Rear View TV Camera Opinions

[Walt C]

My wife and I are just about to order a new Montana 3400RL. We are considering why or why not to include a rear-view TV camera on this 5r. Any advice? Thanks for the help.

["007"]

Welcome Walt C to irv2.
As a option will cost extra money from dealer. If 5er has rear windows you may have to only purchase a portable camera unit with suction cups to aim through window and figure out how to get monitor to your truck cab.
If you have a good co-pilot you may not need one to help you back up.

[450Donn]

Look at it this way. For around 50 dollars you can buy a pair of walkie talkies that will do the same thing plus. We use them all the time. That and my mirrors and we can back into almost any spot with no problems. I never talk, just listen to directions. If I do not see her in the mirror I stop and do not move until I do see her again. She can see things that a camera could miss, like rocks down low, tree branches way up high.

[NLOVNIT]

I see this is your first post, Walt C. Welcome to iRV2.

We purchased a wireless aftermarket backup camera/monitor system, similar to this one except ours was b/w monitor, for our previous fiver. DW installed it himself. We liked being able to see when we cleared a vehicle we passed before coming back over into that lane. Although, careful watching & a good set of towing mirrors can do the same. We had a lot of monitor interference (snow, horizontal & wavy lines) when travelling down the road. The picture would clear up when we were passed by semi's or in downtown traffic conditions - probably due to the wireless signal bouncing off the close vertical surfaces. The picture was also clear when slowly backing into a campsite. Hopefully, the transmitters have gotten better in the 5 years since we had ours.

Do you need one? Probably not. Are they a neat little toy to have? Yeah, I'd say so & could supplement (but not replace) using your mirrors & having a spotter. If you do get one, get the largest monitor you can.

Lori-

[Chuck 1935]

Wireless,$79. at auto zone, marketed by Peak

[TURBODOG1000]

We picked up a wired back-up camera from Ebay for $300 bucks. It has a microphone and a 7.2in screen. you can wire it to come on only when shifted into reverse, but I have mine set so I can switch it on at any time. It is well worth the money, my unit has infra-red LEDs that shine back at least 25-30ft, and that makes backing up in the dark easy. We drive til well after dark, when we pull into the campground we just back it in with no yelling or stress.

[flirtypup]

I happen to love my rear veiw camera. But I pull a boat behind my TT.I really don t use it for backing. But its a life saver when it comes to know what my boats doing back there. And its not really a rear veiw system Its a Nortech Security camera system I installed. Much stronger wireless signal (2.4 GHz).And requires cameras be hardwired to trailer.

[PNWGirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck 1935 Wireless,$79. at auto zone, marketed by Peak

Thank you Chuck, I didn't know that I could p/u a wireless 2.4ghz for such a reasonalble price. I will be getting one. When backing into campgrounds it is nice to make sure that a child has not wandered behind you, not to mention where I park, at home, is a bit tight. This will be VERY helpful!

The Walkies are a good idea if there is someone to give the other to. That is not always an option.

Sheila

[Chuck 1935]

PNWGirl
You are very welcome. It sure looks good. They had it set up on a display when I went in to pick up some parts. If you can't find it at a store near you Peak has a web site that shows all of their distributors.
On my old motorhome I made a back up camera out of a security camera from Harbor Freight($29.) and had it hard wired into my front TV it worked great. The only problem was that everything was backwards. Sooo I mounted the camera facing the back of the MH and had it looking into a wide angle mirror that I stuck on the back of the MH. Now everything was wide angle and left was on the left and right was on the right. So theres much more information than you wanted.

[Army Guy]

As some have spoken, a camera is a neat toy to have. Advantages let you see directly who's behind you driving down the road and will let you pass a little easier. Do you need it, not really. The Montana 3400rl is a great rig. Enjoy your travels down the road.

[powderman]

I have pulled with a camera, and without and I can't understand why for less than $100 (got my peak at Sam's for $59) you wouldn't have one. Besides being able to see traffic behind you, I haul a double bike carrier and I can see if there is anything going wrong back there. YMMV