Rear View Camera Installation with Monitor on Bulkhead

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Rear View Camera Installation with Monitor on Bulkhead

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Rear View Camera with Monitor on Bulkhead

Rear View Camera with Monitor on Passenger Side Bulkhead. For a better view out the back, both day and night, I installed a hard-wired rear camera with the monitor and wiring in the cab bulkhead of our '99 24RB. The camera has been extremely worthwhile as a rearview mirror. It is useful on the road as well as backing into tight parking spaces. The camera has a wide-angle view and covers from the horizon down to 4' behind the rear bumper at ground level. It comes with a remote control for the monitor that is useful for controlling the screen brightness from the driver's seat. I have the unit wired to a switched circuit so it is on whenever the engine is running. The monitor is dedicated to the rear camera and is always there, just like a rearview mirror.

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I mounted the display above the passenger's head on the side bulkhead. With this mounting location it is out of the way, but still useful and visible. It is easy to check the back view when looking over at the passenger side mirror.

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I mounted the camera directly under the middle clearance light. I drilled from the outside, up toward the clearance light and used 1/4-20 x 1" stainless bolts with washers, lock-washers and nuts on the inside. The inside space is accessible in 24RB by peeling the fabric from the roll bar in the medicine cabinet. A mirror is required to see the mount point from the inside of the medicine cabinet. I pushed the existing wires aside before drilling from the outside. Getting the washers and nuts on the bolts from the inside requires a bit of patience but it is doable. I used a 3/8" drive extension and taped the nuts to the socket to get them started.

The camera has an all-in-one power/video cord that requires a 5/8" hole to be drilled. I sealed it with black silicone after running the wire and mounting the camera.

In the cab, I removed the visors, the dome spotlights and the screws that hold the curtain rail to the underside cover of the bulkhead (not the entire curtain rail). The underside cover of the bulkhead is removed by popping the buttons off the snaps and removing all of the snaps and screws. I also removed the driver's side pillar cover.

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To get the camera wire to the front, I ran the wire behind the shower & kitchen sink, drilled a hole in the end of the kitchen cabinet by the sofa, routed the cable above the cargo door over the sofa brackets, under the drivers step and up the driver's windshield pillar to the bulkhead. The photo above is looking rearward from under the sofa on the driver's side. It shows the hole drilled into the kitchen cabinet. The black wire is for the camera (the blue wire is a computer cable not used in this project).

For 12VDC power, I added a tap-a-circuit to the fuse box under the dash above the drivers left foot. I chose a switched circuit so the camera would come on when the engine is on. I used a heavy (12GA) red coated wire to power the rear view camera system and a CB radio. This power wire also runs up the driver's side pillar to the bulkhead.

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I mounted the control module for the camera to the underside of the cab-over plywood. Ground points are plentiful in the bulkhead.

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The yellow lead in the above photo is for video out. With the addition of a video recorder and dual-source power switch (engine-on power / coach power), the unit could be used as a security camera to cover our bicycles at night (usually not a concern, but possibly useful when boon-docking).

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The monitor has a mounting slot on the back that fits over the 2 wood screws shown on the bulkhead. The monitor slides over these screws and stays firmly in place. The camera kit provided a visor for the monitor. It wasn't necessary to use it for this mounting location.

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The curtain still works with the monitor mounted in this location. Before you close up the bulkhead, change the switch on the control box to mirror Image for the camera.

Rear View Safety 7" LCD Color Backup Camera System with Audio
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GM5GKO/ref ... T1_SC_dp_1

Submitted by:
Chuck Meadows
'99 24RB PSD
Email: charles.m.meadows@gmail.com

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