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2013 F250 Ext Cab Long Bed XLT. I'm gonna be replacing the radio and want to add a backup camera at the same time. Which route is the best to go? Tailgate Handle, Tailgate emblem, or License Plate Mount? My primary goals are to use it while hooking to trailers and not bumping into low cars in tight parking lots.
I went with the one that's in the handle however I wish I would have gone with the one in the emblem as the camera is offset and that makes backing to a trailer hitch kind of tricky as it's not centered.
I personally like the license plate mount as it offers the most flexibility in changing viewing angles. I can customize it to point more at the trailer hitch when hooking up, or angled out for a farther view with no trailer. They also are the cheapest option so when it fails, and it will, it's less expensive to replace. If you don't mind the slow boat from China, they are all over ebay and amazon for ~ $12.
Yall make some good points, I think I'll go with the license plate mount. It's not as sleek, but functionality is more important.
I have a Boyo 7 inch - Rear View mirror replacement (video/monitor) and it works great on my '17 Nissan Frontier...and camera mounted on top of license plate.
I'm going to go the same route for my '03 F250 (keeping stock radio), but since the Ford doesn't have bluetooth, going to use a cigarette lighter mounted blue tooth adapter that uses an FM frequency. Tune the radio to that FM frequency and able to listen to playlists, etc off of phone.
In my 99 f150 and 07 vic I use a Bluetooth fm transmitter. It works great. The 13 f250 came with an aftermarket touchscreen radio when I got it. It works fine, but is now dated. I'm wanting to upgrade to wireless android auto and add the backup camera. Going to add my dash cameras when I'm in there messing around also.
Nice thing about some of the aftermarket head units is that you can turn the camera on when going down the road, and if you're towing something, be able to better keep an eye on it. On my truck I mounted a camera high on back of my slide in camper that I tied into my Pioneer system, and when I tow my boat I'm able to have a much better view of the boat going down the road than I can get with the mirrors alone. I loose the factory camera because I have to remove the tail gate to put my camper in, however I also added a camera on the underside of the camper that I can plug into the factories camera wiring that works great for hooking up trailers.
