Backup and Side View Cameras - Network IP Cam

[rvexodus]

Curious if anyone is using standard network ip cameras for backup, side view and even forward facing. I have a 43ft fifth wheel that I’d like to get a few really good camera angles. I hate to pay a $1000 for a system with another screen to manage. We already have a gps and iPad that we use when towing. To be able to use the iPad screen to view network cameras would be great.

Now a little disclaimer. We are already doing this with a few cameras on the inside. My wireless network is always on as well as my Mac mini which is running s program called security spy. This program aggregates multiple cameras into one stream which I can then view on an iPad whil towing or an Apple TV at night as a security device. So far it works great inside.

Outside is a different story. I’m trying to find some low profile cameras which also have good night vision. I can find one or the other but not both. I’ve had really good results stationary with an amcrest bullet camera which boasts a pretty long night vision viewing distance. Alternately I found a nice compact camera by la view that has so so image quality and night vision.

My goal would be to mount the cameras in the back, sides and on the roof angled forward as a birds eye dash cam.

Wanted to see if anyone else was doing this. Is this a silly idea? I am a gadget geek. Is there a better more simple option I should concider?

Thanks,

Kirk

[BarneyS]

Dtank wrote:
Snip...
Also - rules don't allow duplicate posts. You could ask a Moderator to move it......but simply changing the title will work also.

:C

.

Nope! Not necessarily true. We spot most of the duplicate posts or another member "notifies" us. 🙂

Besides that, after almost 20 years of moderating these forums, it becomes quite easy to tell when a member is likely to double post in another forum in order to circumvent the double posting rule.
Barney

[Dtank]

rvexodus wrote:
Curious if anyone is using standard network ip cameras for backup, side view and even forward facing. I have a 43ft fifth wheel that I’d like to get a few really good camera angles. I hate to pay a $1000 for a system with another screen to manage. We already have a gps and iPad that we use when towing. To be able to use the iPad screen to view network cameras would be great.

Now a little disclaimer. We are already doing this with a few cameras on the inside. My wireless network is always on as well as my Mac mini which is running s program called security spy. This program aggregates multiple cameras into one stream which I can then view on an iPad whil towing or an Apple TV at night as a security device. So far it works great inside.

Outside is a different story. I’m trying to find some low profile cameras which also have good night vision. I can find one or the other but not both. I’ve had really good results stationary with an amcrest bullet camera which boasts a pretty long night vision viewing distance. Alternately I found a nice compact camera by la view that has so so image quality and night vision.

My goal would be to mount the cameras in the back, sides and on the roof angled forward as a birds eye dash cam.

Wanted to see if anyone else was doing this. Is this a silly idea? I am a gadget geek. Is there a better more simple option I should concider?

Thanks,

Kirk

Start a new thread in the Technology Corner forum (Note: NOT Tech Issues Forum).

Many readers only visit a particular forum - and your thread here may not reach some of those folks "over there".

Also - rules don't allow duplicate posts. You could ask a Moderator to move it......but simply changing the title will work also.

:C

.

[wtbman]

I am about to build a system similar to what you describe. Here are the details:

I have a 5th wheel
- mount wireless router in storage near the front
- old ipad mini mounted on dash connected to trailer wifi
- mac mini running inside connected to inverter
- http://sighthound.com security software for dvr on mac mini
- front and rear cameras: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GR7LBFC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- mount rear camera on rear wall with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKRKPPG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- front camera mounts offset under front overhang with shot of hitch
- cameras are poe, power with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BP0SSAS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- run cat5/6 cable from cameras to poe switch and router
- router will act as repeater to connect to home wifi when in range
- cameras will be part of home security system
- router can connect to rv park wifi or hotspot to watch rv cameras while on day trips
- need to find 360 degree side cameras

Cameras arrive Monday so hopefully I'll have good news to report about my setup. I chose Hikvision cameras for this setup because they are high resolution and low latency with their proprietary app: ivms-4500 which I've tested with my home setup. Night vision is good. I can also reverse the image for the backup camera.

[rvexodus]

gmcsmoke wrote:

rvexodus wrote:
I hate to pay a $1000 for a system with another screen to manage.

$1,000?? what are you looking at.

