Best dashcam & rearcam?

I am not 100% sure but if I had to guess, it will. I do know the U3000 has a low battery cutoff that you can set at whatever voltage you want it to stop pulling power from your main truck battery. The power cell battery I have is nice. It can go from completely empty of a charge to full in 15 minutes of drive time. Even though the laser mode on the U3000 doesn’t pull much power from the battery, I think the power cell is worth having. It was very easy to install.

 

I read some reviews about the app having issues and difficulty of setup. What was your experience with those things?

 

It’s because the dash cam has to be connected to another WiFi device, besides your phone, to register it to the THINKWARE connected app. When I did that, it recognized the serial number to my dash cam. For example, you are sitting in your truck in your garage, you connect the dash cam to your home WiFi and then you use your phone to register it to the THINKWARE connect app.

 

Not too complicated then.

 

Can you link the battery you got?

 

Nope, I initially ran into the same problem others had with it connecting to the remote app and then I read some Reddit threads that explained what needed to be done and it was easy after that.

 

https://www.blackboxmycar.com/products/blackboxmycar-powercell-8-dash-cam-battery-pack

You can see in the pics I shared where I placed it. It’s under the front passenger seat. I placed it there because its closer to the fuses located under the glove box

 

Which output cable?

 

If you are going to buy the U3000, select the power outlet cable w/spliced THINKWARE/fineVU hardwiring kit. It will come with this on the end and allow you to connect directly into the battery without splicing anything.

 

Nice. Ok. I'm gonna see what the total damage is on the ol wallet and possibly pull the trigger. Thanks for the info, bud.

 

You’re welcome! Let me know if you need any help with anything else, like installation. You can send me a private message if you want.

 

10-4!

 

Most Japanese made vehicles run power to the cig lighter via a relay that is only active with ignition on. Your idea works, but you'll have to hard wire to the battery or use another point where battery power is present with the ignition off. If you choose to find another point to tap into an existing harness, make sure the wiring you tap into is rated for the wattage the solar panel will output.

Secondly, if your camera has sufficient draw to drain the battery down to 30% overnight you'll still damage the battery. Car batteries don't like to drain down and be filled over an over. Unless you have something like an Optima Red top or marine battery

 

Thank you for this.

 

Good read, so many advances in camera’s for out vehicles..

Has anyone heard of system that also monitors the tempature inside the vehicle?

Previous post, got me thinking, as well I wasn’t; live stream of inside the vehicle, interesting…

Thank you
Happy Memorial Day ‘24 - and to those that serve, served, will serve, and watching over us everyday!

 

I believe the THINKWARE U3000 that I have has the ability to shut off the device monitoring or go into low power mode at a certain temperature. It gives the outdoor temp on the app but not a live in car temp.

 

Hello thank you for the information.

 

Did you use the 1 inch or 2 inch bracket for the rear camera? How does it look? What do you recommend?

 

1 inch. This is the view from how it looks in my truck and the view from the remote viewing Thinkware connect app.

 

Was looking at fitcamx but now you have my gears turning, lol. How clean does the install look? I am OCD on keeping things looking like they belong. Thanks for all the information, great post!

 

If you are asking about my install, I have pics on the first page that showed all of the exposed wire and how it looks. Everything else is run behind the trim. It was a pretty easy install. It’s not the cheapest way to go but if you want remote monitoring without the camera going into low power mode and running off of your car battery, the external battery is the way to go. Probably took me a total of 1hr to do it all. The back bracket is a must to get for the rear camera because it allows you to still roll the back window down.

 

I used the clip off an old ISW holster and 3M double sided tape for mine.

 

Received my cam setup this morning, front and rear. Have to figure out how to run the wires since i hate anything visible.

 

I used this YouTube video for reference. I did not run that wire into my engine bay. Since I have the external battery, I placed the battery under my front passenger seat. I ran the dash camera wire to the external battery and then the battery wire to an ignition fuse under my glove box. Those wires are run under my floor board trim. The rear dash camera wire runs along with the main dash camera wire down the A pillar, under the floor board trim, where the main line connects to the battery under the seat, then the rear camera wire runs under that same trim to the back and then up that door trim to the middle of the window. The hardest part is getting the two wires from the front dash camera underneath where the window meats the roof trim towards the A pillar. I removed the A pillar trim to make sure the wires were run in a way that they didn’t affect the air bag deployment.

https://youtu.be/WHtPhaouPl8?si=-d0xgl3GShPyzkym

I also used this video

https://youtu.be/uGAHuOa5bLA?si=rs8539Br-wEospcs

 

Thanks for the info. I used the OBD port and also made sure to not interfere with the airbag. Question on recording, does it record small clips the entire time or can i be set to just run a longer recording? Also still trying to figure out how to get it to connect to my trucks hotspot as soon as i turn it on.

 

I also mounted to the left of the mirror, about 1” below headliner so the frits wouldnt be in view.

 

The wifi works well and it isn't connected full time, just ad hoc when you use the app to make settings or view video. But the easiest way to view the videos is to pop out the SD card and use a computer.

I second the recommendation for the Viofo A229, I have one on my Tundra with front and rear cams. Had a 129 Pro on my Tacoma that I let go when I sold it. Not sure of these are the "best" but they work great and have been very reliable for me. I have caught some really crazy stuff with them... including two near head on collisions (with me!), an SUV going off the highway at speed and ramming a big traffic sign, and some serious hooliganism.

 

I am not sure about the length of recording. I know the app is pretty easy to navigate. As far as registering for remote viewing, the camera has to be linked to a separate WiFi connection when you register it on the phone. There is the DashCamLink app that allowed you to directly link to your dashcam and view videos and adjust settings. The THINKWARE connected app is what allows you to view your vehicle remotely, as long as it’s connected to a Wifi signal.

I watched this guys channel before deciding on which camera to go with. He goes into a lot of detail about THINKWARE U3000.

https://youtube.com/@safedrivesolutions?si=K3qnj__8_NRoSHsJ

https://youtu.be/BfCcFF8Ap1o?si=aBHmaeL5KORuo2Dv

https://youtu.be/qJ6GXBXWYPI?si=DaWg7BhLAzP7tDti

https://youtu.be/T4v4MhxWkQA?si=9o_a-zCObUoE2y1o

 

also, just be aware that, with it connected to the OBD port, it will draw power from your truck battery when in parking mode. The best thing about the THINKWARE U3000 is the laser mode, which pulls the lowest amount of battery energy than any other dash camera on the market. If you have a lot of traffic in front of your car, it will turn the dash camera on more often and begin recording. You can also adjust the laser distance for less recording and only record something when someone is very near the vehicle. There is a setting where the dash camera will not record if it drains your truck battery to a certain amount of amps. Your vehicle will be left without any recording. This is probably only an issue if you leave your vehicle parked somewhere for longer than a day.

 

This, FITCAM. This is my 4th one. Have this on some cars prior and some currently.

$190 Fitcamx 4K Dash Cam for 2022-2025 Toyota Tundra & Sequoia 2023-2025 Limited SR SR5 TRD Pro Limited Platinum (Gen3), OEM Style, 2160P UHD Video, WiFi & APP, Loop Recording, G-Sensor, Plug & Play, 64GB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRKX4L78

Fits flush, like it was designed to be there. Buy this and a 128GB Samsung evo microSD endurance card and you’re good to go. Initial setup is done via the app on WiFi, and then you never touch it again. No cables or BS to deal with. Comes with the cable adapter, plastic shroud that is like OEM, and the camera that’s built in. Swap the card (the one it comes with I wouldn’t rely on), set audio and the quality and your done. Takes 5 min.