rear view camera

[StarBoard7]

Hello all,

I was thinking about purchasing one of those rear view back up cameras to assist when I am launching and hooking up by myself.

Anyone have any tips or experience with these and any good certain brands.
They seem to range from about 50 to 250$ so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Hoping for something that is decent price around 100$ and pretty easy to install.
I was kinda leaning towards a monitor instead of replacing my mirror?

Thanks guys.

[LAPORTE]

I was thinking the same thing .... We'll see who post ?

[djkimmel]

I have one but haven't hooked it up yet. I think I will before spring. It takes me a little longer to back up just right than it used to. I've been in a couple new vehicles that had them built in now. It will take a little getting used to.

[t-bone]

I've had them built into my Ford truck for a couple years and you can't beat them for hooking up or for seeing how deep your bunks are in the water BUT I don't use them much for backing the trailer up. I think you still want to use the mirrors to get a fuller field of view and I want to keep that skill for when I hop in someone else truck that doesn't have it.

[Genie]

That was going to be my question - how well does it work for lining up the trailer to the hitch?  Backing up is for the mirrors.  I just want to save my bumper and tailgate on the truck and thought about one of these to help hooking up the trailer by myself.

[smbassman]

I've got one of the add-on cameras that hook up to the license plate screws.  I wired both the camera and monitor power to the reverse lights so it comes on automatic.  The video signal is wireless, so nothing to worry about there. 

Mine is perfect for lining up since I can just see the top of the ball, then I back up until the trailer tongue covers it and it is there the first time 100% of the time.  The only problem I have is ignoring the people standing back there waving left, right...a little more ....STOP!  But they always feel like they did a good job.

I would get a bigger screen the next time, mine is only 2.5" but it was cheap and I wasn't sure if it would work well when I bought it.

[blakstr1]

looking to get one over the offseason, starting to research for best bang for buck

[t-bone]

You can't beat these for hooking up. The Ford systems have nice guide lines that make it easy to get on the right path and to tell how far away you are. I put it on top of the ball every time. No waking the wife up in the morning with hooking up in the dark, early mornings. Happy wife, happy life!

[Genie]

Does Bass Pro carry any?

[djkimmel]

I don't think so. At least not online. Cabelas doesn't appear to either.

But Camping World has the Magellan Wireless Back-up Camera license plate bracket type that hooks into an existing Magellan GPS that is inexpensive - on sale right now ~$140. They more high end cameras and whole systems with small to larger monitors, many on sale right now under their Backup Systems category.

Walmart has a number of them including some really inexpensive models like the Pyle License Plate Rearview Night Vision Backup Camera for about $132 for this license plate model with monitor that includes night vision! Who doesn't love night vision? They have a number of night vision and regular models. Just click the link and then you should see a list of suggested products or search for 'rear view camera'. I saw a few from ~ $70 to $110.

[Bender]

I put one on my truck late last summer. It has a 7" screen which makes it easy to see, but a little hard to stash the screen anywhere. It works perfectly for putting the ball in exactly the right spot every time. The one I have is wireless, and if I had my choice I'd go for wired. I ran the transmitter right up in the cab anyway so hardwiring would be just as easy. My buddy had a few extras last I knew, if anybody is interested I think he is selling them for $100. If you are interested send me a message and I'll ask him when he gets back from Italy next week.

I found a video I made of me using it here. Not sure how to get the video to post here.

[SethV]

I won't have a truck without one!  My wife's Suburban and my Escalade both have the factory system - makes hooking up the boat a "1 stop" operation.  Can't really move the dual axle Z21 around by hand, but with the camera you can stop right in the exact spot and crank it right down.

The wife has also hit a lot less stuff when she has the camera!   

[djkimmel]

a lot less... that's funny. To us anyway.