Rear View Camera Install w/pics

[Brian894X4]

I’ve been wanting to try out a back up camera system for a while now, but it wasn’t until I saw one the other day, that I sort of had this impulse to really give it a try.

I looked around at a bunch of different systems. Including some camera/LCD combos and separate camera and LCDs. You can really spend some cash on this stuff if you want too. But the one problem I had with all of the set ups, is that I didn’t really have a place to mount the LCD, which usually was meant to go on the dash or flip down from the ceiling.

There was one set up that really caught my eye. It’s from Audiovox (The kit is Audiovox RVMPKG4) and essentially replaces your rearview mirror. Or more accurately straps over it.

The result is a large standard looking rear view mirror, when the system is turned off, and a 4.5” LCD screen in the mirror, when its turned on.

What I like most about this set up is, that there’s no LCDs in the vehicle to attracts thieves (not that I don’t enough other garbage to attract them instead) and it looks like a stock mirror at first glance. But even better, the location of the LCD is very natural, since we’re all used to looking in the rear view mirror to see what’s behind us anyway.

Set up is not super fancy, but it does have a few cool features. The LCD is a 4.5 TFT screen 480x234 resolution at 4:3 ratio. Definitely not the highest and its not widescreen, but it works. The constrast ratio is fixed at 150 to 1, but the brightness is adjustable via a dial on the mirror.

The camera is ¼” CMOS Sensor, color, same resolution as the screen with a wide viewing angle of 130 degrees. There are definitely better cameras out there, but I’m fairly happy with it. It’s pretty heavy for its size with a metal water proof housing. Minimum illumination is .3 Lux.

What’s interesting is the camera comes with a built in microphone and the mirror has a speaker, with a volume dial. This is meant to allow you to hear people or kids behind the vehicle before you back up. It actually works pretty good. For example, I could hear the exhaust turbo like whistle going down the road (bear in mind, my exhaust is stock and in good shape). Of course, it’s not meant to be used while driving and I just leave the volume down, unless I need it.

The LCD can toggle between two cameras if you have a second one. I bought a second one with the intention of mounting it up front and down low for better off road visibility, but I nixed that plan and instead mounted one camera up high on the roof rack and the other down low just above the license plate. This gives me two different, very useful rear views.

The kit is designed to come on automaticly with the reserve lights and only come on with the parking brake on…so you can’t watch the video while in motion. Of course, I didn’t wire it up that way, because I want to be able to use it while driving and especially while backing up. Instead, I wired it so that it has power with the ignition on only and then, you can toggle the on/off switch on the mirror as desired.

Pic one: Shows the two cameras mounted. One on the roof rack and one just above the license plate, under the license plate light hood.

Pic two: Shows the upper camera

Pic three: Shows the lower camera

[Brian894X4]

Pic one: Shows the mirror/LCD with the LCD off. You can use it just like a regular rearview mirror, although it’s a tad darker than the stock mirror. It's larger than the stock mirror and actually increases rear visibility even with the LCD off.

Pic two: Shows the mirror from the side. It just straps over the front of the stock mirror, but is actually pretty secure.

Pic three: Shows the bottom and buttons. The two dial buttons on the bottom control LCD brightness and volume of the speaker. Button 1 is the power on/off toggle. Button 2 toggles between the two cameras. The speaker is on the backside of the mirror.

[Brian894X4]

Pic one: Shows the LCD turned on inside my garage using the lower camera.

Pic two: Shows the LCD turned on with the brightness turned down slightly and my rear lights turned on, on a dark country road, using the upper camera. (so far I’ve only used it at night)

Conclusion so far….

At night, especially with the aid of street lights, the visibility to the rear is just staggering. Far better than without. On a dark road, turning on my (not so bright) rear lights and I can see as if I were looking down the road using headlights.

As far as driving at night with traffic headlights behind you, I prefer to leave the LCD off and just use the mirror, because the lights end up being too bright on dark roads. Not so bad in the city.

Backing up using the camera is much easier now. Especially when combined with the side mirrors. I could literally drive backwards without ever turning my head. The whole point of the system for me is backing up on a trail or old road and here is where it will shine the most. You still need to use the side mirrors to judge the sides of the road/trail. The wide angle of the camera and the essentially 2D view give a false depth perception, so the camera can't be used on its own to back up, but it sure makes things a lot easier and safer.

The screen and camera resolution are only OK. There are better cameras and better LCDs out there. Not sure if any of them use this mirror style or not. So far, I'm pretty happy with this set up. Its simple. Not a lot of frills, but it works. And whoever came up with the idea to mount a rear view camera LCD into the rearview mirror deserves major kudos, because it just makes perfect sense.

[fj80toyman]

Thanks for the write-up on this one. This is something that I'm contemplating and have run into the same things you mention - too many choices, how much to spend, and to add to that, durability and the inevitable cost reduction. I think the cost reduction has already happened to a great extent, so now is probably a good time to get in.

