Back up camera?

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Videocrafters

Has anyone had experience with this backup camera. It sounds good, but who knows...
https://rvstrailer.com/products/back...44503938564327

I'm just getting back to the question of a backup camera, and this item that you started the thread with some months ago intrigues me. I've got a difficult parking place for our 21C (turning off the driveway, up and over the lawn, between the corner of the house and a small flower garden, into a 10' wide canopy) which often takes multiple tries with my wife madly signaling and trying to talk to me over the backup beeper (triggered, of course, by the trailer)*. And there is the occasional campsite that presents awkwardly-placed trees and boulders to frustrate even experienced trailer-mongers.

No one said they used it; have you?

I like the idea of a magnetic, battery-powered camera that I can just stick on the rear trailer bumper (or the TV bumper if I'm hitching). No need to drill holes in my Escape, or to finagle a power supply from a light. My wife has an iPad that could serve as the monitor, and I see there are lots of ways to mount a holder that would make it easy to see, e.g. this suction-cup one aimed at 18-wheel drivers:
https://www.amazon.com/Truckules-Tab...s%2C111&sr=8-5

* Here's a photo of my parking challenge:

[jeffhaltiner]

well, i will defer to more experienced trailer jockeys regarding the use of various backup cameras for this type of maneuver. my initial recommendation would be aerial application of Agent Orange to remove all the vegetation in your yard (and neighborhood), then clearing it all, then putting in a proper concrete driveway/parking spot closer to the road. (i wrestled with a similarly convoluted parking spot in my yard for a couple years, then just re-configured my yard.
But assuming you want to continue wrestling with Grendel, i have found the factory-installed backup camera on my E19 is not very helpful for complex backup. I find that its too wide-angle, and you have to make the moves with the steering wheel well in advance of when you can actually see much on the tiny monitor. So for my home back-in, the most successful approach has been to practice it slowly a few times (when there's no traffic for me to block on my street) and make note/mark the key spots where i need to make specific moves (and memorize/jot down these moves if i'm not doing this very often). Actually putting a few on the ground markers is helpful.
And figuring out/communicating with my wife and making sure she understands WHAT and When she needs to tell me to do certain things is essential. We have been together 54 years and this is pretty much the most stressful thing we do together. (there's a reason they offer husband/wife classes in this!).
(okay, long response, but i can totally relate. maybe others have a slicker method; good luck).

[MrLynn]

"Wrestling with Grendel." That about sums it up, Jeff.

Ruling out Agent Orange, and ruling out paving over the flower/shrub garden, we have indeed considered alternatives in the other yards.

I have another convoluted (two turns) backup path to get to our sewage holding tank (pumps in it go to the street up a long driveway) in the back yard, where we dump and clean out the black tank. There's a mulberry tree to get around (it has already taken off a vent cap and an awning cap) without hitting the garage.

Between the holding tank and the side yard where we now park the trailer there is a fenced dog yard. We don't have any dogs right now, but often dog-sit others' dogs, so it's a requirement. Otherwise I'd consider eliminating the dog yard and a couple of trees in it, so I could go forward around the house and never have to back up at all.

Maybe that's the answer! Instead of a camera, which as you say might not help, being too wide-angled, I could get a FRONT RECEIVER, and PUSH the Escape exactly where I want it to go! Etrailer has them:
https://www.etrailer.com/fmr-2013_Ford_Expedition.htm

How well you can control the turns pushing a trailer across bumpy yards with a front hitch and ball mount? Seems like it should work just like backing up, except you can see where you're going. But hate to spend $300 and find out it doesn't work. . .

[oldwave]

A few years ago I bought a Costco backup camera that had magnetic mount, I could mount it on the rear bumper and the added bonus of setting it view the wheels when moving up on the blocks or levelers. It was cheap and it’s range was a bit finicky but it did work and had a rechargeable battery. It died in about three years. I think it was 80. There are better ones out there now. One tip for tricky back ins that I found extremely useful is hi viz cones , I carry 4 and at night I use small led emergency flashers to light the corridor.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by MarkinVan

This one came up in another thread.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q7976P7...f_=as_li_ss_tl

Battery and charges via USB, uses phone for screen.

Okay, I've been meaning to do a follow up on the EWAY WiFi Magnetic Hitch Wireless Backup Rear/Front View Camera.

First I apologize to the person who asked me for an update before. At the time I hadn't used it on the road and couldn't give a good response. It was this February before I finally did get some experience and took some photos of the system.

My use case has to be the absolute worse case scenario. I have the camera mounted inside the trailer in the rear window. My tow vehicle is a Sprinter cargo van with ZERO windows in the back. Total distance between the camera and the phone is over 30 feet.

When I had the camera on the center of the dash (pictured), I did get a signal which was suitable for backing. However, when driving as a rear view camera the frame rate of the camera would drop due to the poor signal, especially when there were things changing in the photo like a car passing.

I moved the camera over to the driver's side of the dash and have been happy with the consistent 24 FPS performance there.



