I haven't had a chance to install my F800 Pro yet, but I also bought the Cellink Battery B to avoid this scenario. I think most of the high-end brands also have hardware kit accessories that will shut it off when it senses the battery is drawing down below a certain point.

 

its a shame that BV can't build the battery drain / protection in like Thinkware has.

 

the thinkware cameras have built-in voltage sense / battery level shut off to PREVENT the camera from being the cause of a drained/dead battery.

 

Finally got around to installing my F800 Pro (front/back). Picked it up at Blackboxmycar.com on black Friday. Install was fairly simple, just time consuming to do it right. I wanted to mount it on the passenger side with the camera lens in the "L" of the webbing... but the wide angle picked up the window webbing all the way until I was mounting it completely off the webbing. Power wire run along passenger headliner and down pillar. Wire for 2nd camera ran along driver headliner and in the headliner across both doors.

The add-a-fuse was the only thing it throw me - turns out it has a bit of plastic to be trimmed off to get down to same size as a fuse and then seated fine in the passenger fuse panel. I also bought the Cellink B battery as it will provide a longer parking time than if hardwired and using the built-in low battery cut-off. I mounted that under the passenger seat - perfect fit and easy run of wire to the fuse panel - just followed the existing wire loom under carpet to door sill and back to panel.

All in all very happy with it. Clear, bright picture even in the dark.

 

My take on dash cams..

Several years ago we were traveling on I-81 in NY State, through a constitution zone at the posted zone speed limit (45).
Single lane travel, left line.

We were run off the road by a Tanker tractor trailer that passed us on the right, then pushed us over on to the shoulder and off the roadway. No other issues other then my wife freaking out, especially since we had 18,000 pound of 5th wheel toy hauler hooked up. Was 20 miles before we finally found a trooper but didn't bother stopping figuring it was a moot point.
Put a dash cam when we got home from camping.

Has been interesting collecting videos of all the meatheads that like to cut you off when trailering.
Got a neat video of shopping carts at a Costco with a mind of their own.

Recorded an accident in which one driver ran a stop sign and accused the other driver of causing the accident.
Victim's insurance company used my video against the other driver. Don't know the outcome, bu the LEO was thankful for stoping and providing a witness report.

Cams can be a double edged sword.
My cam records GPS coordinates and speed and displays them on the video.
There are many times I would not want the speed displayed if I needed that video for a traffic reason.

In the above accident video my speed hovered between 25-32 in a 25 zone.

In New Jersey last year a police officer was cited for brake checking a student who just happened to have a dash cam video of the LEO's actions.
Unfortunately the video has been taken down.

NJ cop who brake-checked driver is punished, driver fighting tickets

In NY last year a driver was charged with "unlawful imprisonment" after brake checking a motorist, with video proof.

And I'm still waiting to catch that one in a million dash cam video so I can retire.

some of my collection

Above mentioned accident. Truck runs stop sign, side street on the right.


The white car ended up on a front lawn into a tree with the front wheels broken off from the curb impact. The girl missed my left side by inches as I was driving up the curb.







Why laws are in place for removing snow and ice


I saved this video as proof that the light was yellow through my entire travel through the intersection.


The entire time I could see the Mercedes in my mirrors he was in the center lane - until I made it onto the merge.


My favorite campsite.

This is a boy's and girl's camp, not a RV campground.
Narrow twisty road going down to the lake. We get some interesting looks pulling a 36' 5th wheel through here.

The "Boy's Camp sign at the end is 12', so that requires me letting my wife drive while I walk the roof to clear the AC's, vents etc.
The Cyclone at the end is ours. Leaving is actually a bit more difficult due to the trailer swing.

 

How is the view of the rear channel when mounted on the rear window of the pickup? I always wonder if all you see is the bed, or if the car is fully in view its so far back you cannot read the license plate. I'm curious if a 2-channel system is worth it in a truck.

 

I live in a state that doesn't have forward facing license plates, so having a full view of an approaching vehicle from the rear isn't really important. I have my camera aimed so that it shows primarily the bed - specifically the fifth wheel hitch. However, cars are visible directly behind and to the sides of the camper. If one side swiped me, you'd be able to see it on the rear cam and then identify the plate on the front cam.
I don't know what the field of view is, but the lens is pretty wide angle but not fish eye wide.

