Installation took about 30mins. Very easy to do...just tap into the tail lights and it comes on when you're in reverse.


We just saw this today and hubby wanted to buy it. Since we are new to this whole TT thing it may come in handy. Would you say it's worth the $? Pros/Cons?
[/quote]

I would say so...

If you don't like it...Costco will take it back. You have nothing to lose....cept a few $$ in gas to/from Costco.


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