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Rear view camera - are they useful on 5th-wheel?


canyonier

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I'm thinking of getting a rear view camera installed on my 30' 5-wheel. Thought it might be helpful in avoiding trees or posts and such on the blind side when backing into a spot. Wife used to be my lookout but she no longer can do that. So, I need all the help I can get.

If you have a backup camera, what do you think about it?

Also, hard-wired or wireless?

Glenn

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I have a back up camera on my 5th wheel. I would not be without it. It comes in very handy when backing by myself (although I still get out and look when it is a really tight spot). I have had both wired and wireless and I prefer the wired, but they are more difficult to install. My old wireless camera was RF based. I have not tried one of the wifi based wireless systems.

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We have two rear view cameras, one on the rear of the 5er and one on the rear of the truck. As Chad said I wouldn't want to be without them. We additionally have two side view cameras on the left and right side of the 5er. IMO the three cameras on the 5er, in addition to the two side mirrors on the truck, add significantly to the driver's ability to operate the rig safely. Can it be done without cameras, yes, but being able to see the camera feeds in the monitor in addition to my mirrors seems to me to add additional information for safe operation. The camera on the rear of the truck is to facilitate hooking up the rig. Again it can be done without cameras, as commercial drivers do everyday, but I'm not one of them and appreciate the value of the camera in hitching up. Also as Chad said, I found the hard wired camera systems to work better and be more reliable. We had them built into to our rig when ordered. Adding one after the fact to an existing unit can be done but does require figuring out how to run the wires. Best Wishes, Jay

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Our monitor and cameras are Voyager brand. Many websites carry Voyager products, such as RVCams.com. Best Wishes, Jay

2015 Continental Coach Elegance by Forks RV, 41'; 2015 FL M2 112, DD 13, by 2L Custom Trucks; Trailer Saver air hitch; '48 Navigoddess with a Rand McNally GPS

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Jack has a decent put together system with something bigger than a 7" screen. On my Volvo the best place, I think for me, would be over one of the dash switch panels. I'd like 5 cameras, top of cab looking aft, one aimed at the hitch, one on either side of the trailer and a 5th at the rear of the trailer. Doubt that all 5 would fit on one screen. May have to go to a separate one for one of the applications.

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Yes, my system has a 9" monitor and 6 cameras. Three on each vehicle. I use all components from Leviathan_holdings on Ebay. I've literally used dozens of his cameras and monitors for various projects. I find them to be superior FOR THE PRICE. There ARE better monitors and cameras available but I find his to be sufficient for my use.

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Initially I installed a 3 camera system (rear and side) on our 5er from http://www.rearviewsafety.com/ and later I added a license plate camera to the tool box to help with hooking up. Love them. They are very useful. And the tighter the spot the more useful.

Later,

J

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I bought mine from Costco online . They had a complete kit for a fifthwheel and truck. Installed it myself and it wasnt very hard.

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Drove big rigs for 20 years and did a lot of backing. Never had an accident and never saw a need for a camera. Just be sure what is in the space you want to occupy before you start backing into it. That 20 years included over 3,000,000 safe miles too.

Fulltiming since September 1, 2010

 

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  • 4 months later...

Like WeBe I have driven Big Rigs and 45 ft busses and have never had a backing accident, without the use of cameras. The best advice is GOAL (Get Out And Look) Back up favouring the driver side of the trailer so you can just look over your should to see the back of the trailer.

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I installed a hard wire camera to monitor a swivel trailer behind our fifth wheel which carries a motorcycle. I am surprised how much I use it to monitor traffic behind me and would not be without one now, with or without the swivel trailer. For backing up, I still rely on the wife.

New Technology is a good thing that can make your travels/life easier and safer, embrace it.

Greg

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Anywhere you can get "eyes on" is going to be a plus. Backing into a loading dock is a bit different than a CG where you may have 'mobile' obstacles.. aka, people/animals cutting through your campsite while backing. I also prefer hard wired... and as inexpensive as camera's are these days.. why not have that extra safety measure?

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  • 8 months later...

I'm a little late to this topic, but if anyone is still in the market, I just invested in this one from Camera Source: https://camera-source.com/automotive-cams/camper-5th-wheel-cams/07-09-toyota-tundra-camper-camera-kit-plug-and-play.html

 

It uses your existing tailgate connectors so its super simple to install.

 

Super simple assumes you had a tailgate (that had a camera in it) that you removed. Many older pickups did not have cameras in the tail gates and the HDT's / MDT's typically do not have tailgates or cameras available from the factory.

 

However it may still be fairly simple to install but will require some additional work to run wire feed and install a monitor.

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I installed a system from advice on this forum 4 years ago and it has worked very well for me. In a phone call to Jim, he said these cameras were used in ND on the county salt trucks with good results. The other advantage is I was able to stop at a local John Deere dealer ship to get replacement cable I once needed. http://videosystemsbyjim.com/

Greg

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I put a camera on the rear of mine. I use it for safety purposes more than anything. No, they are not needed, but another view is a good thing. Like others, I have driven big trucks without cameras, but I really like the one on my trailer. I have mine wired to be on when I have the trailer on. I was going to post a link for what I have, but I keep getting an error message from rvcams.com. Something about an internal server error.......

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  • 4 weeks later...

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