 

Same situation here. TN only has rear license plates, so mine is pointed so that the bed is roughly 2/3 of the view. The fifth wheel hitch will be in center of the screen. The rear camera has a decent wide angle... something like 140deg so will still get a good vid shot of someone coming from the side or rear.

 

1st - im in a state that requires a front license plate...I've NEVER run one on any of our cars in the 25+ years that I've been driving in my state, its an infrequently enforced law & the state is working to eliminate front license plates.

unless you mount the camera on the tailgate you're always going to have (in view) imagery of bed....AND THE CONTENTS of the BED (which i see as a good thing, you'd want to know if someone stole something OUT OF your bed).

I have my rear camera mounted at the HIGHEST possible point (on the drivers side (corner)...the lens is wide angle enough that it gets about 80% of the bed the entire lane next to me.

 

I recently installed an Amcrest cam. Wired to upfitter switch 5. I wanted an always hot source for parking lots and short term parking situations. I think I’ll add another Amcrest cam to the rear looking out the back of the cap.

 

Installed a Thinkware F770 yesterday, thanks to the feedback in this thread. I connected it to Upfitter SW1. Like others have said, would it have killed 's profits to make those pass through wires twice as long in the passenger footwell? Just ridiculous that one needs to be a contortionist to #1 Get to the wires, #2, get that damn tape removed, #3 strip the insulation.

Anyway, I checked where the wipers cleared the windshield, so the front camera would have clear vision in foul weather. I ended up mounting mine left of the rear view mirror, so I can access the buttons. Didn't care that the alignment grid when viewed through the app, wasn't centered.

The rear camera, make sure it is installed with the writing, upside-down. I tried routing above headliner without luck. Ended up routing along passenger side, under sill plates, up the c-pillar and tucked it up under the headliner along the back.

Even thought the wire looks like its going to the drivers side, its not. The extra cable is stuffed under the headliner, and goes to the right side of the truck.


I wired the camera's ÄCCY power wire to Upfitter SW1 by running a wire from the Upfitter bundle at the fuse/relay box, along the cowl, to the pass-through wire on the passenger side. The wire is in 1/4"split-loom, ziptied to the cowl through 1/8"holes drilled in the plastic cowl.

The split-loom shown zip-tied to the cowl. If or when I need more capacity, I'll snip the zip-ties and use a large diameter split-loom. 1/4"was great for one wire.

Close up of the drilled holes for zip-ties.

Holes were drilled about every 6-8", so they looked like they belonged there.

 

I was going to install my dashcam today, and noticed a few things.

The Add-a-fuse needs to be trimmed down a bit, that's not a problem.

I would like my dash cam to power off when I turn the key off. I do not want my up-fitter switch wire, as I want it to be automatic. I do not want to remember to turn it off or on. I do not want it to turn off accidentally.

I checked several circuits. All were on 100% after the key was turned off. Maybe I need to wait a few minutes before checking so the truck fully powers off?

It is difficult to check the fuse power condition. It is very small place, and the leads on my voltmeter are almost too large to get to the metal in the fuse. And even with a flashlight and lighted magnifying glass, it's small print.

I need a switched fuse circuit. Preferably under the passenger side fuse box. Preferably an unused fuse...

Any idea what fuse number works best for a switch condition?

 

One of the wires in the passenger footwell SEIC bundle is hot when running. CBP22, green/orange in my truck. Already fused at 5A. Works for my dash cam and aftermarket front cam.

 

Thanks for the info on the"Add-a-Fuse" trimming. I struggled for a while trying to get mine to fit, then gave up. Did it need trimming on the short sides, the long sides, or all the way around? I assume there's too much plastic near the prongs for it to go in the narrow opening?

I wired mine to the Upfitter as noted, but I just leave that switch on all the time. The only time I'd turn it off is when I remove the radar detector and dash cam.

 

I just installed a dash cam in my 17 last week and went though the same issue. I ended finding that fuse 37 (heated seating wheel) in the passenger fuse box is switched. The dash cam shuts off as soon as I turn the truck off and turns on when the truck is remote started or started normally.

I had a similar problem with the add a fuse seeming to not fit correctly. Turns out it just took a little extra pressure than I was initially comfortable with to pop it into place - I didn't meet to file it down at all and it has stayed in place for a little over 800 miles so far. And yes, I made sure to check that a standard fuse would still fit snugly back into the slot after "forcing" the add a fuse to pop into place.

Here's a picture showing the fuse tap installed in 37 with the correct orientation to ensure the fuses can still blow correctly if needed.