Haloview BT7 Touch Rear Camera installation on 2022 LEII

[dhaig]

I recently purchased a Haloview BT7 Touch Rear Camera to replace the Furrion Vision S Camera System (Model F0S43TADS) we purchased as an accessory option on our 2022 LEII.  Following delivery of our trailer in February, 2022, it was quickly evident the Furrion camera was largely useless. I continued to use the Furrion camera, with increasing frustration.  The very limited view to the rear was a safety issue.  I began to research RV rear cameras and after reading many reviews selected the Haloview BT7 Touch.   I was impressed by the specs and favorable reviews, but failed to note the camera is designed to mount to a vertical rear wall, not the sloping rear roof of an LEII.

 

I could have returned the Haloview camera, but I did not see a good second choice.   Thus, I decided to fabricate a mount to be installed in the same position as the Furrion camera.  The result is the custom mount below:

 

 

 

Fabrication Process

I had some black acrylic sheet, .010" thick, from a prior project (See: Window Vent Mod- Louvered Ventilators), which seemed suitable material for a camera mount.  I had some thicker acrylic sheet, but decided to first use the thinner sheet to create a mockup by bending the acrylic sheet.  Initially, I had concerns the thinner sheet would not be sufficiently rigid to hold the camera steady, but I was not sure I could bend the thicker sheet.

 

The Furrion camera and its mounting gasket were removed from the roof of our LEII and used to begin the layout of the base for the new mount.  I wanted to use the four existing holes in the roof which held the Furrion camera in place.  I had a scrap piece of acrylic about 7" wide and 20" long.  I used 2" blue painter's tape applied to the acrylic and, with a fine point mechanical pencil, began marking out the mounting hole pattern from the Furrion gasket.

 

Next, I flipped the scrap sheet of acrylic over, applied blue tape and began positioning the Haloview camera on the tape.  My initial concept was to have the main part of the mount be a single piece of acrylic bent to an angle of approximately 80 degrees.  When mounted to the sloped roof of the trailer, the face of the mount would be approximately vertical for mounting the Haloview camera.  The layout of the mounting base resulted in the base being approximately 2.0" wide, and the nearly vertical mounting face approximately 3.5" tall.  I also allowed about 0.75" for the bend radius.  So, before bending the rectangular sheet of acrylic was approximately 6.25" x 7.0".  I cut this piece from the end of the 20" long scrap.

 

Before bending, I drilled all needed holes in the mount base, as marked during the layout process.

 

NOTE:  See YouTube for many useful videos on bending acrylic sheets.

 

To bend the mounting base, I sandwiched the rectangular piece of acrylic between two pieces of scrap wood approximately 12" x 3", with the acrylic area to be bent aligned on the long side of the wood scraps.  I extended the acrylic from the wood scrap approximately 2.5" to 3.0" in preparation for bending.  I clamped the sandwiched pieces to my workbench to ensure it would not move during the bending process.  Using a heat gun, I began to heat the area to be bent, moving back and forth.  Wearing gloves, I held two other pieces of wood, each approximately 2" x 5".  As the acrylic became heated, I applied gentle pressure to the extended portion of the acrylic, using the pieces of wood in my hand.

 

I continued to move the heat gun along the bend area until I could begin to bend the acrylic.  As the acrylic began to bend, I used care to keep the bend straight and at 90 degrees to the sides.  I used a steel carpenter's square to test the acrylic as I bent it.  As I approached the desired finished bend angle, I released the acrylic to check the angle.  Satisfied with the bend angle I trimmed the top of the mounting base to the contour of the Haloview mounting gasket with a scroll saw.

 

Having the mounting base bent as desired, I began to plan how I would make it sufficiently rigid to hold the camera steady.  The photo below shows the other parts which would comprise the rear support area.  Also at the rear I wanted to enclose the wiring connecting the camera to the 12VDC power from the trailer.

 

  

Haloview BT7 Camera and mount parts

Once the mounting base was bent as desired, I cut two pieces approximately 1" wide from either end of the mounting base using a table saw.  These two pieces became the support brackets.  Being bent at the same angle as the mounting base, they fit well to backup the mounting face.  The triangular gussets also add rigidity, being bonded to the mounting base and the support brackets.  The photo below shows the mounting base (face down) with the support brackets and gussets attached at the rear.  Acrylic cement was used to weld all parts together.

