Here's the deal..... Craigslist Seattle has a guy lising a 2009 Superduty tailgate with step AND CAMERA for $350. So I call him at 6:15 this morning and left a message. Called again at 8 AM no answer. Called again at 1030 AM and he answers and says it's sold. I ask him if they picked it up yet. He says NO, I say "I'll give you $450," he says okay. Whew, somebody is going to MAD at him...... Anyway, I have it and it's what he says it is.

So, my question for you folks, from the best Ford Truck Forum in the world is.... I'm putting this on a 2002 F-350. I'm an electronics type of guy, but has anyone fit this setup on an older truck and bought an aftermarket monitor to use it with. Yes, I did some searches, but haven't found anything yet. I did see where there were there is a camera + and - wire, but I haven't found what powers the camera yet. I'm going to guess it's 5 volts or so on the camera wires, but don't know for sure (can't measure it without access to a 09 truck). I'm hoping to just find an aftermarket monitor to make it all work. Thanks for all the great tips I'm always able to get from here. Mike

 

I don't know how to connect it.. but I want your luck.. (and the tailgate!)..

I've got an 08 Job 1 that also doesn't have the wiring..

Sam

 

Do a search"y" on backup cameras. If you are an electronics guy, you sholld know how to do a web search.

Most of those cameras are wireless.

What? Do you need somebody to hold your hand or something???

 

Catfish man, Hmmm, let's see the 2009 doesn't use a wireless system it's wired. You should know that as a senior user. Since you seem to have the answers what is the supply voltage to the factory camera in the tailgate? Where is this power inserted, does it use a power block in the line? I know it's wired, what would be a good aftermarket monitor to use? How many scan lines in the factory camera? Is the three color distances on the factory system come from the monitor or the camera? How much current in milliamps does the camera draw? Is it a color or monochrome (that means black and white)system. You are a senior user so hold my hand and start by answering these simple questions.

 

I just hope it was not stolen... When something seems to good to be true. Do you know what a replacement OEM tailgate cost if you can find one? It about 10 times that price.

 

Yeah, I thought of that. I have a good cell phone, the CL ad. The story was it was removed for installation of a lift gate. The whole thing looked legit. I picked up a 2010 Superduty Brochure from the dealer, but it doesn't tell you anything. I've found several small monitors for less than $100.... It sure is heavier than mine.... Thanks, Mike

 

So an 08 tailgate will fit an 02? Fortunate with the style changes.

 

Okay, here's an update on my tailgate upgrade. My local body shop painted it for $200 cash. Paint is perfect, I had to take all the parts off of it as part of the deal on the painting, hard to get the plastic parts off, but went okay. I couldn't decide on what monitor to use for the camera and settled on a Garmin Nuvi 5000 GPS that has a simple input for video. It worked out great. There are five wires on the tailgate camera. Here they are: Wht-Bn is +12vdc which I hooked to the Orange wire on the 7 pin trailer connector (normally used to charge the battery on your trailer), Blk wire is shield for video pair going to monitor, which I grounded at each end and is a shield around the 18 ga twisted pair, Bn-Vt (brown violet) is video negative (goes to monitor), Wh-Gn is video positive also goes to monitor, and Blk-wht which is ground for the camera power. I cut off the factory plug (since I didn't want to try to get the other end for the truck) from the tailgate and replaced it with a 5 pin trailer plug. I used the ground wire on the 7 pin trailer plug for the Blk-wht ground wire. The shield pair for the video is the only wire I had to run to the cab, which I did along the frame and up through the firewall. The GPS is powered through the lighter plug for now, but I will probably hard wire it later. The orange wire from the trailer is hot in start and run, so the camera is always on with the truck, which prevents a delay in the camera coming on (I was warned there was a 5 to 7 second delay) and this is how the factory wires the camera (hot in run and start). To switch on the camera I have put a switch on the dash that switches the video positive on to the GPS. There is a setting on the GPS to automatically switch from GPS to video when the video signal becomes present. There seems to be about a 2 second delay from when I push the button. I plan to intall a relay to switch on the camera automatically when I shift into reverse (there is a Blk-Pink wire just outside of the emergency brake pedal that grounds when the truck goes into reverse). I will provide +12vdc to the relay coil in run and start and use the blk-pink wire to provide ground. Then a normally open (closes on relay energized) set of contacts will parallel the dash switch. That way I can look behind me without shifiting into reverse, but don't have to flip the switch every time I back up.

