Is it just me or has anyone else wished they had front bumper sensors for pulling up behind small vehicles in a parking lot or wherever?? I still can't really judge where the frt bumper is when pulling up to things. I know.......just bump Has anyone come up with anything trick to solve this problem? I'd like to hear about it. Maybe I'm just too short and should sit on a box or something, I don't know. Any solutions? I plan on installing rear sensors soon.

 

You could try those concave mirrors they run on the front of school busses

Actually, I never thought about it, I figure when I think Im close, I got another foot to go.....

 

Kirk,

YES, YES, YES....!!! I have thought the same thing! About a month (maybe less) after I bought my truck, I realized how helpful the rear parking sensors are. So I thought, "man, it'd be nice to have them up front, too" . And for the very same reasons you stated: pulling up close in parking spaces; knowing how far you are from the car in front of you that you're about to rearend; etc!

I don't know if you could buy sensors for the rear bumper and the wiring and somehow wire it into the computer system, or what? But if nothing else, IMO it would be a recommendatioin to the Ford designers/builders for upcoming models. And why not? It's all in the name of safety, right?

So what do we do now? Where do we take it from here? And how do we go about doing it???

Ahhh, mastermind's DO think alike....

 

Could you add the affter market type?
I know there for the rear, but why wouldn't they work on the front??

 

I'm sure the aftermarket ones would work in the front. It might be a good idea to hook them up to a switch or it might get annoying. Then u can turn them on when u need them. The rear ones are only on when in reverse, but if u always have them on in the front, u would hear beeping all the time. Might drive u nutz.

 

I was somewhat surprised that our trucks came with rear only, since my only exposure to parking sensors prior to this truck were both front & rear. I've been in BMWs and Mercedes with the parking sensors, and they had them on both bumpers. I guess I've gotten used to the truck by now (I can easily get within 6" or less of objects and not hit anything when parking). But it wouldn't hurt to cover all the bases.

I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to mount an aftermarket parking sensor on the front bumper. I've read the installation procedure on one or two makes, and there's no reason the product would care which bumper it went on. As someone mentioned before, I would suggest a cut-off switch. Factory installed systems monitor your speed and only activate when you're going at parking lot speeds, so some method of killing the beeps will be necessary for normal driving. Then again, you probably shouldn't be driving that close to the vehicle in front of you anyway!

 

My rear sensors were installed by the dealer after I bought the truck and they look identical to factory. Better yet the little speaker has a Hi/Lo/Off switch which I like better than the factory 1 time reset switch. Anyway they are only activated when you put the tranny in reverse so if you could find the "trip" wire and tie it into "drive" they would work fine I guess. The only other considerstion would be that they are designed ( physically ) for a straight ( rear ) bumper so installing them in the front might not be a good ( cosmetic ) fit? Also my truck has a 6" lift and that has definatly affected their accuracy. I got them for my wife ( who yes, does drive my truck once a year or so ). But I think they are a crutch. You NEED to learn how close you can get by feel/mirrors or whatever. People have been driving these things for years without the aid of sensors. I'd rather be parked a foot away then get a ding but sometimes you have to "break in" the bumpers to find out.

Just my 2 ¢

 

(a bit off topic)
Pull the truck up to a wall slowly until it "bumps". You would be surprised how close you are. You will have a better idea where your bumper is.

If you are going to use a garage door to rub up against, use your neighbor's, not yours!!

 

I would like to see a pair of vertical laser beams mounted on each side of the bumper. The beams would get closer and closer until they merged into one beam. Leaving you at about 6" from the object in front of you. Putting that in conjunction with the proximity sensors would be one hell of a system !