One of the more reputable solutions I’ve read about is from:
https://www.tadibrothers.com/products/7-monitor-with-1-built-in-wireless-mounted-rv-backup-cameras-and-two-side-cameras

These guys are over priced in my opinion. However, I did come across a couple other companies that also subscribe to truckers, bus drivers, and RVers and their prices were inline.

Tadi Brothers has a number of solutions in the $700+ range, this one being digital vs analogue which I personally wouldn’t drill holes in my rv for analogue equipment. If you were to pay someone to install it and do a good job you are looking at a couple hundred bucks on top of that.

Are there cheaper solutions. Sure. But with a 43ft fifth wheel, cheap o solutions would likely have transmitting issues. Simply I wouldn’t invest 70k in a 5th wheel and hope to rely on a $199 multi camera system 🙂

More in scope of this discussion is the desire to build a solution that can be used for towing as well as for security. Most common backup camera systems don’t allow you to view the cameras while you are at dinner in town and the RV is parked in the boondocks. Nor do most allow you to record all camera angles while you are towing in the event there is an accident. IP cameras do support all this and other than a slight lag are very ideal for this situation. Lag and form factor are the two key barriers from my perspective.

[gmcsmoke]

rvexodus wrote:
I hate to pay a $1000 for a system with another screen to manage.

$1,000?? what are you looking at.

[laknox]

rvexodus wrote:

laknox wrote:
We checked out some friends' Kountry Aire several years ago. Owner had installed 3 rear-facing cams. One, a high-mount at the rear, with wide angle, and 2 others, right behind the hitch step. He used a commercial enclosure for the rear cam, then found some really neat, small, aerodynamic covers for the side cams. All painted to match his coach. Hard-wired to his Baby Freightliner on their own screen. He could split it 3-ways, 2 ways or isolate any single cam. He did this after about his 3rd or 4th near-miss when changing lanes.

Lyle

I’d be interested in what he used for the side camera enclosure. I’ve sourced some cameras from alibaba that look to be small enough with descent sensors and IR capabilities. They are definately low profile enough for side view but could benefit from an enclosure. Most bullet cams, while small for tucking under a house eve, are just to bulky for adding to the side of the RV. Time permitting 3D printing a fairing wouldn’t be much trouble.

I really have no idea what they were. =Might= have been a running/clearance light enclosure, but smaller than the "normal" ones.

Lyle

[SabreCanuck]

rvexodus wrote:

SabreCanuck wrote:
Interesting topic as being a techy-geek had thought of the same thing.. I haven't sourced anything as of yet but would LOVE to have a multi-camera option. One way to get around the issue of video quality is to go with a mix of wired cameras where you need them... No matter what happens, you are going to need a central point of connection for cameras and an local network to connect ipad/phone to view those cameras.. If you are running a LAN router, nothing stopping you from having one camera WIRED that is used for high speed motion and WIRELESS the other ones that would only be concerned with backing or when parked for security (low speeds).

I agree and seldom discussed is a forward looking ROOF cam so I can see if that tree branch is going to rip anything off of the roof. Or maybe it's just better not knowing 🙂

Tree branch ... bridge ... best just not knowing 🙂

LOL - I typically try not to get myself into the BRIDGE issue.

Current situation, no view - Branches in campground dragging across roof, scratching stuff.
With Camera = Driver to Navigator = "Honey can you go crawl up on the roof and lift that branch".

Perhaps easier just not knowing. 🙂

[rvexodus]

laknox wrote:
We checked out some friends' Kountry Aire several years ago. Owner had installed 3 rear-facing cams. One, a high-mount at the rear, with wide angle, and 2 others, right behind the hitch step. He used a commercial enclosure for the rear cam, then found some really neat, small, aerodynamic covers for the side cams. All painted to match his coach. Hard-wired to his Baby Freightliner on their own screen. He could split it 3-ways, 2 ways or isolate any single cam. He did this after about his 3rd or 4th near-miss when changing lanes.

Lyle

I’d be interested in what he used for the side camera enclosure. I’ve sourced some cameras from alibaba that look to be small enough with descent sensors and IR capabilities. They are definately low profile enough for side view but could benefit from an enclosure. Most bullet cams, while small for tucking under a house eve, are just to bulky for adding to the side of the RV. Time permitting 3D printing a fairing wouldn’t be much trouble.

