The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay back up lights and rear camera

I'm curious if anyone has installed back up lights and a rear camera in their truck?

I have an NV3500 transmission which has a switch to activate the backup lights (once wired) and beleive there are backup camera options that could connect wirelessly to either my phone or a dash mounted display but would like to leverage experience of others before I head too far down this particular rabbit hole.

I recently installed a backup camera on my '89 Silverado. I bought a wireless system. The camera is wired to the truck's backup lights and is activated when put into reverse. I wired the display to the ignition side and mounted on the dashboard. I mainly did it to help with lining up when connecting my trailer. It makes it so easy to get the ball and the hitch together.

I recently installed a camera on the wifes VW '01 Beetle. Its one of the small ones from Amazon, it works really good, clean bright picture, and easy to hookup. 4.3" monitor from KeelooLuu store. $35 We have a few of them at work on the service trucks just for hooking up trailers, its way easier then watching a helper try to line you up.

I installed a CarPlay display that came a backup camera on my 53 Chevy 3600 . I installed a little switch beside the display that turns the camera on or off since I couldn't figure out an easy way to install a switch that turns on with reverse gear. I run the display and camera off of a 12 volt battery bolted to the bed frame since the truck itself is 6 V.

Thank you Wayne, Joe, and Chris for the input. Wayne, can you say what you bought and where you got it?

I agree that I am spoiled by the back up camera on my modern vehicles but I really notice it when I am trying to back up my '50 3600 with no right side mirror and only a seemingly small rear window in the cab (partially blocked by '99 Silverado seat head rests).

Chris, fortunately my NV3500 transmission has a switch for reverse and my truck is already 12v so not nearly as many challenges as you had.

I bought this one from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3KWZXYD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Thank you Wayne for the information.

On my VW, I simply spliced into the reverse light wires at the tail light. If the lights come on, so does the camera, though you can't do that on a six volt system.

Joe, I think you could if you ran the 12V from another battery through a 6V operated relay. The reverse light activates the relay which then closes the 12V circuit.

Yep, the relay would work. A small 12 volt would likely run a small screen camera for a long time, it would be on just a minute or two at time. When shopping for camera's, look to see how wide the field of vision is, the wider it is, the better. When backing out of a slot in the parking lot, being able see up and down the lane is just as important as what's right behind you.
The older we get, the we can see without pulling muscles, the better!

6 volt Bosch style (5-pin relays) are fairly readily available, but don't jump on the first one you find. Prices vary WIDELY.
Digikey
Chevy's of the 40's (but they include 4 wire terminals. )