Trailer Camera

[GlennSullivan]

Does anyone know of a trailer camera kit that I can mount on the air dam of my open car trailer and connect to it through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on my phone or camera to have a view of the vehicle being towed?

 

[steve3591]

I am wondering why ford says their rear trailer camera will not work with my 22 expedition platinum either the 15.5 screen and Sync4a. It will work on a f250 with sync4
There are parts you can sad non ford that can give you a continuous picture behind the trailer while in drive.
Camera is hardwired to hitch on vehicle then thru to monitor in dash.
Don’t want to use a non ford camera that will not work thru sync4 and need another device in car.

 

[GlennSullivan]

In my case, I don't mind the other screen on the dash. I would just suction cup it to windshield while towing and then remove when I drop the trailer. I like the idea of continuous view of trailer while being able to use sync at the same time.

I've seen several of these on Amazon with good ratings, Does anyone know if I can use the 4 wire flat connector to power the camera at the same time as I'm using the 7 round for trailer connection?

 

[acepilot13]

In my case, I don't mind the other screen on the dash. I would just suction cup it to windshield while towing and then remove when I drop the trailer. I like the idea of continuous view of trailer while being able to use sync at the same time.

I've seen several of these on Amazon with good ratings, Does anyone know if I can use the 4 wire flat connector to power the camera at the same time as I'm using the 7 round for trailer connection?

No you can't use your 4 pin flat for power since there is no power wire. You could tap your running light wire on the 4 pin but then you would always have to have your running lights on. Best bet is to follow your 7 pin plug 12V aux which should be red and tap it on the trailer side. Probably goes to your electric trailer brake battery or internal lights if you have them. You could use a 4 pin flat as a connector though after you tap it that way the camera is detachable if you wanna use it on multiple trailers. I attached your typical RV 7 pin and flat 4. Be advised 7 pins have different color schemes sometimes on older trailers. They are mostly all the same now but a multi meter never hurts with an extra hand.

 

[GlennSullivan]

No you can't use your 4 pin flat for power since there is no power wire. You could tap your running light wire on the 4 pin but then you would always have to have your running lights on. Best bet is to follow your 7 pin plug 12V aux which should be red and tap it on the trailer side. Probably goes to your electric trailer brake battery or internal lights if you have them. You could use a 4 pin flat as a connector though after you tap it that way the camera is detachable if you wanna use it on multiple trailers. I attached your typical RV 7 pin and flat 4. Be advised 7 pins have different color schemes sometimes on older trailers. They are mostly all the same now but a multi meter never hurts with an extra hand.

My aux power currently goes to the breakaway battery, which would be pretty easy to access / connect to. The reason I mentioned the 4 pin was I was thinking of using that with the running light pins as you referenced, I do realize that I would need to keep them switched on to power the camera - not a bad thing.

 

[reklaw]

Does anyone know of a trailer camera kit that I can mount on the air dam of my open car trailer and connect to it through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on my phone or camera to have a view of the vehicle being towed?

I can tell you that Haloview carries a magnetic, battery powered, wireless camera with monitor. I am in the process of installing a different camera from Haloview on my camper and my dad has just installed one on his camper as well. I think the magnetic camera might be available on amazon. Also, TadiBrothers seems to be a big trailer camera dealer but I don't have any experience with them.

As far as what acepilot said, tapping into your running lights to power a camera. Well that is what all these RV cameras do. In fact, the RVs come prewired with a spot already tapped into the running lights to get power to the cameras.

 

[GlennSullivan]

I can tell you that Haloview carries a magnetic, battery powered, wireless camera with monitor. I am in the process of installing a different camera from Haloview on my camper and my dad has just installed one on his camper as well. I think the magnetic camera might be available on amazon. Also, TadiBrothers seems to be a big trailer camera dealer but I don't have any experience with them.

As far as what acepilot said, tapping into your running lights to power a camera. Well that is what all these RV cameras do. In fact, the RVs come prewired with a spot already tapped into the running lights to get power to the cameras.

Good info, thank you. I'll look into those vendors. I'd live to use a battery powered magnetic camera - if the battery would last for a 1200 mile trip. With my aluminum trailer, I'd need to screw mount it or I could screw a powder coated metal disk and then use the magnetic feature.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Looks like Haloview may be the company to go with. Side by side video reviews of Haloview and Furrion show Haloview having much better video quality. They have 12V and battery powered powered cameras, both with the same direct camera to display WiFi system. The battery powered camera seems to be more convenient if you are going to move it from trailer to trailer and from a theft situation, but it only has a 5-6 hour battery life. That is great for short to medium trips, but we make a number of longer (850-1250mi) trips each year where we drive 10+ hours per day and the battery powered camera would not work for these trips.

