Hi, well we have gone and done it, swapping our Pennine Folding Camper for a Motorhome.
Largely happened because on our travels because of delays we couldn’t get onto campsites. We didn’t really want to try and sleep in lorry stops etc in the FC, we felt to exposed so ended up doing what I never wanted to do, driving all night. The actual drive was ok but sleeping in the daylight the next day didn’t work so we felt wiped out.
Right my question, probably first of many, so be gentle. I have the option of having a reversing camera connected to the existing head which will just operate when I am reversing or I can have a clip on monitor which will have two cameras, one effectively acting like a rear view mirror and the other for reversing.
I’m tempted for two cameras as I can see what’s behind rather than just relying on the wing mirrors where there will be blind spots.
What do you think pros and cons? Anybody had either and swapped them out?
It’s an Adria Sun Living S70SC.
Thanks in advance.
i would go for the rear veiw camera/reversing camera option, rather than just the reversing one coming on when reverse is selected, handy to know whats going on behind you esp if you have a long overhang!
Only had exterior mirrors on the coaches I used to drive, and some of them were 40 feet long. No view through the interior of the coach either, so any kind of cameras would have been a plus for me.
We have both of the cameras you have been offered. As an either or, I would say now, knowing that I am only using it 4O% as the reversing camera that I may not bother to have the two. We are only 21ft long.
I also have a 'work van' and it does not have a reversing mirror at all. It's only rear view is from the standard 'wing' mirrors. There is a bulkhead between me and the actual van load area and four opening doors into the back. Hence I can always be kerb side loading/unloading.
The MH has the 2 cab doors and the kerb side habitation door. I hardly use that internal mirror and I guess that is because I work in the wing mirror only van.
BUT and this is worth thinking about to be honest. Is your van left hand drive? Does your van have right hand habitation door or left hand. Or do you enter the habitation area from the cab?. Under these circumstances I could still be convinced to have the 'two' option.
I hope this makes sense to you. If there is not much of a difference in price of the 'two' option, and the 'one' option and you are not familiar with say 'offside habitation door' if you have that. I understand your asking, I hope I have not made the choice more difficult.
It is difficult starting something new. At least now you can chuck more balls in the air and see where YOU land.
Good luck , and enjoy.
Having reversed into an unseen post in our Ducato PVC breaking a light on our tow bar mounted cycle rack.
My wife insisted on buying a reversing camera. Excellent decision, we opted for the two camera option, one looking behind and one looking down to check cycle rack. We also opted for a wing mirror screen.
The camera is fitted above the rear light, and ran cable under van in through footwell on drivers side. It is wired to cigarette lighter so it works when ignition is switched on.
I bought it from DRW, the guy is very helpfull.
Thanks Oswestry, I hesitate to ask but has this unfortunate accident been raised many times?
Going for the two camera option. Better to have too much view of the back than not enough.
Two cameras work well, especially the one pointing downwards when reversing into parking places.
The only downside is vision is restricted in the rear camera in wet weather and at dusk when following cars have headlights on. But we wouldn't be without it, and it's relatively easy to install.
Ed
We're on our 5th motorhome now, the first 3 had rear windows which allowed me to use the interior mirror, the last two are the only ones which had a solid back wall rendering the interior mirror useless.
On the 4th motorhome we had a split camera fitted, two cameras, one rigged as a rear view camera, the other rigged as a reversing camera, they switched automatically when I selected reverse. Both displayed on a screen which clipped over the interior mirror.
The current (5th), motorhome, came with a reversing camera which is displayed on the dashboard multi-function display. We had an additional rear view camera fitted which again displays on a screen which clips onto the interior mirror.
As you can probably tell, I'm happy with this arrangement and would recommend it to anyone. As Oswestry Ed has pointed out, the vision can be restricted in wet weather, I haven't tried the current arrangement in the dark yet so I can't say if it's an issue but on the previous one it wasn't too good in heavy traffic - too many lights to differentiate.
I know others here have driven bigger vehicles without the benefit of a rear view camera, good for them, but I do wonder whether they would have taken the option if it had been made available to them?
Quote: Originally posted by MrWez on 04/7/2022
I know others here have driven bigger vehicles without the benefit of a rear view camera, good for them, but I do wonder whether they would have taken the option if it had been made available to them?
