Dashcams: What's on your Maverick windshield?

[TomD]

A bewildering variety of dashcams out there and I'm thinking of getting one...so I figure, why not ask youse what your go-to unit is?

Do the cameras have the lines like the back up camera has? I have a pretty good handle on using the rear however it would really be nice the front camera did the same thing

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[CTYankee]

I'm surprised you had to pay for the BCM out of pocket. Wouldn't it be covered under warranty? Maybe I didn't understand what you said.

I could be wrong but I'm guessing he hard-wired into the BCM and the dealer didn't know to disconnect it (or chose not to) causing the update to fail and requiring the reflash.

 

[SLH13]

Viofo

I have 2 VIOFO A129 Pro 4K.
Front and rear cam in our Maverick and just the front cam in our Western Star.

The rear camera is my one negative. I really wish they put the power port on the side instead of the top so you could tuck it up against the headliner instead of down in the window like this photo. I did end up running the power cord the opposite direction it is labeled because the other end had an "L" shaped end. It helped a little but it is still down in the window more than I like.

Other than that, it takes great, clear photos and video. I am about as un-techy as you can get and I managed to figure out the app.

The hardest part of the install was getting the moulding down from the A post. All the videos showed it just popping out. The bottom clip has a death grip in mine!
Wanted to make sure all the wires were run behind the air bags to make sure there were no issues there.

I ran ithe rear cam wire down along the passengers door/floor boards. I was able to use a trim tool and tuck the wire up under most of it with out pulling off the plastic.

I hard wired it to the fuse box with a micro 3 fuse tap. Be sure to order from amazon ahead of time. I could not find one in a store anywhere in the state of NH. The purchased fuse kit sent with the camera did not have it.

I have mine turn off with the key. Due to all the battery issues, we didn't want to risk it. Plus, we almost always park in our yard or in the garage at work, we don't feel the need for parking mode.

I would definately recommend these to anyone looking.

 

[Toddman45]

This is the Cobra SC250R front and rear 4K dash cams I installed. I hardwired them to fuse #3 which is used for the Auto Dimmung Mirror that's not used in our trucks & for the Ambient Light Sensor on the center of the dash for the Headlights.

Hard to see in the pics, but I ran the wires under the plastic cover below the overhead console. I made a small channel for the wires to exit nearest the dashcam power port for less visa le wiring showing. I'll post d\some daytimepics soon as I took these at night after I finished up the install.

 

[MoHillbilly]

Like to have a dash cam, but wonder about their realistic lifespan in the summer heat and winter cold. My truck sets in the sun all day at work, and even with the windows cracked an inch or so, tinted windows and sunshade in the windshield, it gets really hot inside of it. Then there's 0F degree winter nights. How do they do in these areas?

 

[Toddman45]

Like to have a dash cam, but wonder about their realistic lifespan in the summer heat and winter cold. My truck sets in the sun all day at work, and even with the windows cracked an inch or so, tinted windows and sunshade in the windshield, it gets really hot inside of it. Then there's 0F degree winter nights. How do they do in these areas?

I've had great luck with 3 installed in my vehicles here in Missouri which you know get Hot in the summer. I have 2 Nextbase front & rear cameras in 2 different vehicles for over 3 years.

I just recently installed the Cobra front & rear cameras in my 24' Maverick. I've only had a micro SD card fail in one of the nextbase camera setups. Which was a easy fix by replacing the micro SD card with a new one for under 20 bucks. I wouldn't worry about the heat.

I also installed front & rear dashcam in my father inlaws Telluride he bought on Amazon, I believe the brand was Tiger. It was 3 years or so ago, and his is still working, and they also have a 2nd home in Fort Pierce Florida. I hardwired all four setups.

 

[Toddman45]

Here's a short clip from the Cobra 250 I just installed. I had to shorten the length for upload.

 

[XL Hybrid Cactus Gray]

Like to have a dash cam, but wonder about their realistic lifespan in the summer heat and winter cold. My truck sets in the sun all day at work, and even with the windows cracked an inch or so, tinted windows and sunshade in the windshield, it gets really hot inside of it. Then there's 0F degree winter nights. How do they do in these areas?

I bought a Garmin 55 dash cam in May 2017.

Over 7 years and no issues, still runs strong.
Was top of the line back then at 1440p resolution.
I have moved it from several vehicles since, buying a new magnetic mount for each vehicle.

Being in scorching hot Texas and having front windshield tint, the suction cup mounts and 3m sticky tape never held up for most devices (just falls off in the heat, or messes up the tint film).

The small, magnetic mount for Garmin has been perfect for these conditions.

If I had to buy again today, I would look for a newer device (being an older model now); but the Garmin has held up to extreme Texas weather for years.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/5672...1Z8X0fp8MRxnFQ4e1cXHI-1725809846-0.0.1.1-5097

 

[Montana]

Cobra 250

Really good quality. Looks great.

My Viofo is pretty crappy at night, but then again I'm rural and no street lighting etc etc.

 

[TruckPrius]

Whatever you get, be aware that I had to pay for my BCM replacement due to not unplugging it from BCM when they performed the recall which required a new BCM flash.

Could you expand on this? What/how did you plug into the BCM that caused an issue?

 

[flashfearless]

Ok. My dashcam installer (he has a business doing these types of installs among other things) originally tied into fuse 10 of the BCM (extended power module) to have it be on all the time for parking scenarios. But then I was still getting the occasional power low on the 12v battery alerts. So, we switched it to fuse 3 (auto dimming mirror) and eliminated the possibility of the dashcam being the source of sleep mode. This took away functionality for parking impacts or attempted thefts.

When I took it into the dealer for recall which required a BCM software update, they blamed the failed update on the wiring for the dashcam. It wound up bricking the BCM.

 

[sanpablo]

Ok. My dashcam installer (he has a business doing these types of installs among other things) originally tied into fuse 10 of the BCM (extended power module) to have it be on all the time for parking scenarios. But then I was still getting the occasional power low on the 12v battery alerts. So, we switched it to fuse 3 (auto dimming mirror) and eliminated the possibility of the dashcam being the source of sleep mode. This took away functionality for parking impacts or attempted thefts.

When I took it into the dealer for recall which required a BCM software update, they blamed the failed update on the wiring for the dashcam. It wound up bricking the BCM.

I used fuse 3 for accessory power and 18/19 for battery power. Power in on fuse 3 is on the left (towards the floor) Used Garmin Mini 2 wire adapter kit.

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