Kpack
Adventurer
Project: Front camera install
Purpose: When running tight trails, I find it hard to tell exactly what's in front of my over the huge hood of my truck. I have a general sense of where obstacles are, but it's easy to loose track of what's coming, especially when coming over a rise. I figured a camera on the front would at least give me a better idea of where to place my tires in case I don't always have a spotter.
Materials
-Camera: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018800TR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-Fuse tap
-Solder
-Heat shrink
Cost: ~$40
Time: 45 minutes
The camera comes with hardware for several different configurations, and is preset to be used as a front-facing camera. I put it on the provided mount, pictured here before bending. I then bent the mount so that I could mount it vertically on my bumper and have the camera pointing slightly down.
I used the included contoured 3M double sided adhesive pad and set it right in the center of my bumper, inside a cut out. It is hardly noticeable from the outside. I have not finalized the wiring behind it yet.
3M makes some good adhesive so I am fairly confident it will last (hopefully). The camera weighs almost nothing.
I ran the video cable through the firewall to the back of my head unit. The ground wire was extended and attached to my chassis ground. The positive wire was extended and ran through the firewall to the driver's side fuse panel. I pulled and tested the fuse slot for the heater, and it turns on when the key is turned to ACC. I used a fuse tap and added the camera into this circuit.
The camera footage shows up on my head unit fairly clearly. My HU is a Pioneer, so I will need to get a parking brake bypass in order to see the image while the truck is moving.
Hopefully this will make things a bit easier on the trails. For $20 it isn't an expensive upgrade, and it wasn't too hard to install.
Purpose: When running tight trails, I find it hard to tell exactly what's in front of my over the huge hood of my truck. I have a general sense of where obstacles are, but it's easy to loose track of what's coming, especially when coming over a rise. I figured a camera on the front would at least give me a better idea of where to place my tires in case I don't always have a spotter.
Materials
-Camera: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018800TR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-Fuse tap
-Solder
-Heat shrink
Cost: ~$40
Time: 45 minutes
The camera comes with hardware for several different configurations, and is preset to be used as a front-facing camera. I put it on the provided mount, pictured here before bending. I then bent the mount so that I could mount it vertically on my bumper and have the camera pointing slightly down.
I used the included contoured 3M double sided adhesive pad and set it right in the center of my bumper, inside a cut out. It is hardly noticeable from the outside. I have not finalized the wiring behind it yet.
3M makes some good adhesive so I am fairly confident it will last (hopefully). The camera weighs almost nothing.
I ran the video cable through the firewall to the back of my head unit. The ground wire was extended and attached to my chassis ground. The positive wire was extended and ran through the firewall to the driver's side fuse panel. I pulled and tested the fuse slot for the heater, and it turns on when the key is turned to ACC. I used a fuse tap and added the camera into this circuit.
The camera footage shows up on my head unit fairly clearly. My HU is a Pioneer, so I will need to get a parking brake bypass in order to see the image while the truck is moving.
Hopefully this will make things a bit easier on the trails. For $20 it isn't an expensive upgrade, and it wasn't too hard to install.
