Front and side view camera options for off-roading...

[wfo9]

I'm not much of a car audio guy. I like to do all my own work in general, but audio is one of those things that I lost lost interest in messing around with about 25 years ago.

Anyway, I wanted to add some cameras for front, rear, and passenger side view and upgrade the stereo to a new head unit with a nice video display... I figured while i was at it I should add a sub and an amp to wake up the depth of the system a bit. So, I stopped by the local car audio shop today and asked for an estimate (keeping my stock speakers) but adding all the rest of the stuff just mentioned.. They quoted me something close to 3k. That price blew me away. :wtf:

I started looking at the details and they had the front camera listed as $299, the rear for $199.... At that point, I decided I better think about doing some of this myself. Those prices seem crazy for what the components should cost. Granted they had all alpine cameras..., but I assume there has to be good CCD units available for much less.

I did some searching on amazon... and found most of what I need for way cheaper, but I'm always concerned with quality on stuff like this. So curious to hear what others have and how they like it. Links... would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some of the items I'm considering.
Front:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036DEDM4/

Side/Rear:Amazon.com : COOLINT Mini 360 Degree Rotatable Car Multifunction Backup Rear View HD Color Night Vision Camera with Distance Guide Line Switcher : Car Electronics

Switcher:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B155G5M

I have no idea what head unit I want yet. Suggestions welcome. I want the best display possible.

 

[Antman]

I'm not much of a car audio guy. I like to do all my own work in general, but audio is one of those things that I lost lost interest in messing around with about 25 years ago.

Anyway, I wanted to add some cameras for front, rear, and passenger side view and upgrade the stereo to a new head unit with a nice video display... I figured while i was at it I should add a sub and an amp to wake up the depth of the system a bit. So, I stopped by the local car audio shop today and asked for an estimate (keeping my stock speakers) but adding all the rest of the stuff just mentioned.. They quoted me something close to 3k. That price blew me away. :wtf:

I started looking at the details and they had the front camera listed as $299, the rear for $199.... At that point, I decided I better think about doing some of this myself. Those prices seem crazy for what the components should cost. Granted they had all alpine cameras..., but I assume there has to be good CCD units available for much less.

I did some searching on amazon... and found most of what I need for way cheaper, but I'm always concerned with quality on stuff like this. So curious to hear what others have and how they like it. Links... would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some of the items I'm considering.
Front:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036DEDM4/

Side/Rear:Amazon.com : COOLINT Mini 360 Degree Rotatable Car Multifunction Backup Rear View HD Color Night Vision Camera with Distance Guide Line Switcher : Car Electronics

Switcher:Amazon.com : Intelligent Car Video Switcher 3-way Input 1-way Output for the Car Camera : Vehicle Backup Cameras : Car Electronics

I have no idea what head unit I want yet. Suggestions welcome. I want the best display possible.

Dave did it right! [MENTION=6163]phillyd2[/MENTION]

Check out this link... http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/102292-them-me-mods-21.html#post1711843

 

[Jeremy556]

I would suggest looking into the Rydeen RDV360 system.

I have the VTK100N for a front view camera. It's a great camera, but it's field of view is too narrow. I purchased another camera to replace it, but haven't installed, yet. Whatever you get, put some sort of removable screen protector on the lens to absorb rock chips.

 

[wfo9]

I would suggest looking into the Rydeen RDV360 system.

I have the VTK100N for a front view camera. It's a great camera, but it's field of view is too narrow. I purchased another camera to replace it, but haven't installed, yet. Whatever you get, put some sort of removable screen protector on the lens to absorb rock chips.

Good idea on the screen/cap. What camera did you purchase to replace it...

I wanted to check out the Rydeen system, but they only sell at installers and don't even list any on their website. I will call and see if someone in the area installs their stuff just to get an idea of the price. it looks very nice, but is probably overkill for what I want.

 

[wfo9]

Dave did it right! [MENTION=6163]phillyd2[/MENTION]

Check out this link... http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/102292-them-me-mods-21.html#post1711843

Wow, that is quite the impressive build with more gadgets than I have ever seen before. I'm trying to keep my stuff as simple as possible (not easy). The jump to the screen even bothers me, but the gain in visibility seems well worth it.

 

[FactoryRide]

I would suggest looking into the Rydeen RDV360 system.

I have the VTK100N for a front view camera. It's a great camera, but it's field of view is too narrow. I purchased another camera to replace it, but haven't installed, yet. Whatever you get, put some sort of removable screen protector on the lens to absorb rock chips.

What do you have the camera tied into? Stock or aftermarket Nav? Aux screen?

 

[1engineer]

Wow, that is quite the impressive build with more gadgets than I have ever seen before. I'm trying to keep my stuff as simple as possible (not easy). The jump to the screen even bothers me, but the gain in visibility seems well worth it.

[MENTION=6163]phillyd2[/MENTION] says go big or go home...
Dave did it right!

 

[Jeremy556]

Good idea on the screen/cap. What camera did you purchase to replace it...

I wanted to check out the Rydeen system, but they only sell at installers and don't even list any on their website. I will call and see if someone in the area installs their stuff just to get an idea of the price. it looks very nice, but is probably overkill for what I want.

I forget which camera it is, but it is a CMOS instead of CCD, and made by Boyo. Haven't tested it yet.

Boyo and several other companies from what it looks like sell the same 360 camera processor. Boyo VT-BP

What do you have the camera tied into? Stock or aftermarket Nav? Aux screen?

