Added a truck bed cam to third brake light

Well I did a little project over the weekend that I think is going to help me out a lot. I used to have a front cam, but I really didn't use it that much since with my new house, the garage cabinets won't let the truck fit all the way in. I used it at my old house because I guess my garage was deeper...now it is wider.

Anyways, I bought a new third brake light lens (81571-0C050) and this nifty little camera from

210° FOV Front/Backup Camera, Adjustable Lens OEM Mini Style, Screw-Free Easy Install, Side/Rear View Camera, Certified IP69 Waterproof, 0.005Lux Low Light, 12/24V SUV/Pickup Truck/RV/Van/Camper/Bus

Amazon and about 2 hours of time now lets me see what is going on in the bed of the truck when I am hauling stuff. Just drilled a hole and then dremeled it out to fit the rubber flush mount/gasket. Camera slides into rubber mount and I aimed it all the way down. This one has two loops you can cut, one for a parking grid, and one to reverse the image. Hardest part was the stupid third brake light housing. I always drop the stupid nuts into the channel.

I have a Dasaita 10.2" Android head unit, so I am not sure how well this would work on OEM setups. But for $60 in parts, I cannot complain. Image isn't the greatest, but I don't need 4k resolution to see if something is about to fall/blow out.

 

Nice job!

 

Great work!

Been thinking about this for my digital rear view mirror. Currently the camera is mounted inside the cab pointed out the rear glass. That glass is tinted and hard to see out of when it rains.

How is this in the rain? How did you run the wire into the cab?

 

I haven't been able to test in the rain yet, but I used just a small amount of clear silicone around the rubber to (hopefully) ensure there are no leaks.

I ran the display / power wire behind my gauge cluster and removed the small plastic panel at the edge of the dash - which allowed the cable to come out and slip behind the rubber weather channel. Ran it up the A pillar and along the headliner/weather channel to the rear drivers side passenger seat belt. Then just draped it along the headliner. The excess I zip tied and bundled behind the third brake light lens.

 

Very nice!!

 

Nice work! I want to do this with an LCD mirror

 

Hey please think of me when it does rain. I'm curious whether the rain will gather on the lens and obscure the view. I'm planning to use this as my rear view.

 

Sure thing. I’m hoping because the lens aims down, it will drip off of it.

I may just have my son hose the truck down while I sit inside taking pictures of the display

 

They actually sell these aftermarket. I was looking at them online the other day.

 

Do you have a link? I tried finding one. It would’ve been easier

 

It might have been a universal...trying to see if I can find anything.

 

@PhotoNerd

it rained pretty good this morning. This is the view.

 

Ah thanks! Better than what I get with the camera inside the cab when it rains.