Picked up my new F150 and absolutely love this truck! Now I would like to have an extra layer of protection against all the idiots we share the road with. Looking in to dashcams and a way to hard wire in, preferably tapping in to the power from the rear view mirror and mounting permanently just below the tinting in the center of the windshield. Anybody done this yet? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

 

I have the Cobra CDR 895 D. It has dual cameras, so your primary lens is forward and they provide a long cable to mount the second camera (comes in the box) on your rear windshield.

I'm very pleased with mine. I've had 3 times I was glad to have it since getting it. It has an impact sensor and also a button you can hit to save a recording.

I have only had my F150 for 5 or 6 weeks. Mine isn't hard wired yet, but it's mounted behind the rearview mirror and I ran the wire through the headliner, into the A-pillar, and finally through the dash to one of the USB outlets. I'll hardwire it sometime in the next month.

 

Thanks for the info King, looks like a nice setup. Any issues with the suction cup mount? I am inclined to think it would come off with extreme temps and leaning toward adhesive tape. Your pics are helpful and routing power is a big deal for me. I don't want any cables visible, or at least minimal. Good luck with hardwiring, thanks again.

 

Good question. I release and reseal the suction cup about once every month or 2. I'm in Texas, so we do see some very hot days. If I can figure out how to remove the big plastic thing behind the rearview mirror, I'll probably drill a hole and modify the dashcam mount so it is permanent (eliminating the suction cup). I just have not gotten that far with it yet because we've been really busy since I got the truck.

Note, you can buy 90* USB adapters to make the install very clean...they run approx $10 online. That's what I'll use when I figure out how to pull off that plastic thing, because then the wire can go right up into it and not be visible at all.

I hate cables too. I have an appointment with the Ford dealer set on Aug 2. I'm hoping to pay the tech to hardwire it since they are replacing the center console cover (it had some scratches from some dingdong when the truck was new, so the dealer is replacing it). With it off, I/we should have access to the accessory power wires.

 

We're using a Falcon Zero F170HD+. We chose it because the setup is virtually nothing; plug and play. We have not permanently mounted it because we move it between vehicles, and we also don't want it hanging there when we're away from the vehicle. We think it would be too much of a theft magnet.

That said, there should be a hot +12V available in the overhead, as the lights in the overhead can be turned on/off at any time. That would be ideal, with no need to run wires in the A pillar.

 

If you install it to constant on power, the dashcam will always be on. Or you'll need to turn it on and off as needed. Depending on the OP's needs/wants, that may or may not be optimal.

 

Post back how your install goes. I've been pondering one as well with the rapid ramp-up of idiot drivers. I'd like to have it hardwired as well.

 

Okay I am getting closer to making the decision on camera then will be sure to post with pictures in case it can help anyone else. Not looking to spend much since Ford already took most of my fun tickets, hope to spend less than $200 and get a quality device with nice clean and discreet mounting and ideally WiFi capability. I wish insurance companies gave discounts for running dashcams, seems like they should, right?

 

I have that same camera. Bought it on an Amazon Lightning Deal around a month ago. I've also not hardwired it due to transferring between two vehicles. I really like the form factor as it hides itself well behind the rearview mirror (especially for those states that have windshield obstruction laws).

Images are excellent. I just got back from a multi-state road trip and had it running the entire time. The only "negative" I ran into is that HD video absolutely eats up storage. I stuck a 32gb SD card into it and found that at 1080P I was getting maybe 5 hours of video before segments (I have it set to the default 3min) started overwriting. I switched to 720P after day one and got around 8 hours, which was enough to catch my maximum driving days. Of course for saving video, that meant downloading to my laptop every night.

For accident evidence etc., you could probably set to SD resolution. I just like HD for recording any cool places I visit. I had it in my 4Runner for this last trip and it was fun to replay a couple of "pucker factor" trails I hit in the Cascades.

What I'll probably do from now on is keep it in HD for around town driving, where it's really only on in case of accidents and I don't care if it overwrites. When on road trips, I'll probably set it to SD for the boring interstates, and when I hit the scenic areas, switch to HD.

As for the suction mount, this is one of the best suction mounts I've ever used. It could be partly because of how light the camera is. Back in the days before smartphones and onboard nav, I would mount a Nuvi GPS with a suction cup and that thing would come off all the time. The Falcon has been in both high heat and REALLY rough terrain, and has both stayed in place, and just as importantly, easily unmounted.

 

Yeah. We got ours with a 64GB card, but it won't accept it. Called them up and they apologized for the fact that it was listed on Amazon as accepting 64GB, but it doesn't. They shipped ours with an 8GB card, and that lasts for about 1-1/2 hours. It eats 288 MB per 3 minute segment.

Talked to one of their techs, and he said 8GB or 32 GB would be most suitable anyway. Because of the constant write/re-write, a typical card will only last about 6 months or so. He thought cheaper was better, because you're going to have to be replacing the cards more often than you might think.

That said, the video quality is excellent. I play it back through VLC, which allows me to play at 3X or even 4X speed.

 

Great feedback, seriously considering the Falcon now. They also have a touch screen model that is more expensive but adds some great features. I was thinking I needed WiFi but on second thought maybe it is not that big of a deal. What is VLC playback? The ability to playback easily and simple overall operation is important to me, as well as having a discreet installation. Thanks.

 

Not sure how the Tech's argument holds water. Using that logic, doubling your memory would half the rewrite frequency and therefore double the life of the card. Since prices don't typically increase proportionality to the size, smaller cards will always be more expensive in the long run.

When I was researching cameras, one issue that seemed common amongst many brands is heat will eventually kill it. I'm going off fuzzy memory, but I seem to remember they have about a year life expectancy. Or maybe that was the cards...I found this YouTube channel to be full of good info: https://www.youtube.com/user/CarCamCentral

 

Thanks Onug, great info on the video so thanks for the link. I keep learning more all the time and personally liked the last one in the top 5 review. Should be ready to choose one in the next week or so, then hope to get it installed and reviewed shortly after.

 

Day by day, I truly believe these dash cams are becoming very popular and very soon they will be a must have item.

I wouldn`t be surprised if the OEM`s start offering them as an option and if that happens, sooner or later they will be a requirement just like the third brake light and the TPMS.

 

Doubt they'll be a requirement, but insurance companies will probably be giving discounts soon.

I can see the OEMs offering them soon. It would be easy to interface with the other camera systems used these days.