Clean rear dashcam mount

[Dr. Monkeypants]

I can’t recall who, but one of the forum members made a sweet plexi or polycarb bracket to mount his rear BlackVue camera to. I liked it but thought a v2.0 could clean the whole thing up and hide the wire better so it wasn’t coming out from the weather stripping.

As usual with my goofy, quick mods, I got out the rivet nuts and decided to figure the rest out later...

I put an M4 nut in the spot the left plastic roof liner clip goes then designed & printed a bracket that had a wire clearance groove and would hold the cam as flush as possible to the roof liner. I ended up making it a bit too flush so I added a couple washers notched to clear the wire. It’s plenty rigid enough but should give if it gets a good whack.

I’ll send the file if anyone wants, but it’s sized for a Blackvue camera. I can also update the file and send a printable version for any camera mount if you send me the dimensions.

Josh

 

[jhguth]

that looks great, right now I just have a single channel dashcam but I'm saving this for when I have a rear camera.

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

that looks great, right now I just have a single channel dashcam but I'm saving this for when I have a rear camera.

Thanks! Here’s a couple shots with better perspective:

 

[sfall]

could you use a right angle usb cable to reduce or eliminate the cable loop?

 

[d.hamstr]

could you use a right angle usb cable to reduce or eliminate the cable loop?

Blackvues use a coaxial cable for connecting the front & rear and don't sell a 90º to 90º. BUT I did notice that they labeled Front DOES have a 90º and would wonder if you can swap ends... or at the very least re-sleeving the Rear end for a 90º.

Coaxial Cable | BlackVue

 

[sfall]

even easier use a coaxial 90 degree fitting

Blackvues use a coaxial cable for connecting the front & rear and don't sell a 90º to 90º. BUT I did notice that they labeled Front DOES have a 90º and would wonder if you can swap ends... or at the very least re-sleeving the Rear end for a 90º.

Coaxial Cable | BlackVue

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

Blackvues use a coaxial cable for connecting the front & rear and don't sell a 90º to 90º. BUT I did notice that they labeled Front DOES have a 90º and would wonder if you can swap ends... or at the very least re-sleeving the Rear end for a 90º.

I checked the cable in both orientations before picking the straight side for the cable loop. I didn’t like how tight the bend would have been with the 90° fitting. The reinforcement was almost to the roof liner, making it more of a kink than a bend.

This may be the less compact of the two, but the cable will be happier long term with the larger bend radius, and the 90° looks better in the front anyway.

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

even easier use a coaxial 90 degree fitting

I think it’s a proprietary fitting. It’s not a full size coaxial like a modem uses.

 

[jhguth]

I think it’s a proprietary fitting. It’s not a full size coaxial like a modem uses.

it's not proprietary, it's RG-174 cable with MCX connectors

 

[lossgenius]

Josh,

What size bolt did you use to mount it?

Thanks

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

Josh,

What size bolt did you use to mount it?

Thanks

I used a flat head M4x16 but a #8 would probably also be fine if you’re not down with metric [emoji6]

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

Ok, BlackCamBracket(TM) v1.1 is a thing

Increased the neck height to there’s no need for washers and it has 2.2° of angle so the camera is axially level when mounted.

New hotness on the left. Old-n-busted on the right.

 

[llDemonll]

Want to give us all a link to the part file when you're done so we can print (or have printed) our own?

 

[pookguy]

Interested in this...haven't installed my rear thinkware cam yet till I found a good way!

 

[DarkPassenger]

I like that a lot. I just used a hanger bolt threaded in the universal camera mount / tripod size. I didn't have the courage to remove the headliner to feed the power cord underneath, though. I routed mine in the weather stripping.

It looks as though your headliner survived just fine. Any issues with looseness or wonky clips? I'm guessing you've removed them a few times as you've developed new mounts, and from what I can see, the headliner isn't cranky about it.

Thanks!

 

[Soneill]

This is the plexiglass mount I made for mine. Works like I charm.

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

I like that a lot. I just used a hanger bolt threaded in the universal camera mount / tripod size. I didn't have the courage to remove the headliner to feed the power cord underneath, though. I routed mine in the weather stripping.

It looks as though your headliner survived just fine. Any issues with looseness or wonky clips? I'm guessing you've removed them a few times as you've developed new mounts, and from what I can see, the headliner isn't cranky about it.

I like your solution. Nice and simple.

Yeah, the headliners can be pretty sensitive. You can flex them a little bit before they get angry and permanently crease. Just to be extra careful, I pulled all three pins, the coat hooks, and the plastic panels away from it before carefully prying it down. They go back in place just fine if you're conscientious. It's a fair bit of extra work, but I'm hyper anal retentive about tucking wires.

The fortunate thing is the holes in the headliner for the plastic pins are the same diameter as the M4 rivnut flange, and I designed the post of the bracket to fit inside that diameter as well. Ends up being very little messing with it aside from pushing the cable through, which wasn't really too challenging once it was loose.

Cheers!

 

[Dr. Monkeypants]

Want to give us all a link to the part file when you're done so we can print (or have printed) our own?

Sure! PM me your email and the dimensions you want and I'll send you an STL file

Josh

 

[BigCountryT4R]

Anyone want to make me one and send it to me? I don't have a 3d printer. Willing to pay!

 

[CasperS]

That is an elegant and simple solution, nicely done!

I can’t recall who, but one of the forum members made a sweet plexi or polycarb bracket to mount his rear BlackVue camera to. I liked it but thought a v2.0 could clean the whole thing up and hide the wire better so it wasn’t coming out from the weather stripping.

As usual with my goofy, quick mods, I got out the rivet nuts and decided to figure the rest out later...

I put an M4 nut in the spot the left plastic roof liner clip goes then designed & printed a bracket that had a wire clearance groove and would hold the cam as flush as possible to the roof liner. I ended up making it a bit too flush so I added a couple washers notched to clear the wire. It’s plenty rigid enough but should give if it gets a good whack.

I’ll send the file if anyone wants, but it’s sized for a Blackvue camera. I can also update the file and send a printable version for any camera mount if you send me the dimensions.

Josh