tired of getting in and out of the truck 10 times to line up the hitch. anybody use a backup camera? Dont want anything expensive. was looking at the VR3 like they sell at wallyworld and found the swift hitch on ebay. id love a permanent mount like an indash pioneer or soemthing but the stereo shop was talking like 1200 installed.....no thanks any suggestions?

 

Swift Hitch works great! Best way to keep you and your girlfriend/wife from ever fighting while trying to hitch up your truck.

I put the camera on the tailgate and hitch up the truck one shot. After I am finished with using the trailer, I put the camera on the ground behind where I park the toyhauler and use it to park within 1" of my back wall. That is something a permanent mount camera cannot do.

Trailer was ordered as a 23' and arrived as a 24' model. I said if it doesn't fit, I am not buying it. It fits, but the camera makes it fit better. I have to park the trailer at an angle because it is longer than we ordered. I cannot see one corner because the truck is at a 30° angle to the trailer when it is parked.

The Swift Hitch also has an infra red camera and uses infra red LEDs to illuminate objects in the dark about 10' from the camera which works great. It has a rechargeable battery in the transmitter and receiver which charges through the vehicle's 12v port.

All the while I am dealing with the trailer, the GF is in the house getting ready. She loves it more than I do.

 

Google AVIC D3

it's a GPS DVD mp3 and backup camera (have to buy camera separate)

it's a midrange piece of junk (it has some crazy quirks) that does a LOT of things very well

it was $700 from crutchfield with all the install stuff.

FWIW, you can't BEAT a backup camera. my wife is NEVER ready on time.

the back up lights usually light up enough to see by it

 

I made my own out of parts from ebay.

I have a night-vision color infrared wireless camera $35 EBay mounted on a big magnet. It's either 12v dc powered/hardwired or you can use a 9v battery for remote uses like the back of your trailer.

I setup a small 7" lcd in the cab $65 ebay.

It works great but it's backwards so if you need to move to the left image you need to move to the right.

Let me dig up some pictures.

 

I've got a 2nd hand wireless back up set up from Pep Boys. Since I have the tailgate spoiler, I made a hole and poked the camera unit through it facing the hitch. Made a bracket out of scrap aluminum to hold it off from my dash. Sure beats the hop in hop out thing or taking directions from the wrong helper.

Chris

 

Helps to have these......
Pic of the back
Pic of the dash

Chris

 

Audiovox license plate frame camera hardwired into my head unit(DVD screen built-in) used it for hooking up the camper this weekend and absolutely loved it. Hooking up was always a "arguement in the making" with the Ole Lady...one shot now, no stress...

 

Got one at Sam's last weekend for the back of my 5'ver, haven't hooked it up yet. It is a wireless camera, comes with a 7" screen for $80. Should work for hitching up in your application.

~Rob

 

I got my camera from this place (http://www.rvcams.com/) . The guy there was very helpfull, he even talked me out of a more expensive unit. It has a 5.5" color monitor I can see great even at night, it's the 56-CHNV and was around $350. The monitor is in the center console and I use it only for backing. The monitor can switch to reverse mode which is great so you don't have to think opposite when backing. The camera is mounted next to the receiver and just above the safety chain holes. Been 3+ years and still working. I occasionally use it as a second sreen for back seat movies. You have to look carefully at the pixels (resolution), view angle & light sensitivity (0 lux) that is where the cost usually some in. You don't have to read a newspaper at 100' with it but the cheeper ones might lack detail to see when the ball is exactly under the hitch. The depth perception takes a little getting use to but it doesn't take much to master it. I think the hardest part is stopping exactly under the hitch, in the screen you see the trailer hitch filling the view pretty fast even when creepin along. When I first got it, I put up a 2x4 on top of some boxes to try it out first ( but that's just me ) .

 

I got a wireless one I bought from Costco and it works pretty good. Friends try to "help" guide me back, they are waving away and I put the ball under the hitch every time, 1 shot. Wifey just stands back and smiles....