I had the old rear camera/monitor system with the bulky CRT type monitor. Decided to replace it (it didn't work anyway) with a new LCD system, but I wanted something that was well made and would fit in the existing dash housing. I found what I think is an ideal solution. Amazon sells the unit, which is by "rear view safety systems," for $215. It is a 7" LCD unit which can handle additional cameras if desired, and it seems very well made. Plus, the size is almost exactly right for the existing housing. Here's the link for the system on Amazon.


http://www.amazon.com/Rear-Vie...id=1284050710&sr=8-8

I bought an aluminum door kick plate at Lowes which had a finish very similar to my dash ($20), and simply cut it to fit my dash opening. Sorry I didn't take photos while doing the job, but I just drilled a hole in the aluminum piece so that the knob portion (only) of the factory windshield mount bracket would fit through it, allowing the LCD to be fastened to the aluminum from the back and appear to "float" centered on top of it from the front. The LCD housing is pretty thin,so it looks just fine this way. Once the aluminum plate is cut to size and the hole drilled in the center, it is just a matter of mounting the LCD to the plate with the factory bracket, and hooking up the cable for the camera and the power wire, and then carefully press fitting the aluminum plate into the existing monitor housing in the dash. Mine fits nicely such that it is securely in there, but can be carefully pried out if need be. Its just a matter of cutting the aluminum precisely to fit in there. All in all, I am very happy with the results, and it looks factory. The only hard part was running new cable for the camera.






I hope this helps anyone out there looking for this kind of a solution.

Looks great.

How exactly did you go about running the new cable? Were you able to tie it to the old one and pull it though or did you have to snake it though the entire way yourself?

The old cable was zip tied in many places. I was able to use the old one to help pull the new one to below the coach (down through trim at rear corner of wall near bed) by taping them end to end. But mostly, I worked my way along the bottom, routing the new cable by hand and fastening it with zip ties. Certainly not the fun part of the job! But probably only spent 2 hours on this part of the job, so not so bad.

Great job Vince! So far my original has survived. Good information for the future.

My camera has gone foggy on me, the unit itself is gone and the unit is not serviceable, the replacement camera is $300 itself.

This unit looks good to me except for running the cable.

Does anybody know if I can get a different camera and just attach it to the old crt?

Or can I use the existing cable on the new cable?

looks great! Mine is still working, but the pic is not very sharp,and grainy looking, and black and white of course. I have been thinking about an upgrade, and this looks good. Do you find the picture sharp and easy to pick up on at a glance ? My old one is not.

I installed this Peak wireless back up camera in the first motorhome that I owned, and it worked so good that I have installed it in my Barth. Wireless, so no needing to run a lot of wire up to the front from the back. I'm very happy with it, and although the link goes to an item that is not in stock at Amazon, you can find it for sale at other places by googling it. The Amazon link is here

Thanks guys. I find the video image to be quite good...and passable even in the dark. There is even sound available if you care about that. If you'd like to get the viewpoints of a number of users, check out the ratings on Amazon. A lot of folks have posted ratings of this system there, and it was highly regarded by most that I read. But overall, I have no complaint with the image quality. And I was especially impressed with the quality of the camera housing. This is not a cheap looking unit, and it appears that it will last a long time. Also, very easy to change views (mirror image, etc.).

Mine also went bad... I think it was just the camera that failed due to moisture from being outside.... When we tried a new camera on the old CRT monitor it blew out the camera, something to do with a higher voltage from the old unit... I ended up replacing both the camera and the monitor... The camera I used was pretty cheap and very small so we used a backup light lense off of a truck and cut it down to fit the old housing that is original, then just drilled a 3/4" hole in the lense to mount the camera... it looks good (sorry no pics)... For the monitor I used a modern seatback monitor that backseaters use to watch DVD's ect. It is color and looks very good except there are no distance measurements on it...
If anybody needs the old camera (for parts?) or the old CRT I did keep them and they are in the Barth, just let me know.... Also I DID use the wiring harness that was already there... Didnt need as many wires but who cares? LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Dave In Wyoming:
I installed this Peak wireless back up camera in the first motorhome that I owned, and it worked so good that I have installed it in my Barth. Wireless, so no needing to run a lot of wire up to the front from the back. I'm very happy with it, and although the link goes to an item that is not in stock at Amazon, you can find it for sale at other places by googling it. The Amazon link is here

I have the same unit in my pickup and I tried it on my Barth – It works great on the pickup but not so good in the Barth. I can only get reception when inside the metal garage – once I am outside the picture goes away. I think the Aluminum is making a very nice shield! I relocated the camera transmitter to several spots but no luck so far.

Just installed rearview system in coach. transmiter and camera turn on when 12v is connected. My question is when to turn it on. Right now have it tied to clearnce lights. I did have it tied into backup lights but want to be able to turn on going down the road. Could use suggestion on how others have their operating.
Thank Doorman

I tied mine in with the ignition.... It has a remote so it is not always on but can come on (with the remote) anytime I like.... Even in the middle of the night without starting the engine..

does anybody ever have a flicker when going under a bridge ? mine does every bridge then is ok after the bridge.
lenny