[rvexodus]

SabreCanuck wrote:
Interesting topic as being a techy-geek had thought of the same thing.. I haven't sourced anything as of yet but would LOVE to have a multi-camera option. One way to get around the issue of video quality is to go with a mix of wired cameras where you need them... No matter what happens, you are going to need a central point of connection for cameras and an local network to connect ipad/phone to view those cameras.. If you are running a LAN router, nothing stopping you from having one camera WIRED that is used for high speed motion and WIRELESS the other ones that would only be concerned with backing or when parked for security (low speeds).

I agree and seldom discussed is a forward looking ROOF cam so I can see if that tree branch is going to rip anything off of the roof. Or maybe it's just better not knowing 🙂

Tree branch ... bridge ... best just not knowing 🙂

[laknox]

We checked out some friends' Kountry Aire several years ago. Owner had installed 3 rear-facing cams. One, a high-mount at the rear, with wide angle, and 2 others, right behind the hitch step. He used a commercial enclosure for the rear cam, then found some really neat, small, aerodynamic covers for the side cams. All painted to match his coach. Hard-wired to his Baby Freightliner on their own screen. He could split it 3-ways, 2 ways or isolate any single cam. He did this after about his 3rd or 4th near-miss when changing lanes.

Lyle

[SabreCanuck]

Interesting topic as being a techy-geek had thought of the same thing.. I haven't sourced anything as of yet but would LOVE to have a multi-camera option. One way to get around the issue of video quality is to go with a mix of wired cameras where you need them... No matter what happens, you are going to need a central point of connection for cameras and an local network to connect ipad/phone to view those cameras.. If you are running a LAN router, nothing stopping you from having one camera WIRED that is used for high speed motion and WIRELESS the other ones that would only be concerned with backing or when parked for security (low speeds).

I agree and seldom discussed is a forward looking ROOF cam so I can see if that tree branch is going to rip anything off of the roof. Or maybe it's just better not knowing 🙂

[rvexodus]

lynndiwagon wrote:
They work fine, with some slight limitations. I purchased a used wifi router at a garage sale and set up a LAN (without internet connection) within the rig. Mounted a bullet style, outdoor IP camera on the back. Great picture, great night vision and was able to record motion video to an old laptop. It didn't work so well for viewing rear traffic while rolling down the road due to delay in camera circuitry, too much lag. The camera I used couldn't keep up with the rapid change in motion. Fun and pretty inexpensive to play with,

We have a huge solar array, two large inverters in parallel and lithium batteries. Power remains on while towing. Therefore, our WiFi Ranger is on giving us a large WiFi range strong enough to reach the truck. We also have a Mac mini with software capable of recording and multiplexing the cemeras together. So we absolutely have a similair setup to what you have. WiFi signal is critical obviously otherwise frame rate and studdering video will occur. Some cheaper WiFi cameras have issues with quick movement. I’ve found armrest to be one of the better cameras in this department.

I’ll definately have something to demo on YouTube in the next few weeks or so as we leave Arizona and head to yosimite.

[rvexodus]

SugarHillCTD wrote:
Similar to this? I found a Youtube video-

https://youtu.be/6UIG-31UCFU

Close but no smoke 🙂 the devices are great if you want to use just one camera. They create their own hotspot. You connect your device to the cameras hotspot and launch their app and you get video. Great. If you only require one camera and you don’t mind that your iPad or iPhone is now connected to a hotspot with no internet.

Our rv has WiFi while we tow. As long as there iis cell service we have internet. Normal ip network cameras connect to your existing WiFi and support more than just one camera. With the right software you can view multiple cameras at once (eg, 2x2, 3x3 etc). Again, I have this working with inside cameras but haven’t found the perfect outdoor camera.

[JIMNLIN]

Check out jbgtravels on you tube. Hes a long haul trucker (26 years on the road)....very religious and not the usual lunatic cussing and raving at other folks on the road. He's made 410 you tubes from 1-1-'18 to today and many before that of his travels around the USA.
He runs a hat cam.....dash cam......left hand and right hand mirror mount cams mount tied into his big screen dash mounted receiver. He tried a roof mounted cam but it quickly got too dirty and was not a good idea to crawl up there in all kinds of weather.
He also runs a drone when on his 10 hour breaks..... all tied together. What equipment he is using other than Sony XD300 cameras (I think) I have no idea.
You can give him a call out and maybe more input on equipment.