My custom backup camera setup

sredmyer · #1 (**permalink**) 07-04-2011, 03:38 PM

As many of you know, a few months back I completed designing and building a custom harness to allow the nearly plug-n-play install of the newer Ford OEM

navigation with Sync in my 2008 Super Duty. As a continuation of this project I added a custom camera system which originally just added a front camera and a custom steering wheel switch to allow turning the video on (regardless of what gear the truck is in) and switching the display between the two cameras.

Well I have now completed what I believe (and my wife hopes) is the final part of this project. This final part just adds a couple more cameras to the system and some pretty cool (at least I think they are cool

) features for controlling the cameras/display. With this new four camera ability it is now possible to have a standard backup camera on the tailgate of the truck, a front camera to aid in nose in parking, a camera inside a trailer and finally a camera on the rear of the trailer. The camera inside the trailer will allow you to see your load while driving to be sure nothing has shifted or if you are hauling livestock (ie. horses) you can check on their well being. The trailer's back camera provides the same features as a normal backup camera on the truck (displays automatically when the truck is shifted into reverse) but it shows the view behind the trailer since the view behind the truck itself is of little value when backing a trailer.

So how does it all work you ask...well, anticipating that some would be curious, I created a short video demonstrating the camera system.