I have a 2007 GX470 with the basic stereo with no screen. I was planning on getting a stereo with a screen to install a reverse camera. My wife has been driving the car more lately, so it was time to install this so she cold have a better idea what is behind her when she backs up. This is all pretty basic, but hopefully it can help someone.
Most aftermarket rear view mirror cameras also have a forward facing camera installed and a number of other neat features.
The issue for me was most of the decent "mirrors" strap over the existing mirror, which i didn't care for. There was another model I saw that had an arm/oem style mount, but the optics were fairly poor. I decided to get a decent mirror and build a mount somehow. The VanTop H610 10" 2.5K Mirror Dash Cam. The price was $99, then there was $15 amazon coupon and then the seller offered an incentive for an honest review. You could choose a 12V vacuum, a 64gb micro SD card, or $50 amazon gift card. Obviously I went with the $50! Which brings the price of this camera to $34.99! I spent about $15 in stuff to mount it how I did also.
Amazon product ASIN B07XZ1D226
So here goes, not super pretty, but functional!
The back of the mirror with the pads and straps:
Peel up the pads and expose screws:
Removing the pads from the rear:
The screws are M2 thread and very small!
I bought a strip of 1/8" aluminum from the hardware store and cut it down to about 145mm length. ( I just went Metric since the hole spacing was metric)
I marked out the distance between the mounting holes (130mm horizontal and 24.7mm vertical spacing) then drilled the holes as marked
Now this part I would recommend finding a better solution. I scavenged the arm out of the original mirror. This was difficult and all but destroyed the mirror. Probably better to buy an arm, or a donor mirror. I used a 10-24 x3/4" screw and lock washer to hold it on to the plate. I drilled a hole and installed a screw (which broke off) to keep the mount from spinning.
I then mounted it to the mirror. I took off the wrap around arms that were clamped inside the pads on the back. I reinstalled the rubber grips before putting the plate on.
I used M2 x12mm screws with M3 or #4 lockwashers (they didnt have M2) and some washers.
Then I installed back in the car. Running wiring for power and rearview camera was pretty standard. I have a bit more to do to finalize and clean up the wiring.
And from the outside:
The camera is great, it shows a lot more of what is behind me than the mirror did. The camera also gets into some of the blind spots that you cant see through the sideviews or original mirror which is an unexpected bonus. Its not too bright at night (easily dims with 1 touch). I have not tried to replay any video yet, but I assume it works. The reverse guide lines could be better if they were adjustable, they are fairly meaningless as it is now.
I imagine you could mount another camera on the undercarriage to watch the positioning of wheels while off-roading over obstacles pretty easily too. Just unplug the rear camera and plug in the underbody one. It would also be cool for doing time lapse shots for road trips or wheeling.
Well, nothing earth shattering, but maybe it will help someone around here that wants to do something similar.
Most aftermarket rear view mirror cameras also have a forward facing camera installed and a number of other neat features.
The issue for me was most of the decent "mirrors" strap over the existing mirror, which i didn't care for. There was another model I saw that had an arm/oem style mount, but the optics were fairly poor. I decided to get a decent mirror and build a mount somehow. The VanTop H610 10" 2.5K Mirror Dash Cam. The price was $99, then there was $15 amazon coupon and then the seller offered an incentive for an honest review. You could choose a 12V vacuum, a 64gb micro SD card, or $50 amazon gift card. Obviously I went with the $50! Which brings the price of this camera to $34.99! I spent about $15 in stuff to mount it how I did also.
Amazon product ASIN B07XZ1D226
So here goes, not super pretty, but functional!
The back of the mirror with the pads and straps:
Peel up the pads and expose screws:
Removing the pads from the rear:
The screws are M2 thread and very small!
I bought a strip of 1/8" aluminum from the hardware store and cut it down to about 145mm length. ( I just went Metric since the hole spacing was metric)
I marked out the distance between the mounting holes (130mm horizontal and 24.7mm vertical spacing) then drilled the holes as marked
Now this part I would recommend finding a better solution. I scavenged the arm out of the original mirror. This was difficult and all but destroyed the mirror. Probably better to buy an arm, or a donor mirror. I used a 10-24 x3/4" screw and lock washer to hold it on to the plate. I drilled a hole and installed a screw (which broke off) to keep the mount from spinning.
I then mounted it to the mirror. I took off the wrap around arms that were clamped inside the pads on the back. I reinstalled the rubber grips before putting the plate on.
I used M2 x12mm screws with M3 or #4 lockwashers (they didnt have M2) and some washers.
Then I installed back in the car. Running wiring for power and rearview camera was pretty standard. I have a bit more to do to finalize and clean up the wiring.
And from the outside:
The camera is great, it shows a lot more of what is behind me than the mirror did. The camera also gets into some of the blind spots that you cant see through the sideviews or original mirror which is an unexpected bonus. Its not too bright at night (easily dims with 1 touch). I have not tried to replay any video yet, but I assume it works. The reverse guide lines could be better if they were adjustable, they are fairly meaningless as it is now.
I imagine you could mount another camera on the undercarriage to watch the positioning of wheels while off-roading over obstacles pretty easily too. Just unplug the rear camera and plug in the underbody one. It would also be cool for doing time lapse shots for road trips or wheeling.
Well, nothing earth shattering, but maybe it will help someone around here that wants to do something similar.
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