To mount the camera I purchased a Simpson Strong-Tie 12-Gauge Galvanized Steel Angle that is intended to join two boards together at a 90 degree angle. I used a Dremel metal cutting wheel and cut off the holes on one side. On the other side, as I recall I cut off the two outside holes and left the two inner ones. I used those holes to attach the bracket to the bottom of the window frame.



The camera does come with a hardwiring plug, but, I haven't gotten around to installing it. The main reason is I have found that the USB charging port can power the camera as well, and just run a USB C cable from my captains light to the camera while driving. So there is no time limit on how long you can use the camera.



I have found that at least in my case if I pull the shade down to the top of the camera it will impact the signal strength. Before I started using the USB cable, I could pull the shade fully down with the metal bar below the camera and it worked fine. So the WiFi antenna in the camera must be towards the top.

The screen protector on the phone in the photo above was an old plastic style and had significant scratches from knocking around in a drawer for a couple of years and that impacted the image quality in the photo above. I've since removed it.

The app gives you the option of having the backup lines or not.

With it mounted in the window the reflection of the IR illuminators make it unusable when it is dark. Not a big issue for me as I prefer to be settled by the time it gets dark. Worse case if needed I could take the camera outside and temporarily attach it to the trailer bumper to back into a campsite after dark.

The current price of just over $100 is about $40 less than I paid for it. It was a good deal at $140, and at $100 is a fantastic deal.

The phone I am using it on is a Samsung Galaxy J7 from 2015. It does not have a cellphone plan, and that is not needed to use it with the camera. You just need to download the RV camera app when you have WiFi available.

[Fender]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

How well you can control the turns pushing a trailer across bumpy yards with a front hitch and ball mount? Seems like it should work just like backing up, except you can see where you're going. But hate to spend $300 and find out it doesn't work. . .

I used to store a car for the winter in a commercial storage building that had dozens of RV's stored as well. The fellow running the place wouldn't let anybody back their rig in. He had a skid steer type vehicle with a hitch on the front where he could drive up, connect to the trailer and lift without having to get off the seat. He would then push the RV into the building, maneuver it into place and park it.
The RV's were parked close together, hardly could get a door open, and he was good at it. The system worked really well.

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by hugh

I've had good luck with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HC1KBT8

The range is ridiculous.. I can pickup the camera signal in my car when I'm still 300-400 feet from the trailer.

I just bought a similar magnetic battery/solar camera and 7" monitor, more expensive because of the 7" monitor ($200):

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Wire...2-63e904010ad0

The magnet is really strong, but oddly enough there is no steel on the back of my Expedition (!), and of course none on my Escape rear end, either. However, I figure I can put it on the stinger when hitching up, and on the back bumper of the Escape when parking the trailer.

Not sure about the monitor. Takes a fair amount of room on the dash. If I use the suction cup and leave the cup on the windshield, it's a bit of an awkward pain putting on the monitor when I want to use it.

My thought right now is to just leave the monitor with the camera in a case of some kind, and just pull them both out for hitching and backing up. The monitor will sit flat on its stand on the dash without fastening, if I'm just backing up slowly.

Other mounting suggestions welcome. The range is excellent (well over 100'), and the monitor is nice, bright, and detailed. So I think it will really be a help.

[Akfishman]

Originally Posted by splitting_lanes

I’m with Willy on this, definitely interested in hearing if someone tries this out.

The one thing that I’ve heard from people that have backup cameras, is that there are no markers for width or depth of view. So you can see what’s behind you, but it’s hard to tell how close or far it is.

I ordered the stock backup camera on my 21c and it has all the same markings as the backup camera on my truck. Makes it a breeze to lineup the trailer and gives you the color bars to determine distance. And most importantly!, it has improved relations with the spouse . I am now known as Mr. Cool when parking the trailer, no shouting, cursing,or snapping at the wife. It’s almost Zen like, I feel like a new man! Enjoy the camera, oh and while you’re driving you can view who is sneaking up on you (bill collector, process server)!

[yxan]

Anyone installed the GM specific "invisible trailer camera" system on theirs yet?

[Carmel Clown]

Originally Posted by Akfishman

I ordered the stock backup camera on my 21c and it has all the same markings as the backup camera on my truck. Makes it a breeze to lineup the trailer and gives you the color bars to determine distance. And most importantly!, it has improved relations with the spouse . I am now known as Mr. Cool when parking the trailer, no shouting, cursing,or snapping at the wife. It’s almost Zen like, I feel like a new man! Enjoy the camera, oh and while you’re driving you can view who is sneaking up on you (bill collector, process server)!

I think my stock does to, it a view that I have to choose. Haven’t used it for awhile so I’m not sure.

[hugh]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

The monitor will sit flat on its stand on the dash without fastening, if I'm just backing up slowly.

Other mounting suggestions welcome. The range is excellent (well over 100'), and the monitor is nice, bright, and detailed. So I think it will really be a help.

I've found that clipping the camera to the rear view mirror works well for me. It's up and out of the way, but still a good position for a quick glance.

Pics here:
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post446386