Here's a few photos describing my setup.
First, a little background: My truck is a 2014 with the Lariat package, which means I have the factory camera in the tailgate which displays on the nav/touchscreen in the middle o' the dash when the truck is in reverse. When the slide-in camper is on, the tailgate is off, so what I wanted to do is put a camera on the back of the camper, and wire it into the OEM system so it'll work the same way. I did not want to disassemble the tailgate to get the camera out of that.
First thing I did was to gather up a few cameras to test, I wanted the best resolution I could get in both daylight and nighttime scenarios. Basically, in the 12V backup camera world you have four choices; Infrared (electronically enhances low light images), non-infrared (requires a good light source to use at night), guidelines and no guidelines.
Here is my test setup. I tested three cameras both with infrared and without, and with lines and without. The below photo shows that for testing I just taped the cameras to the camper so I could move them around establishing the best angle.
I wanted a bird's eye view, cameras with the built-in guidelines work best at bumper level:
I wasn't too thrilled with the nighttime resolution of the cameras with the infrared LEDs, so instead I wired up a couple of cheapo LED floodlights and settled on the smallest (and cheapest) camera as it has the best resolution under all light conditions. The camera is so light that I just used double-sided tape to mount it under the center clearance light above the door. You can easily bend the tab it mounts to to adjust the angle.
Please forgive the mess of wires by the floodlights, my original plan was to mount them on all the corners of the camper but the sheer amount of light they throw out means I can mount them on the ladder where they're out of the way and still not miss anything.
I wrapped up all the wires (floodlights, camera, antenna) in black split tubing and followed the ladder down to the corner of the camper and under.
For the camera I used a factory connector and just plugged it right in under the bed where it would if the tailgate was on.
The Results:
Parts Needed:
From Amazon: Esky EC170-06 Smallest HD Color CCD Waterproof Vehicle Car Rear View Backup Camera, 170 Degree Viewing Angle Rearview $20
Tuff LED Lights 2 X 4" Inch Round 27watt LED Work Lamp Light 1550 Lumen, Off Road, Atv, Utv, Polaris Ranger $49 (pair)
From Ford: Tailgate wiring assembly DC3Z-14A412-A $9
Hopefully that helps,
-Joe
First, a little background: My truck is a 2014 with the Lariat package, which means I have the factory camera in the tailgate which displays on the nav/touchscreen in the middle o' the dash when the truck is in reverse. When the slide-in camper is on, the tailgate is off, so what I wanted to do is put a camera on the back of the camper, and wire it into the OEM system so it'll work the same way. I did not want to disassemble the tailgate to get the camera out of that.
First thing I did was to gather up a few cameras to test, I wanted the best resolution I could get in both daylight and nighttime scenarios. Basically, in the 12V backup camera world you have four choices; Infrared (electronically enhances low light images), non-infrared (requires a good light source to use at night), guidelines and no guidelines.
Here is my test setup. I tested three cameras both with infrared and without, and with lines and without. The below photo shows that for testing I just taped the cameras to the camper so I could move them around establishing the best angle.
I wanted a bird's eye view, cameras with the built-in guidelines work best at bumper level:
I wasn't too thrilled with the nighttime resolution of the cameras with the infrared LEDs, so instead I wired up a couple of cheapo LED floodlights and settled on the smallest (and cheapest) camera as it has the best resolution under all light conditions. The camera is so light that I just used double-sided tape to mount it under the center clearance light above the door. You can easily bend the tab it mounts to to adjust the angle.
Please forgive the mess of wires by the floodlights, my original plan was to mount them on all the corners of the camper but the sheer amount of light they throw out means I can mount them on the ladder where they're out of the way and still not miss anything.
I wrapped up all the wires (floodlights, camera, antenna) in black split tubing and followed the ladder down to the corner of the camper and under.
For the camera I used a factory connector and just plugged it right in under the bed where it would if the tailgate was on.
The Results:
Parts Needed:
From Amazon: Esky EC170-06 Smallest HD Color CCD Waterproof Vehicle Car Rear View Backup Camera, 170 Degree Viewing Angle Rearview $20
Tuff LED Lights 2 X 4" Inch Round 27watt LED Work Lamp Light 1550 Lumen, Off Road, Atv, Utv, Polaris Ranger $49 (pair)
From Ford: Tailgate wiring assembly DC3Z-14A412-A $9
Hopefully that helps,
-Joe