 

[acepilot13]

I was just looking at those Haloview and I think if you got the battery one if you had a trailer you do the long distance with a lot you could have a power cable go to the battery/camera and then use the camera on other trailers that don't need the 16 hours of battery without a permanent power cable run. Best of both worlds. Also if for some reason your power cable were to be cut by like running through a corn field(guess how I know) then you'll still have the camera .

 

[GlennSullivan]

I was just looking at those Haloview and I think if you got the battery one if you had a trailer you do the long distance with a lot you could have a power cable go to the battery/camera and then use the camera on other trailers that don't need the 16 hours of battery without a permanent power cable run. Best of both worlds. Also if for some reason your power cable were to be cut by like running through a corn field(guess how I know) then you'll still have the camera .

I'd like to hear the corn field story some day, that must be a doosey.

 

[acepilot13]

I'd like to hear the corn field story some day, that must be a doosey.

Sometimes you gotta race family home towing a trailer and the shortest path is through the harvested corn field, but those stubby corn stocks are brutal. One happened reach up hook the wire loom and rip all of the wiring including the conduit off the bottom of the trailer. Still beat them that's all that matters. It's not the cost it's the principle.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Sometimes you gotta race family home towing a trailer and the shortest path is through the harvested corn field, but those stubby corn stocks are brutal. One happened reach up hook the wire loom and rip all of the wiring including the conduit off the bottom of the trailer. Still beat them that's all that matters. It's not the cost it's the principle.

hahahahahahahahahahahahha

 

[reklaw]

I was just looking at those Haloview and I think if you got the battery one if you had a trailer you do the long distance with a lot you could have a power cable go to the battery/camera and then use the camera on other trailers that don't need the 16 hours of battery without a permanent power cable run. Best of both worlds. Also if for some reason your power cable were to be cut by like running through a corn field(guess how I know) then you'll still have the camera .

This is a good point. Assuming that the camera will still turn on while the "charging cable" is plugged into it "charging" it.

 

[reklaw]

Looks like Haloview may be the company to go with. Side by side video reviews of Haloview and Furrion show Haloview having much better video quality. They have 12V and battery powered powered cameras, both with the same direct camera to display WiFi system. The battery powered camera seems to be more convenient if you are going to move it from trailer to trailer and from a theft situation, but it only has a 5-6 hour battery life. That is great for short to medium trips, but we make a number of longer (850-1250mi) trips each year where we drive 10+ hours per day and the battery powered camera would not work for these trips.

Also, If you didn't order anything yet. Be aware that if you can't find the Haloview system that you want on Amazon and you have to order directly from the Haloview website shipper will be around $25 and it will ship from Hong Kong probably by way of DHL. I think I ordered my system on a Friday so of course it was already Saturday there so I received a shipped notification early Monday morning and I think it took a week to get here from the time it shipped.

 

[acepilot13]

This is a good point. Assuming that the camera will still turn on while the "charging cable" is plugged into it "charging" it.

Since it looks like you have this camera can you check to see if you can use it while charging?

 

[reklaw]

Since it looks like you have this camera can you check to see if you can use it while charging?

I do not have the battery powered one. I have the RD7 camera which plugs into power on my trailer. And that I'm still working on getting installed.

 

[Mark Buckner]

Does anyone know of a trailer camera kit that I can mount on the air dam of my open car trailer and connect to it through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on my phone or camera to have a view of the vehicle being towed?

You might look at Garmin. They have a number of GPS units that will work with their wireless camera. The camera runs on 2 AA batteries and using lithium batteries I get several days (over a week). I have mine on the front bumper to see the descending trails when off road, but the camera can be reversed based on whether it is facing forward or backward. The one I have is the BC 40, paired to a Drive Track 71, but there are a number of others that work with the BC 40. No wires, very easy installation, and camera can be quickly removed from the bracket to put inside your vehicle to prevent theft.

 

[GlennSullivan]

You might look at Garmin. They have a number of GPS units that will work with their wireless camera. The camera runs on 2 AA batteries and using lithium batteries I get several days (over a week). I have mine on the front bumper to see the descending trails when off road, but the camera can be reversed based on whether it is facing forward or backward. The one I have is the BC 40, paired to a Drive Track 71, but there are a number of others that work with the BC 40. No wires, very easy installation, and camera can be quickly removed from the bracket to put inside your vehicle to prevent theft.

Thanks, I'll look into that as well.