Dashcams

[John E Davies]

2 hours ago, FrankC said:

Things like this are the reason I’m adding a dash camera before we head out on our next trip in the early spring.  

Great point! I installed a dash cam three years ago and it provides a lot of peace of mind. So far I haven’t wrecked, but it has captured a lot of close calls, mostly “stop sign sliders”.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, FrankC said:

Things like this are the reason I’m adding a dash camera before we head out on our next trip in the early spring.  

I too installed a dash cam - to include a rear camera - about two years ago.  I did this for the obvious reasons above and for, perhaps, the not so obvious.  Fairly often the places I am out West are well off the beaten path and it is generally fairly obvious that I'm fishing and/or hiking which would mean that I will not return to the truck in the near future.  Certainly I realize that there are not people out there that are looking for a truck out in the middle of nowhere to break into - but.

Having said this -  dashcams have been used in legal proceedings to both help and hurt the case of the owner of the camera.  

Bill

[John E Davies]

52 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Fairly often the places I am out West are well off the beaten path and it is generally fairly obvious that I'm fishing and/or hiking which would mean that I will not return to the truck in the near future.  Certainly I realize that there are not people out there that are looking for a truck out in the middle of nowhere to break into - but.

Maybe this should be peeled off into a new thread, but do you have cams that are powered by the truck battery all the time? My NextBase cam will work in Parking Mode, but the little internal battery will go flat in 30 minutes because it can’t go to sleep. Running it “always on” would flatten the truck battery in a few days.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

My dashcam(s) have a couple of things built in so that battery drainage isn't a problem.

First, there is a low battery cut off so that when/if the dashcam senses a low vehicle battery it will shut itself off.

Second, when the vehicle is off and the dashcam hasn't detected either movement or noise for a set period of time (in minutes) it will shut itself off.  However, it will continue to monitor for sound or vibration and turn itself back on record mode when disturbed.

Bill

[Hokieman]

My Garmin RV785 gps has a dash cam.   I leave it on all the time, seems to work well.  My truck shuts off the power after 30 minutes or so, so I don’t drain my start battery,  

[Frank C]

I bought this Garmin Mini 2.  Very compact, inexpensive.  Hides nicely behind the rear view mirror in my truck.  Nice voice command recognition features.  Powered from a USB port so it powers off when the truck is shut off.   Optional parking monitor feature but that requires a Wi-Fi connection and a constant power option. 
 

Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2, Tiny Size, 1080p and 140-degree FOV, Monitor Your Vehicle While Away w/ New Connected Features, Voice Control https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931YZ82P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_9WY041SY5E7KGEAYYAZN

 

 

 

[topgun2]

Sorry I didn't mention the brand/model of my dashcam above.  It is:

Apeman 4K Touch Screen Dash Cam Front and Rear.

This used to be sold on Amazon but a link to it is currently not working.

Bill

[John E Davies]

I have a NextBase 422GW ... https://www.nextbase.com/en-us/dash-cams/422gw-dash-cam/ ... and I love the picture quality but the software is kludgy as can be, I don't think I can recommend it. Here is the mount - I actually removed a windshield sensor on the Land Cruiser that I had already unplugged (auto wipers) and I installed the camera mount there. The screen goes dark when recording and the red and green lights are shielded from the driver by the rear view mirror,.

I did have to buy the optional polarizing filter to reduce glare off the dash and hood. It takes beautiful video.

John Davies

Spokane WA