 

Mounting base face down with support brackets and gussets in place

 

Side view of mounting base with support brackets and gussets in place 

  

To protect the power supply wiring from UV exposure and squirrels, I added a cover and a top piece across the gussets.  The rear compartment does not need to be watertight, since the wiring connectors are watertight.  Haloview includes a short adapter which connects to the existing Furrion connector protruding from the roof.  The photos below show the camera on the mounting base and cover from the rear and side views.

 

Mounting base and cover (Rear)

  

 

 

Mounting base and cover (Side)

 

Mounting the Camera to the LEII

When I removed the Furrion camera from the roof of the trailer, I noticed several things:

• The 12VDC power supply wiring passes through a hole in the trailer and was effectively sealed with the white caulking used throughout the trailer.  This was not visible before removing the Furrion mounting gasket.
• The sealant was in good condition, however, it formed a small mound on the roof of the trailer.  The base of Furrion camera was hollow and the mounting gasket conformed to the mound, allowing the outer shell of the camera to meet the trailer roof.
• The holes for the screws holding the camera to the trailer roof are NOT through holes, reducing the risk of water leaks into the trailer.
• The Furrion camera was not mounted at the lateral center point of the trailer, but not so far off that I had noticed in over three years using the trailer.
• The Furrion camera was also not quite parallel to the Oliver sign just below its mounting position.  From the ground this was not perceptible.

There were multiple trial fittings of the new mount as the fabrication process proceeded.  From these fittings the following adjustments were made:

• The mounting holes for the new base were elongated (using a Dremel tool) to permit the new mount to be swiveled slightly in azimuth to have the front face of the camera parallel with the top edge of the Oliver sign.  
• Two acrylic "runners" approximately 0.5" wide and 2.0" long, were attached to the bottom of the mounting base to straddle the mound of caulk where the power supply wire passes through the roof.
• I reused the mounting screws, putting fresh caulk into the screw holes and around the screws. 
• The new mount covers the same area where the power supply wire passes through the roof.  It is protected from UV by the new mount, but water can run under the new mount.

 

The Results

The Haloview BT7 comes with two mounts, one with a suction cup for windshield mounting, the other a 3M VHB bonded disk for attachment to the upper dashboard.  I prefer the windshield mount, which is substantial and widely adjustable.  It is very stable, with no vibration.  The signal strength indicated on the monitor showed a 5 bar strong connection to the rear camera.

 

Monitor comparison- Haloview 7" vs. Furrion 4.3" (diagonals)

 

Yesterday, I took a 35 mile shakedown cruise for the camera on the way to the storage facility.  The Haloview camera and monitor have met all my expectations.  The visibility to the rear is vastly improved.  I now see vehicles approaching in the same lane and in lanes on either side.  I was particularly impressed to see merging traffic entering the highway on my right, before I could see them in my mirrors.  Overtaking traffic is now seen well before they come abreast of the trailer.

 

In bright Texas sun, the video on the monitor is clear and not washed out.  There is no jitter in video from the camera, and the signal was always strong, even with the antennas folded horizontally across the top of the monitor.  The touch screen controls work well and are easily used while driving.  Also, my custom mount proved to be very solid, with no vibration of the video due to camera movement.

I recommend the Haloview BT7 Touch camera to anyone considering replacing their Furrion rear camera.  Unfortunately, Haloview does not appear to have a roof mount adapter available.  I had sent an email query to Haloview Support and received a reply indicating they did have such a mount and provided the following URL: https://www.haloview.com/bt-series-camera-peaked-cap-bracket-compatible-with-furrion-and-voyager-pre-wired-rvs.html.  Nothing on this page convinced me it was a roof mount.  It does say the Furrion hole pattern is matched for mounting to the trailer.  But only if the Furrion camera was mounted to a vertical surface.  I have not yet received a reply to my email pointing out they sent me a link to a vertical mount.

I hope this is useful to other OTT owners with Furrion cameras.

Regards, Don

[Snackchaser]

Nice work Don, very creative and well documented!

Being such a handy guy, you might also like my post "Turning on the rear camera automatically."   It sure beats always having to remember to flip the camera switch on and off every time.

Cheers!  Geoff

[dhaig]

@Snackchaser, thanks for the kind words.  I have admired you many technical posts.  I recall seeing your posting on turning on the rear camera.  I had several  projects in my queue at the time, but will revisit.

Don