Motorhomes tend to have pretty appalling rear visibility, so reversing cameras are a popular accessory. You don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds, perfectly acceptable wireless reversing cameras kits are available for less than £25 from places like eBay, and are really easy to install!
I bought a kit like this one for our Hymer B544 motorhome – it comes with a monitor, camera and wireless transmitter/receiver set
First job is to find somewhere to mount the monitor, it needs to be connected to an ignition switched 12V supply. I chose a spot on a shelf next to the steering wheel for easy visibility and access to the dash wiring for a power feed:-
The wireless receiver unit plugs into the monitor, and can be connected to the same switched power feed as the monitor. Finding an ignition switched supply is just a matter of rummaging about under the dash with a multimeter until you find a circuit that comes live when the ignition is switched on. For the earth you can use any earth stud on the body – there should be at least one easily accessible under the dash.
The wireless transmitter and receiver should look something like this, the receiver plugs into the monitor and a 12V supply, the transmitter plugs into the camera (red plug for power, yellow plug for video signal) and into a 12V supply
Next step is to mount the camera and the wireless transmitter. As you want the camera and transmitter to only be active when you are in reverse the easiest solution is to power them from the reversing light signal. I mounted the camera just above the number plate on the rear bumper as it was easy to access the reversing lamp wiring from here. The wireless transmitter is tucked away behind the bumper.
Mounting the camera high up on the back of the van would give a better field of view, but the wiring is much easier with it mounted on the bumper!
With it all installed like this the monitor and received will power up and start listening for a signal as you as you turn the ignition on. The monitor will stay off until it sees a signal though so you won’t see anything until you select reverse.
This particular monitor has two separate video inputs so you could also connect a second camera to it if you wanted to
Total install time, about 1 hour
Any questions or comments please let me know below
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