I've driven many cars with rear back-up cameras, and before that I didn't think they were particularly useful. My mind has clearly changed. They are so cool and make it so easy to park and navigate in reverse in every day as well as off-road conditions. I prefer to back in to parking spaces and a rearview camers makes it ALMOST idiot-proof.

My questions:
That is a larger mirror that goes over the stock mirror...
- do your visors still go down all the way?
- is your original mirror pivot point strong enough to hold that new mirror/LCD up and in place?
(mine seems very weak and I need to tighten it up anyway)

I think the rearview mirror is a good solution for 80 owners because of lack of space.

Where did you purchase and approximate cost? (Auto parts, electronics store, Sears?)

One more thing, I'm kind of waiting for the GPS systems to incorporate a rear view camera feature so I can make the most of the mounting on the dash! I think this might be the next step as OEM's do this now.

[Brian894X4]

Originally Posted by fj80toyman

My questions:
That is a larger mirror that goes over the stock mirror...
- do your visors still go down all the way?
- is your original mirror pivot point strong enough to hold that new mirror/LCD up and in place?
(mine seems very weak and I need to tighten it up anyway)

I think the rearview mirror is a good solution for 80 owners because of lack of space.

Where did you purchase and approximate cost? (Auto parts, electronics store, Sears?)

One more thing, I'm kind of waiting for the GPS systems to incorporate a rear view camera feature so I can make the most of the mounting on the dash! I think this might be the next step as OEM's do this now.

I didn't have any trouble with my visors as far as I can recall, but I'll doublecheck on my way to work today.

I purchased this kit from Circuit City. A check online reveals that I probably paid too much. If you run a search using the name and part number Audiovox RVMPKG4, you should be able to find it online. Search using sites like mysimon.com, etc.

A in dash mount will get you a higher resolution and larger LCD, so that's a good option. Then you can choose whatever camera you want, including a higher res camera. I was looking at a camera from Panasonic, which is pretty decent, although spendy.

I plan to keep the stock stereo and I have a laptop that is usually blocking my view to much of my dash, so my monitor options were limited. I don't always have the laptop with me, or I might have used that as a rear view monitor and just bought a camera.

[mot]

Brian,

That's a pretty cool set up!

I'll have to contemplate it myself, but don't think will be a hard sell with my wife.

Thanks!

[fj80toyman]

Thanks Brian. I took a look at your site with all the mods you've done, no doubt you are expert at fitting 10 lbs of stuff in a 5 lb bucket!!

Mot's comment about the wife approving made me chuckle. Not long ago, my wife 'ever-so-gently' backed into the truck parked across the street from a driveway she was parked in. I guess that's the point I started thinking seriously about the back-up camera!

[NLXTACY]

Here is the mirror I was considering using after I read about CDan adding it:
Rear Camera Display Mirror by Gentex

But I like the Audiovox one better. I like being able to have dual inputs. The only thing I wish the Audiovox had was compass and temp. My wife said she is open to me adding this as long as it has those two things. Our S4 has it and she is hooked.

BRIAN, what was the need for using two rear cameras? Especially given the wide angle view? And also why did you decide to not mount up front?

[NLXTACY]

ding ding ding

Welcome to Audiovox

[Brian894X4]

I don't really need two cameras for the rear. The upper camera works the best and I could live with just that one. I purchased the 2nd camera to mount up front, but a couple of things caused me to change my mind. One is that the camera would be most useful mounted low, but then it's succeptable to damage. Pretty much anywhere up front, the camera can be damaged and I drive around on dirt roads a lot, following people. A little bit of dust from following someone and the lens is covered and useless. But other than that, I can see some interesting places to mount it, as least just for fun.

So, I mounted in the rear to give me an alternative position. One of the problems with any camera system is there's little to no depth perception. When a camera is mounted up high, you get a great wide angle view and nice and far back, but the image is 2D so, when you're looking at the ground behind you, a 3 feet hole can look like flat ground. A lower mounted camera gives a different point of view. I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessesary, but it gives me a use for the 2nd camera. And being as the rear is the ultimage blind spot, I'd rather put both cameras to use there.

Good find on the Audiovox page. I never thought to look there:

Here's a list of their mirrors:

Welcome to Audiovox

Oddly enough my model number RVMPKG4 doesn't exist anymore. Probably discontinued and replaced with this one. I see it has duel speakers. Not sure if there are any other improvements:

RVMPKG3


That's the bad thing about buying any electronics. It's outdated the moment you buy it. One thing I've found not so great with this set up is I was driving to work in a major rainstorm and once you get the camera lens wet, it's pretty much worthless. You can see, but not very good. I've been using it as a rear view mirror while driving. It's actually really only intended to be used when backing up, so it's just as easy to get out and wipe the camera off before you use it. I think I might try to mount the lower camera inside so I can benefit from the rear wiper in rainy or dusty conditions, though.

