I have a 2012 SD with factory nav display and backup camera. Is it possible to use a wireless camera on a truck camper and the stock nav unit as the display?

 

Welcome to FTE Rusty !

I have been researching the same thing from when I had my 2012 and now the 2013...
I actually want two camera inputs:
one to view my 5th wheel hitch in the bed when hooking up with our crew cab and
one behind the 5er when traveling, just haven't settled on a solution yet...

but, so far, have still consider it a 'nice to have' and not a 'gotta have', so have been slow to decide...

I think this will allow other inputs --- the lockpick @ MYFORD TOUCH , but you still need a great camera...

but for others, not sure about multiple inputs and not wild about another screen either: Voyager Digital Wireless Backup System - ASA Electronics AOS56DWX - Backup Systems - Camping World

Tried a couple of the 'peak' and magnetic ones and they were a waste of time IMHO

Subscribing to see if we can come up with a reasonable solution that will work for us..

 

The lockpick looks like it will work for 3 cameras! Thanks for the help.

 

Another less expensive option is to get an aftermarket wired camera from Amazon and hard wire it to a connector that fits the OEM connector at the tailgate. I mounted the camera above the door and ran the video cables down the ladder and under the camper bumper.

Less than 50 bucks.

I like the lockpick but for 350 bucks it seemed kind of pricey. In a perfect world I'll have a video switch rigged to the upfitter switches to a second (or third) camera.

-Joe

 

Hmmm - that would solve my dual need ....

details please - maybe pics of what you did ? thanks !

 

Do you have pictures? I agree 350 is steep and I would like to see what you did.

 

A wired camera will give you a much better quality image. My wireless camera image is not great. It is barely visible in bright light, low resolution, and often gets interference from surrounding wireless signals from other sources.

I am going to upgrade to a wired camera, power it from the trailer's running lights so that it is on whenever the running lights are on. It is not that difficult to run the wires from the back of your trailer to the hitch, and then from there to your dashboard monitor.

 

Here's a few photos describing my setup.

First, a little background: My truck is a 2014 with the Lariat package, which means I have the factory camera in the tailgate which displays on the nav/touchscreen in the middle o' the dash when the truck is in reverse. When the slide-in camper is on, the tailgate is off, so what I wanted to do is put a camera on the back of the camper, and wire it into the OEM system so it'll work the same way. I did not want to disassemble the tailgate to get the camera out of that.

First thing I did was to gather up a few cameras to test, I wanted the best resolution I could get in both daylight and nighttime scenarios. Basically, in the 12V backup camera world you have four choices; Infrared (electronically enhances low light images), non-infrared (requires a good light source to use at night), guidelines and no guidelines.

Here is my test setup. I tested three cameras both with infrared and without, and with lines and without. The below photo shows that for testing I just taped the cameras to the camper so I could move them around establishing the best angle.



I wanted a bird's eye view, cameras with the built-in guidelines work best at bumper level:



I wasn't too thrilled with the nighttime resolution of the cameras with the infrared LEDs, so instead I wired up a couple of cheapo LED floodlights and settled on the smallest (and cheapest) camera as it has the best resolution under all light conditions. The camera is so light that I just used double-sided tape to mount it under the center clearance light above the door. You can easily bend the tab it mounts to to adjust the angle.



Please forgive the mess of wires by the floodlights, my original plan was to mount them on all the corners of the camper but the sheer amount of light they throw out means I can mount them on the ladder where they're out of the way and still not miss anything.

I wrapped up all the wires (floodlights, camera, antenna) in black split tubing and followed the ladder down to the corner of the camper and under.



For the camera I used a factory connector and just plugged it right in under the bed where it would if the tailgate was on.



The Results:





Parts Needed:

From Amazon: Esky EC170-06 Smallest HD Color CCD Waterproof Vehicle Car Rear View Backup Camera, 170 Degree Viewing Angle Rearview $20

Tuff LED Lights 2 X 4" Inch Round 27watt LED Work Lamp Light 1550 Lumen, Off Road, Atv, Utv, Polaris Ranger $49 (pair)

From Ford: Tailgate wiring assembly DC3Z-14A412-A $9

Hopefully that helps,

-Joe

 

Excellent !
So ordering from Amazon Prime today !

I will adopt and extend your design...
one camera and ford connector in the bed for hookup etc...
one camera and ford connector for the rear of the 5er...

What type of cable should I get to run under the rv ?

Pretty straight forward to connect the camera lead to the ford connector ?

 

Ah - good point, I should have mentioned...

The camera comes with 25 feet of cable. It's easily extended because it's just four distinct wires; 12V +, 12V -, video + and video -. RCA jack for the video and red and black for the power. I used a terminal block and experimented with the connector leads to figure out the hookups:

Red power 12V + wire of camera to violet/grey on the connector.
Ground 12V - wire on camera to black/white on connector.
Yellow video + wire on camera to white/green on the connector.
Video ground - wire on camera to brown/violet on the connector.

-Joe

 

thanks AGAIN ! reps would go out to ya again, but fte assumes you can only help once !

 

I'll Rep him for ya.... I was looking for a small camera to mount on the Excursion.... this may just be the ticket

-The Great

 

Do you have any night pics with this small cam?

-The Great

 

Sorry, I don't have any night photos so you'll have to take my word for this:

With the LED floodlights OFF the picture is grainy and washed out, but still somewhat useable. Understandable since the camera is several feet up on the back of the camper. Turn the floodlights ON, it's a different story. Full color, full resolution, it's like day right behind you and on the far sides fades into blackness.

The cameras I tried with the infrared LEDs didn't give as good a picture at night without the floodlights. If you're gonna' do this, I really recommend a good pair of lights back there, the added benefit is that you can check your mirrors and see what's on each side also.

Joe

 

I went wired because of the distance to the back of the 5th. Works well, but definitely not as easy as a wireless.

Though my wired system is set up for multiple camera's if you were so inclined.