A portable backup camera

[jay]

I extremely would  like to buy the backup camera according to the client's comments. What ideas you have?

It's the comment content, as follows:

I purchased to use for a 1,000 mile move this past May and since then have used it 3 times, twice 1,000 mile trip and the third for a short 180 mile trip. The first trip I had a 26 foot u-haul with a car carrier behind it and needed something to give me a view of the car on the trailer as well as what is behind me. My mistake was thinking that purchasing this kit I would just be able to use the magnetic mount to stick it to the u-haul truck. U-haul truck boxes are 100% aluminum above the bumper and as such, nowhere magnetic high enough to be usable. The problem quickly resolved at my local hardware store where I picked up a 6”x10” piece of galvanized sheet metal with some outdoor Command Strips. I mounted the sheet metal using the Command Strips on the flat area between the roll up door and the roof of the u-haul. This provided a more than adequate mounting surface for this camera and the battery. I used the windshield suction mount for the display with only the screw in antenna which worked more than adequately. I had a constant 2 to 3 bars of signal strength between the camera & the display, which worked perfectly except when close to another 2.4G Hz Wi-Fi networks. On a thousand-mile drive, this interference happened less than expected. I repeated this drive with a second 26 foot u-haul in September but without the car carrier behind it. Performance was as good as the first trip and very happy that I had it. Made parking at hotels and getting into and out of gas stations a breeze. My third trip was a much shorter one with a horse trailer behind a pickup. It was great having it for this trip and worked much better than with the u-haul keeping a constant full bars of signal. I never got any interference from other Wi-Fi networks.

 

As I was afraid of losing the camera if the magnets or Command Strips failed, I purchased a retractable “Gear Keeper” tether on Amazon, which I connected to the camera and battery and then to the u-haul. This was overkill and never needed, but made me feel better.

 

Battery life is much better than expected getting consistently 12-13 hours on a single charge without turning it off at stops. This was perfect for me as this was about my maximum time I could drive a u-haul with a car behind it on a given day. If you want to use it longer, consider a second battery or plan on charging at stops. One note on the battery is that if you want to charge it by plugging into a standard 110v outlet, you will need to purchase a higher amperage USB charger than what comes with an iPhone. I purchased a QC 3.0 charger that worked perfectly. One note on the battery is that I charge it once a month as I do for my e-bike batteries and others to ensure maximum battery life, and  I am considering purchasing a second one as a backup.

 

The kit comes with an external antenna that I tried to use with the u-haul on the second trip, but since I had nowhere but the roof of the cab to place it, it did no better than the screw in antenna. Other than trying that one time, I have not used the external antenna.

 

The case it comes in is perfect for the kit plus a few other things that I bought for the kit. It is very sturdy and survived shipping USPS back and forth for my trips. It does come with 2 Allen wrenches to adjust the camera. I added a short Phillips screw driver and upgraded to a better Allen wrench with a ball end to make adjustment easier.

 

One final note is that if you repeat my galvanized steel with command strips, make sure you purchase with a  heavy enough gauge so that the magnets have something to hold onto. Galvanized steel has lower iron content, but what I found in my local hardware store was perfect for the task without much thickness.

[frankgibbons]

You can use 4Ucam two digital camera. The system was easy to install and the product seems to made of good quality. I am happy to monitor the cargo inside my toy hauler as wheel as who is behind me before I switch lanes. The parking guides are a plus but just have to get use to how big my trailer is with reference to the lines. Seems to be conservative.