[NLXTACY]

Sounds like a good use to add the headlight washer system and have one of the jets pointed at the lens for quick clean up :P

[Koffer]

Looks great
The one problem I had with the camera I put on my van was the plate light would "blind" it at night . I put a relay in that when I put it in reverse it turns off the plate light by wiring it up to the NC contacts on the relay and used the reverse light as the trigger .

[fj80toyman]

Originally Posted by Brian894X4

... I think I might try to mount the lower camera inside so I can benefit from the rear wiper in rainy or dusty conditions, though.

Originally Posted by Koffer

Looks great
The one problem I had with the camera I put on my van was the plate light would "blind" it at night . I put a relay in that when I put it in reverse it turns off the plate light by wiring it up to the NC contacts on the relay and used the reverse light as the trigger .

Uh-huh, mmmhmm... All good stuff. Taking notes here. I appreciate the product development that all goes on before I lay down hard cash for new stuff.

[Brian894X4]

Originally Posted by Brian894X4

Good find on the Audiovox page. I never thought to look there:

Here's a list of their mirrors:

Welcome to Audiovox

Oddly enough my model number RVMPKG4 doesn't exist anymore. Probably discontinued and replaced with this one. I see it has duel speakers. Not sure if there are any other improvements:

RVMPKG3


.

Correction on my part numbers.

Audiovox RVMPKG3, which is what is shown on their website is the old discontinued model. My version, RVMPKG4 is the new version of that style.

The only difference I can see between the two is that the latest version includes a wire that can be hooked up to the reverse lights so the LCD automaticly comes on when you put it in reverse.

It didn't bother. I can turn it on or off at will.

[rostige]

Decided to put rear camera in for the wife after the rear of the truck was tinted dark. Camera flush mounts through tailgate and sits just above licence plate...very inconspicuous and also difficult to steal (cost of camera about $100.00 CDN)...wired to auxilliary inputs of flip dash video/dvd/player stereo...a cheap one..Jensen...I think it was around $250.00-300.00...Some priority switches were put in so the rear camera could be accessed quickly...even while rolling down the road. The lens reads the bottom of the upper hatch slightly but there is still plenty of image in frame to see whats going on behind.

[NLXTACY]

Hi ROSTIGE, can you get a tighter picture of the camera mounted? I though about it but was worried about drilling into the tailgate

[rostige]

No problem NLXTACY...I'll try tomorrow if the weather is not too brutal...I know how I feel about drilling...one better not f-up. If you were walking past the truck you might think it was a key hole. If I recall..the hole is about 1/2 to 3/4".


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FJ80 1992 with 3B turbo intercooled 5 spd manuel hubs, 80'S t-case 2" ome,other minor bling, custom frt bumper,get me locked

Dodge 2500 1999 quad cab 4X4 work truck, mild chip 4 " exhaust 900/16 Michelin XZL'S Ruenel bumpers frt/rr, 12000 lb. Warn frt. beefed up springs, frt/rr, rear posi

Unimog 1700 agricultural model 170 HP 5.9 LTR turbodiesel, 24 speed, frt/ rr pto's, 4 dbl acting hydraulic circuits frt/rr, rr cat 3 three-point hitch,air lock diffs frt/rr, 3-way dump box, Espar coolant heater, reflex coated cab interior/exterior roof & back of cab, 60 mph with front loader

Holder C500 articulated sidewalk/ yard tractor,turbodiesel,4 wheel drive with hydraulic diff lock, 3-point hitches frt/rr, pto's frt rr, 4 double acting circuits hydraulic,adjustable v-blade snowplow, dumpable spreader, front rotating brush, rear water tank, heated cab...blah, blah, blah.......

[NLXTACY]

haha, drilling ANYTHING into the body requires measuring 1,486 times, drill once.

[IdahoDoug]

I've been waiting for years for someone to package this system with a video recording system that would store 10 minutes or so that would be continuously refreshed. With this, and a camera f/r you'd be protected against an accident situation where someone else is claiming you were at fault. Obviously if you were at fault that is recorded too, but I'm comfortable with that.

So, now that these are getting more common, has anyone seen something that retains the last 10 minutes - like an airplane black box?

DougM

[elmariachi]

Here you go Doug: Aircraft flight recorder black box - non destructible - eBay (item 310035556363 end time Apr-25-08 13:55:54 PDT)

Mounts in the empty space by the jack. Not.

[IdahoDoug]

That thing would be cool to open just to see what strategies they devised to protect the data from shock, water, impact and heat, ya know?

On the car camera thing - I seriously think these are going to be common one day. Can you imagine someone driving like an idiot and then noticing the camera in someone's rear window recording their every move? It would not be far fetched for you to be able to hit a 'help' button in your car and send the imagery via your cell phone to the 911 system. Bingo, highway patrol has the car, the plate, the driver and the behavior - case closed.

DougM