As one of those who you are probably referring to, of course I would, but back then they simply weren't available. Coaches did have very big side mirrors though, even back then which was quite a few years ago. The worst ones were the 1950s buses that I drove, which had a stupid little nearside mirror not even as big as the ones I now have on my car. Anything that improves rear vision has to be a good thing in my opinion.
The original base van that I wanted to get had side and reversing camera as part of the specification.
However, due to Covid, VW could not build one for ages. Rather than to wait indefinitely, I bought the best van that I could find via Van Zone.
It was an automatic with their biggest engine, however, nothing else like air con in the cab and the safety features that I was after.
I arranged for cameras to be installed retrospectively - a rear view and reverse camera which is very handy. They switch automatically depending on gear selection.
However, the reverse camera does not alarm as I found out to my cost, having bumped into a boulder while reversing out of my drive on my own the very first time, DOH!
I had to have the reserved camera replaced as it fogged up due to water ingress. I had it done pronto as I was relying on it heavily.
The replacement camera was water-proofed with additional silicone sealant applied. All good now and I am very happy with both cameras.
I also had sensors put in for the blind spots on the sides, to warn me with an alarm if I try to move into a lane with a vehicle approaching behind.
Air con was retrospectively installed too in the cab.
DK
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I realise the OP might be using their cameras by now. But I just wanted to remind them about trees: a friend was blithely reversing & ignoring our shouts because he relied on the camera. But it looked back & down (obviously), & he clattered into an overhanging bough. Technology is great, but don’t ignore your OH if they yell at you to stop.
A little late to the party perhaps, and not a MH, but a car-caravan combo. I usually tow alone, so the luxury of a banksman when reversing is just not an option. Towed the van for 3 years without a reversing camera, and reversing onto pitches was no problem as I could hop out and assess before manoeuvring, BUT reversing out of parking bays at services etc. with people and traffic all around was a nerve wracking affair! Even had to reverse up from behind broken down cars at traffic lights - that was fun - NOT!
After MUCH searching, found the reversing camera I wanted, self contained rechargeable battery powered, radio link to monitor, stuck on so no extra holes in van. Not hooked into reversing lights, so can be used when driving normally.
The option of checking behind me when driving was important to me, as the articulated nature of a car-caravan often means the rear view door mirrors are seriously compromised and the rear of van goes 'blind' on curves and corners. I can now check behind me before pulling out to overtake, or turn etc. It's slightly shocking the number of times a vehicle (often a bike/motorbike or small car!) is so close behind van you are not aware it's there as totally out of sight in the mirrors!
I'd never opt for a reversing only camera, certainly better than nothing, but the option to see what is directly behind you when driving is invaluable.
You only get a rear view when you wake the system up from standby (touch a button on monitor), which stays 'alive' for IIRC about 30-40sec, NOT a bad thing, because then you don't have a distracting screen when not needed.
You can add a second camera to give you two points of view (switched between, not both at once), not sure I see any need for my set up, but you might see a benefit if your car doesn't have a reversing camera and you wanted to see position of tow hitch when hooking up.
Because the camera goes into standby, the battery can last for many days before recharge. I do long journeys 10 plus hours, and use the camera frequently to check what's behind, and it seems to hold it's charge incredibly well (they claim up to 75 days used 3x per day!), some of the other battery powered units didn't seem to have a very long battery life which was no use to me!
Image quality seems pretty good, even in dull light (NO inbuilt illumination though for total dark use). Optional 'distance' markers superimposed on image.
Good angle of view on camera without being grossly distorted and difficult to judge distance. Covers full width of van plus either side for over/under taking vehicles, and ground behind up to anything likely to hit roof.
Fit in 5 minutes! - Ha Ha!!! Took me well over an hour to carefully remove number plate (fitting bracket goes behind number plate), then clean off all the old adhesive double sided tape etc. True that once everything is all stripped and cleaned, it takes only a minute or two to fit, BUT who starts from a virgin van/number plate!
One of the features that I REALLY liked was the monitor 'suction' mount which will temporarily stick to dash textured plastic (it's got a soft 'squidgy' pad that copes with the textured surface), without needing anything like a mount pad permanent stuck to it, or leaving any residue! It'll stick to glass as well if you want affixed to windscreen.
Haven't used it a great deal so far (not used van much in past year!), but very happy with what I've found with it so far.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Reversing Camera
via mobile 02/7/2022 at 8:34pm