Here's what I found out. The nice little lines you see on the factory system that are green, then yellow, then red let you know about how close you are to something behind you are provided by the camera, so you have them with any monitor. The camera is very wide angle and you can see your trailer hitch ball in the camera, which is great for hooking up a trailer. Someone or something behind the truck is very easy to see with this setup. It is kind of like looking backwards through a pair of binoculars, so a car a couple car lengths behind you is pretty small, but if they get very close you can sure see them well. I'm very pleased with the setup and find that I have very llittle noise in the system as far as anytihing that shows on the monitor. I do have a diesel, so I don't have to worry about ignition noise. The hookup is really easy once you know how to wire it up, so I'd recommend it for anyone that is handy and wants to make it much safer to backup. I'm on a back country ski patrol and frequently are turning around on narrow gravel roads in the mountains. I have the factory rear radar, which helps a lot, but it beeps for tall grass the same as a big tree and if you are backing towards a cliff it says go for it there is nothing behind you...... The camera lets you see what is back there. The camera works pretty well at night. I have a set of fog lights that come on with my backup lights, so I haven't tested it with just the factory backup lights in the dark, but I'm sure it would work well.

I could take some pictures, but there really isn't anything to see. Most people would not notice the camera in the tailgate handle and all you see is a GPS on the dash with a switch on the dash. If you want to do the upgrade, I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can for you. Take care, Mike

 

That's a great Job Mike! Did you by any chance take pictures during the install? If so, it'd make a wicked write-up for Krewat's Electronics file in the tech folder. You could take the information above and incorporate some pics....just a thought.

 

what wire did you use for the shielded pair to the front?

this is a really great info.. now to find a camera..!

Sam

 

Sweet find, and an awesome project. Nice writeup reps given.

Just one comment... usually signal wiring should only be grounded at one end. Grounding at both ends can actually make the interference worse.

 

Let's see, I did not take any pictures because most of it was just routing a wire under the truck and making a couple connections to the trailer wiring. I had a piece of twisted pair wire that had a shield here at the house so I used that for the video wire. I grounded both ends of the shield so that the shield was not acting as an antenna (I have VHF/UHF/HF transmitters in the truck). The video output of the camera is standard NTSC and is 4:3. The monitor on the Garmin Nuvi 5000 is 16/9, but since it is such a wide angle lens, it seemed to make no difference.

Bottom line, this is a very easy modification/upgrade. It's mostly running/splicing wires. I did solder the connections that were in the weather, then used shrink tube on each wire and then a coat of liquid electrical tape. If you have the newer tailgate already, you just need to buy the camera/handle for your tailgate.

I had a solenoid operated lock on my old tailgate. I did a search online and could not find one that was supposed to fit the newer step tailgate. When I put the new gate together after painting, I looked and was sure the old solenoid bracket would not fit, but I tried it and it did fit, needing only a washer under the bracket to keep it from binding. I wired it to the passenger door solenoid, so when I lock my truck, the tailgate locks as well. It does not unlock when I unlock the drivers door (first push on the remote) and does unlock on the second push. Mounting the new tailgate required changing the hinge point bracket on the drivers side to the one with a slot for the torsion bar assist on the new gate. That cost less than $10 from my local dealer. I did a little adjusting of both hinge brackets to align the tailgate properly. The factory key lock from my original tailgate simply replaced the lock in the new gate. I'd highly recommend keeping your tailgate locked as easy as they are to take off the truck.

The only other issue I had is that I have a Leer canopy on the truck and the plastic "flap" that sticks down from the rear window covered the top of the old tailgate to prevent it from opening when the window was locked. The new step tailgate is much wider and the flap did not work. I took it off and bought a rubber strip from my dealer, that I got the part number from the factory, (my local Leer dealer was no help at all) and it sticks on the rear window and works great. Now you have to lock the canopy window AND the tailgate to keep what's inside secure since the tailgate will open with the window shut (but would not be good for the new weather strip if you tried to shut the tailgate with the window shut).

I can't figure out how to post a .pdf here, but I have them for the camera wiring and connections (2009 factory wiring/connections) if anyone wants them.

Mike KG7VL

 

great info...

on the tailgate lock, do you remember the brand? I have the step gate, and have used the clamp approach to keep it from being lifted off, but would like to use the normal lock mechanism to control it.. and as u found no-one can say if it works with the step.

so your camera is in the handle vs the newer F150's that have it in the emblem.

I'd love to see the pdf.. my userid here at gmail.

 

Darn, I just did a search through my e-mail (I thought that it might be there), but I bought it in early 2003, so I don't know the brand name. I can't even remember if I bought it on e-bay, but their records don't go back that far either. I don't remember any markings on the unit itself either. Sorry, that was a mod from a long time ago. You might get one of the suppliers on the phone and see if he'll send you unit to try, with the idea you can post it here if it works on the new tailgates.

I ran the original wire to the drivers side of the tailgate. The new tailgate has a bunch more braces and such inside, so routing the wire was quite a chore to get it past all the stuff inside of the tailgate, but it worked out fine.

I wish I could be more help, I'll keep looking around and see if I find anything more.