My tailgate just got scratched today all the way across it. I was wondering if there was some way to turn the backup camera into a security camera I could run during the night because this is not the first time it has been messed with. I've had beer cans thrown in the bed and even my registration sticker ripped off. So if this is possible I would love to do this, or some kind of camera on the back glass.

 

Move to a better neighborhood.*

BU cam to security? Are you a wizard with electronics?

Seems like there are a gazillion gizmos available:

Rakuten.com - Night Vision Wireless Weatherproof Security CCTV Camera



* like where I live, $1-1.5 million houses. Two auto burgleries last week, and one house burglary. Nice big-**** rock through the window of one of the cars. Glove boxes and consoles searched, any cash or electronics gone. Ask me about my thou$ands in a fence, gate and lights....

 

CCTV is theoretically doable - most CCTV cameras are 12VDC now. But you're also going to want to record the video stream as well and for that, you're going to need a DVR. There are 12VDC DVRs out there that store the video on SD cards.

The easiest way I can think of to do this is to get a dashcam - they have built-in recorders that store the video on SD cards (or some other form of flash memory) - just point it out the back window - you might even be able to find one that's motion-sensing so that it only records when there's something there to record...

 

This doesn't make any sense. Turning the backup camera into a CCTV camera is only going to catch things happening directly behind the truck. It won't catch anything in the front, or other things people do to your property. If you want to film people vandalizing your belongings, install a standard CCTV system.

Realize though that CCTV isn't going to prevent people from vandalizing your property. And the cops are not going to do anything with your footage of it happening. If you want this to stop happening, take measures to prevent the opportunity in the first place, by parking elsewhere if you can, or installing floodlights. Most criminals are very scared and very lazy. Moving to a better neighborhood can certainly reduce the likelihood of incidents, but as 85 points out, it certainly doesn't eliminate them. In some cases it makes you a bigger target and gives low-lifes even more of a reason to dislike you.

Sorry to hear about your problems; I feel your pain. My truck has been keyed, egged, ran into, and I've caught someone breaking into it. My wife's car got broken into last year. What's worse than the financial problems of dealing with it, is knowing that someone else is getting enjoyment out of your hardship. Even worse than that is knowing that criminals have more rights than you do. All the more reason I think you should have to pass an IQ test to reproduce.

 

Look up DropCam. I have 2 of them around my house and they're great. Wireless Ip cameras that are super easy to setup. You could plug it in your truck if you have a 110 like mine, and if your close enough to your wifi connection it could work.