Re: Rear view camera/Back up camera
Reply #5 –
I've had Voyager camera/monitor systems--both wired and wireless--on several rigs over the years. I certainly agree that any rear-view camera is better than none. I emphasize rear-view--meaning on all the time--rather than backup--on only when in reverse gear--because with the lengths of our rigs, no possible outside rear-view mirrors can give a good view of what's directly behind even when driving down the highway, and that's doubly true when backing up into a campsite. A rear-view camera does a great job of substituting for a rear-view mirror--in fact, it's better!
However, if starting from scratch, I would not buy a Voyager camera system today. Why? Because they have very low resolution--typically 480 W x 272 pixels. Come on, my Apple Watch has better resolution than that! Yes, you can see what's behind you, but it's a coarse and grainy image. As far as I can tell, both Voyager's wired and wireless cameras have this low picture quality.
As an alternative, consider a modern system such as the Wolfbox G840S. The advantages:
* A minimum resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, displayed on a tack-sharp touchscreen display that clips over your inside rear-view mirror.
* It has two cameras--one built into the mirror/display and one wired to the rear camera.
* It's a dashcam, so everything it sees on both cameras is recorded at high resolution and frame rate. Whether somebody cuts in front of you or tailgates behind you, it's being captured in sharp video.
* The touchscreen makes it easy to change settings. There's no awkward digging through menus using two or three pushbuttons, as with the Voyager displays.
* The cost is a hundred bucks and change--much less than the Voyager outfits.
The main drawback is that the rear camera has to be wired to the display. I haven't seen any wireless systems with decent (better than 640 x 480) resolution, so that's a price I'm willing to pay. The difference in sharpness and detail between the Wolfbox display and a Voyager display must be seen to be believed--it's like night and day.
That said, the Wolfbox display is less bright, due to its partial mirror coating. That's a drawback, but not a big deal in most circumstances.
Several of our members have this system, and I've been using an identical Vantop camera system on my truck + trailer rig for more than a year. I can't imagine being without it. You can read more about the pluses and minuses of the Wolfbox camera systems in these two threads:
Rear View Mirror Camera & Dash Cam
Wolfbox Camera
Two tips when installing a rear camera:
1. Don't try to cut corners by mounting it inside the rear window. That never works well, because the window's tint dims the image; reflections in the window glass will degrade the image quality; and you can't get a good downward angle that will let you see where your bumper is in relation to what's behind you.
2. Preferably don't mount the camera on the license plate holder, even if the outfit you buy includes a bracket for that purpose. You'll be able to see the vehicle immediately behind you, but no further than that; and when backing up, you won't have a view of the bumper and the objects behind you. Oh, you'll see them, but these cameras with their very wide angle lenses make everything look further away than it is, so it's hard to judge distances when looking straight back.
Instead, mount the camera where most RV makers put them: outside, above the rear window and angled down just enough to put the rear bumper at the bottom of its view. That way you'll have a good view of traffic behind you; and when backing up, you'll see both the bumper and that fencepost behind you, and be able to judge just how far apart they are. :-)
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Topic: Rear view camera/Back up camera (Read 483 times)
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