Starcraft RV Owners Forum

moallen wrote:Not sure what kind of camera you have, but you'll need one that "mirrors" the image, like a backup camera does.

Really good point, Thanks!! I checked and mirroring IS a menu item in the cameras I have on hand (whew!!)

Not sure what kind of camera you have, but you'll need one that "mirrors" the image, like a backup camera does.

This is another mod I'm going to do .... I have a 12VDC camera and lenses and I just got a 9" monitor. I'll just need to do some work, from here.

A camera system almost pays for itself with the money I used to spend on TUMS driving in congested areas like the Boston area where we are presently camped.

We have a Tadi Bros camera system. It is easily the BEST thing we did. Get a camera system. Any camera system

It makes driving far safer and more relaxing knowing I'm not about to crush something.

The Pioneer camera was $99. The adapter cable was $7.95 and the 10' RCA cable was $9. So, $116 for the parts to add a rear view camera to my GPS. I already had the GPS. It cost $250 on sale last winter.

Sounds good. What was the total for parts?

My 24rls came equipped with a base mount for a Furrion camera on the rear of the trailer, but I didn't want to spend $400 for a wireless camera with a small 4.3" monitor. Over the years I've tried several backup cameras, but none have ever worked out long term. I mainly wanted to use them to see what was behind me when changing lanes and turning. One eventually got condensation inside the lens, a couple were always intermittent and all just had screens too small to be practical.

Last year I picked up a Good Sam (Rand McNally) 7735 GPS. It has a 7" screen. I knew it had a video input but never got around to using it until recently. Thought I would list what I bought to add a rear view camera to it. I know it would be more convenient to have a permanent mount, but I don't want another camera sitting out in the elements 24x7 and eventually losing its seal, so I used the large suction mount I wasn't using that came with my GPS. I added a safety strap in case it lost its grip but so far some very rough roads haven't made it come loose. It is mounted to my trailer's rear window.

Good Sam - Rand McNally 7735 GPS (Camping World)
20FT GPS Camera Video Cable 2.5mm Aux to RCA AV-IN Adapter (Amazon)
Pioneer Backup Camera ND-BC8 (Best Buy)
10' RCA video cable (Best Buy)

The Pioneer camera came with 33' of cable that reaches up to the hitch area. The GPS video adapter cable has 20' of cable that reaches from my truck's dash to the hitch. Then the 10' RCA cable is used to connect those 2 cables together when hitched.

The 7735 GPS detects when a video signal is present and displays a touch icon in the upper left corner. Touch it once and the rear camera shows. Touch the screen anywhere and it goes back to the normal GPS screen. 7" is a decent size to see what's going on behind the trailer. All backup cameras have a wide angle lens and focal point designed up close backing up, but the larger screen helps see what's going on a few hundred feet further back when planning a lane change.