side view cameras

[faye]

do any of you have side view cameras for your motorhome and if so where did you purchase them....do you view with the same screen as the back-up camera.....what do they cost..... what area of the side did you install them.
thanks

[RV Wizard]

Side cameras can be installed after market but will not come cheap. You will have to start with your present back up monitor system and buy cameras for the side that are compatible. If your monitor is not capable of direct side camera connections, you will have to put a video switch in, that has a video output to the monitor. Cameras can be added to the front side corners of the front cap; I find this the easiest place.
What back up monitor system do you have? We will need Make & Model #. Thank you.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by faye do any of you have side view cameras for your motorhome and if so where did you purchase them....do you view with the same screen as the back-up camera.....what do they cost..... what area of the side did you install them. thanks

Faye,

We have side view cameras that were installed on the motorhome when it was manufactured. They are normally viewed with the same monitor as the backup camera. For what it is worth, well adjusted mirrors work just as well except for the blind spot near the right front. That blind spot requires a special mirror or a viewing window installed by some like Tiffin.

Bob

[majfrizz]

i had the right camera installed after purchasing the RV. I agree with Bob (nodine above) , mirrors probably work just as good. on the after market model, you have to flip the camera from rear to side manually. on the models from the factory, they flip on when you put yoru signal on. just my 2 censt worth

[Theberrys]

Here is a link to a Voyager Three Camera system with split screen viewing.
http://www.rvcams.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?
The cost is about $1000.00 with two cameras. These can be hooked up to the backup lights, and turn signals to auto select the camera it thinks you need. Pretty pricy but a nice system.
Dick

[Clay L]

You might want to do a search for pace89. He posted about the installation he did.

[jojolou]

We have the side cameras and I find myself using my mirrors most of the time. The cameras are next to useless in heavy rain and they are not much help in low light conditions. A good set of properly adjusted mirrors are better and much cheaper.

[RVThere]

I'm a side camera proponent. Mirrors are great but they sometimes get out of wack and you have to look at 2 or 3 mirrors to see the whole side of the coach.

With the camera, I put the right signal on and I see the whole side of the coach on one screen. My camera shows well in the dark and rain. The only time I don't get a good picture is in very bright sunshine which produces a glare on the lens.

Mine came with the coach but I don't know if I'd spend $1000 to add them on after the fact.

[mrschwarz]

I have side cameras on my new coach and have to echo what others have said. They are sort of nice to have, but properly adjusted mirrors work better. Also, mirrors are more reliable than cameras. If I had a choice of getting the cameras as an option, I probably would pass on them.

Another problem with the side cameras is that I used to use the rear monitor to help me judge when the toad was past someone I in the right lane before I moved over. When I put on the turn signal, the monitor changes to the side camera and I lose the rear view which is a huge blind spot.

[Cruzer]

Whether or not side cameras are useful or not is always subject to each person's viewpoint. Some like them and some don't and there seems to be equal amounts of fans on each side of the fence. There is no right or wrong - just whatever you prefer.

In my case I find they have benefits some of the time and other times they can get in the way. My biggest issue is that I prefer to not lose my rear camera view when overtaking another vehicle. It gives me good depth perception for knowing when to duck back into the right lane or if someone else grabbed that spot.

What I did was modify my side cameras to lock them out when I don't want them to come on. Normally the side cameras are fed to the rear view monitor, along with the rear camera. A pair of 12 volt wires run from the monitor to intercept the turn signal wires. Whenever the monitor sees 12 volt power at one of these turn signal wires it switches the view over to the appropriate side camera. When the turn signals go off it returns to the rear camera after a short delay.

I installed a small relay to intercept the turn signal wires that lead to the monitor. I then installed a rocker switch to power the relay. Whenever I turn the rocker switch on the relay is engaged and the automatic side camera selection is enabled. Whenever I turn the rocker switch off, the rerlay breaks the circuits between the turn signals and the monitor and the monitor will remain in the rear camera only mode.

That way, I can have the best of both worlds, whenever I choose them.

[Ceratto's Grotto]

Our rig came with a rear and side camera system installed. If I had a choice I would prefer the following:

• I would much prefer a color system as apposed to a B&W system. We have a B&W system. With a color system reading, recognizing, and analyzing the displayed images would be faster. (IE. it takes longer to figure out what is in the image with B&W as compared to color, thus your eyes are not on the road as they should be).

• When I turn on a turn signal, the system automatically switches the view to that side. There are many times I don't want this to happen, wanting to see behind me instead. It would be better, for me, to have the option to:

1. Have all cameras displayed on the screen at once,
2. Have turn side and rear cameras displayed on the screen when a turn signal is on,
3. Be able to override any automatic switch with the turn signal.

• Also, when I turn on a turn signal and the system automatically switches, I lose the audio from from the rear. Since I don't have audio on the side cameras I would prefer not have have the audio interrupted even though in most cases I have it turned down anyway. I do leave the audio up on at the beginning of any driving to listen for any abnormal sounds coming from things like the toad, tow bar, etc.

[tm08]

Thought I’d chime in on this one. My rig is equipped with the Voyager System. Like many of you, I use the back view to monitor my towed vehicle, whether trailer or truck, for anything out of the ordinary. The feature that is most helpful is seeing when I have passed another motorist sufficiently enough to change lanes in front of them. That feature is one I would not want to do without as it keeps my lane changes far more safe than using the mirrors. It’s an invaluable addition. So, I’m an advocate for the back view feature.

When I set the menu function to show the back view full screen, it triggers left or right views with the turn signal operation. Since the view changes and I can no longer see my where my towed vehicle is in relation to the vehicle I’m passing, I never turn on the signal until I have already seen that I am passed the vehicle I intend to pull in front of. Not actually fond of this feature.

The system also lets me select, via its menu, to display all three views at the same time. Not all systems have this feature. While it eliminates the full screen view, I can see completely around my rig at a glance whether changing lanes or not. Yes the views are smaller since they share the monitor, but how many of us can actually see what’s around all four sides of our rig while driving.

And lastly, when all cameras are displaying and I am backing up, especially into a campground space, I can see everything, 360 degrees by looking at the monitor. Keeps me away from objects behind and alongside. GREAT feature for those tight places.

Overall, for the money once it’s spent, a very good addition for your safer motoring.