Stock JBL Nav screen

 

[FactoryRide]

I forget which camera it is, but it is a CMOS instead of CCD, and made by Boyo. Haven't tested it yet.

Boyo and several other companies from what it looks like sell the same 360 camera processor. Boyo VT-BP



Stock JBL Nav screen

Was that pretty easy to splice it in? Is there a switch that you use that allows to you toggle in and out between the camera and nav?

 

[bimrunner]

Wow, that is quite the impressive build with more gadgets than I have ever seen before. I'm trying to keep my stuff as simple as possible (not easy). The jump to the screen even bothers me, but the gain in visibility seems well worth it.

This is what I have. Amazing system. Not cheap and will cost a few $$$ to install. Took the Rydeen installer 2 days of honest work to install mine. I am now running it on a Pioneer 8000NEX and it is a great system with selectable cameras and the bird's eye view. It will cost you far more than I gathered from your initial question... I think I paid somewhere between $1500 and $2000 for the install and calibration with the actual parts... I was one of the first with it though along with [MENTION=78705]jangoforhire[/MENTION].

 

[Jetboy]

Not really what you asked, but if you plan mostly for trail use, a gopro and wifi tether work pretty darn good. Just add a magnetic or suction mount. Could be done pretty easily with an android tablet or phone screen. I use my phone's 5" screen and it works like a charm.

 

[jrandom]

[MENTION=118321]Jetboy[/MENTION] it is a solid idea for sure, gopro3+ and newer the over-air playback is really good, the issue more or less is power, batteries don't last all that long exacerbated when using wireless. Out of the case you risk water damage, in the case battery only and the camera itself gets noticeably hotter than in a skeleton case. In fact Rigid LED announced at SEMA has a light bar coming out with a powered gopro mount in the center. It is called Rigid Industries Capture.

Land Cruiser has front and side cams stock, of course I doubt you could go straight across with it, doesn't stop my curiosity though.

This is a big wish list item for me too, particularly front and passenger side cam

 

[Jetboy]

Our RX doesn't have the side cams, but some did. Lexus discontinued offering the cams in the mirrors for the side view. But... it would be interesting to know if you could integrate them. They operate out of an independent ECU that mixes the feed from the two mirrors and the 6 sonar sensors into the dash screen. The ECU IIRC only goes for around $150, but then you'd need wire harness etc to make it work. Not sure what you'd end up with by the time it's all installed. Probably a lot.

I have been thinking about adding it to our RX350 since it's plug and play. As soon as I find one that's rear-ended so I can buy all the parts from a junk yard for a few hundred $. A nice bonus is that the camera mirrors are also auto folding.

 

[wfo9]

Not really what you asked, but if you plan mostly for trail use, a gopro and wifi tether work pretty darn good. Just add a magnetic or suction mount. Could be done pretty easily with an android tablet or phone screen. I use my phone's 5" screen and it works like a charm.

I've done this. It's OK, but not what I want. I'm hoping I can come up with something better that does not hesitate and drain batteries....

 

[DannyLlama]

[MENTION=106176]wfo9[/MENTION] If you dont mind me asking, what did you end up doing? Apologize if I missed a post on your update.

 

[phillyd2]

Must have missed this the first time around despite the multiple mentions. I used Kenwood CMOS Multi-Angle View Cameras. In my build thread there be pictures of the various angles.

 

[wfo9]

[MENTION=106176]wfo9[/MENTION] If you dont mind me asking, what did you end up doing? Apologize if I missed a post on your update.

It's been a long time... I ended up with a head unit that supports two cameras.... I mounted one camera up on the front grill and one in the passenger side mirror.

It works OK.... but I find myself hardly using them. The one on the passenger side mirror is the most useful. It allows you to see the passenger tire and this is often very useful when getting close to a rock ledge...

The problem with the front.... The 2d picture is just not that great at seeing drops and ledges... and the wide angle camera distorts things even more. You basically can't tell the difference between a shadow and a huge hole...

It does come in handy when You get out and identify a particular feature... Then you can find it on the screen and it sort of helps... The perspective is still really hard to follow.

Overall, I don't use it that much. I can take pictures and go into more detail if you need more info... The install came out great.. but I give it a 4 out of 10 for actually being useful on the trail. Comes in handy when parking close to a curb LOL

 

[bimrunner]

It's been a long time... I ended up with a head unit that supports two cameras.... I mounted one camera up on the front grill and one in the passenger side mirror.

It works OK.... but I find myself hardly using them. The one on the passenger side mirror is the most useful. It allows you to see the passenger tire and this is often very useful when getting close to a rock ledge...

The problem with the front.... The 2d picture is just not that great at seeing drops and ledges... and the wide angle camera distorts things even more. You basically can't tell the difference between a shadow and a huge hole...

It does come in handy when You get out and identify a particular feature... Then you can find it on the screen and it sort of helps... The perspective is still really hard to follow.

Overall, I don't use it that much. I can take pictures and go into more detail if you need more info... The install came out great.. but I give it a 4 out of 10 for actually being useful on the trail. Comes in handy when parking close to a curb LOL

Interesting! I find my front camera most helpful but I get two images at the same time with my system: bird's eye and whichever of the 4 cameras I choose. Best use for me is steep inclines where I cannot see rocks on the trail going up a steel climb. Maybe mine doesn't distort as much. Idk, but definitely not as useful of a mod for what I actually use it for. :thumb3: