Off-Road Camera (front facing) writeup

[TroyBoy]

I installed an off-road camera into my stock front metal bumper. This would have been so much easier if I didn't have a winch in the way. I had to remove the hawse fairlead and stick my fingers in the opening to install the camera. Very tedious.

You will need the Tazer JL to enable the cargo cam:
https://zautomotive.com/product/tazer-jl/

A video connector sold by Z Automotive:
https://zautomotive.com/product/video-cable/

Installation instructions for the video cable:
https://zautomotive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Tazer-JL-AV-Cable-install-guide.pdf

This is the video camera that I purchased:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071RP3MS1/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are lots of cameras to choose from. Just make sure it is a forward facing camera. In amazon.ca or amazon.com just search for "front camera for car"

The camera I bought comes with a drill but it's only capable of drilling through wood and plastic. I used a step drill bit that I had. I think the hole size was 3/4". Paint the hole after you cut it to prevent rust.

This is the final result. The camera comes with a clip to hold it tight but the problem I found was that the bumper metal was too thick and I couldn't tighten it properly. I ended up using pliers and bending the prongs outward. Another option would be to chuck the clip and silicon it in place. This would be so much easier if the winch wasn't in the way.

View attachment 79135

The camera sits on a 45 degree angle and allows you to see about 10 feet in front of you. I think this will work well when cresting a hill. The quality of the video is not bad considering it's price.

Added some images from the uconnect showing the viewing angle.

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[Goin2drt]

Thanks for this. Any chance to get a shot from the monitor inside to see the angle and pic you are getting?

 

[TroyBoy]

Thanks for this. Any chance to get a shot from the monitor inside to see the angle and pic you are getting?

Can’t until Saturday evening maybe. Going fishing!

 

[TroyBoy]

I added some images to the first post showing the camera angle

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@tmakaro

Thanks for taking the time to post this info.

attn:
@joe@zauto

 

[bwilliam79]

@tmakaro What power source did you wire your camera to? I don't want to wire it directly to the battery and have it be a constant drain. The camera I received has a positive and negative lead in addition to the RCA jack, and the RCA cable that came with it has a red wire hanging off each end. I'm a little confused by those.

I went with this camera to see what kind of visibility it provides. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XNM7GNS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

May switch to the style you used if it ends up shooting too high.

 

[bwilliam79]

@tmakaro What power source did you wire your camera to? I don't want to wire it directly to the battery and have it be a constant drain. The camera I received has a positive and negative lead in addition to the RCA jack, and the RCA cable that came with it has a red wire hanging off each end. I'm a little confused by those.

I went with this camera to see what kind of visibility it provides. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XNM7GNS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

May switch to the style you used if it ends up shooting too high.

Ignore my question. I found the answer buried in the questions on the product page.

"These pigtails make supplying remote power, when you have to, easier. Inside the extension cable there are 3 conductors - a video signal conductor (connected to the central pin of each RCA plug), a +12VDC power conductor (connected to the red pigtails), and a shared ground for both (connected to the perimeter grounds on each RCA plug). If used, attach the red pigtail on the non camera end of this optional extension cable to +12VDC power, and the red pigtail on the camera end to the red wire of the regular camera cable. Assuming whatever display you are using is also grounded, then a separate ground is not needed and the black wire in the regular camera cable can be ignored (just tape it off). "

 

[TroyBoy]

Ignore my question. I found the answer buried in the questions on the product page.

"These pigtails make supplying remote power, when you have to, easier. Inside the extension cable there are 3 conductors - a video signal conductor (connected to the central pin of each RCA plug), a +12VDC power conductor (connected to the red pigtails), and a shared ground for both (connected to the perimeter grounds on each RCA plug). If used, attach the red pigtail on the non camera end of this optional extension cable to +12VDC power, and the red pigtail on the camera end to the red wire of the regular camera cable. Assuming whatever display you are using is also grounded, then a separate ground is not needed and the black wire in the regular camera cable can be ignored (just tape it off). "

I currently have my camera power hooked to the battery which I’m pretty sure is causing a parasitic drain. I’m going to change it when I get a chance. I didn’t use the red wire on the rca cable.

 

[bwilliam79]

Thanks. I'm guessing there has to be a 12v wire behind the radio I could tie into while I've got the dash taken apart. Seems that'd be the cleanest way to get power up to the camera while still being loosely tied to whether the vehicle is powered on or not. I'll post an update once I try it.

 

[VinnyV2]

This looks awesome, I plan to get one! I presume that you can hit the backup camera button while moving, and then you probably hit a button to identify which camera view you will see?

 

[TroyBoy]

This looks awesome, I plan to get one! I presume that you can hit the backup camera button while moving, and then you probably hit a button to identify which camera view you will see?

Yes, or you can just press the cargo camera button hidden in one of the screens

 

[bwilliam79]

@tmakaro In case you're interested in changing your power source, I did get mine wired in to a 12v power source at the head unit. I just used a simple quick connect to tie into the larger red wire with a yellow stripe going into the 52 pin connector. It's right next to a black ground wire and pretty easy to verify with a voltmeter. On the RCA cable I had, the red power wire was super thin, so I stripped it back and folded the wire over itself before putting it into the connector to ensure good metal to metal contact.

While the wiring in the dash is all done, I still need to pull the camera through the firewall and get it mounted. Here are a couple of shots from it being roughed in, though. The camera is on the bottom of the bumper, centered between trailer breakaway connector on the left and the six pin trailer connector on the right.

 

[bwilliam79]

Got the install finished up today and took some pics showing the viewing angle with the different style camera mount.

I set a gas can (left), tool tray (center) and stool (right) which you can just see the edge of each in the screen.

Here's what they were set up like looking across the bumper.

From straight on

Looking down at the bumper

And a close up of the camera itself

 

[Torero]

Got the install finished up today and took some pics showing the viewing angle with the different style camera mount.

I set a gas can (left), tool tray (center) and stool (right) which you can just see the edge of each in the screen.

Thanks for sharing. Great information. I got a couple of questions:
Can I add the camera to my 7 inch screen? I think you have the bigger one.
What are the other things on the side of the camera? I see what looks like trailer plug but no hitch. And a block on the other side, what is it?
One of the reasons I want the front camera is that I added a front hitch, but coupling the trailer without camera is a real pain.
The other thing is the Tazer, no way without? I would have to buy it for this purpose only since I am not changing my tires diameter or re-gearing.
Thanks again.

 

[bwilliam79]

Thanks for sharing. Great information. I got a couple of questions:
Can I add the camera to my 7 inch screen? I think you have the bigger one.
What are the other things on the side of the camera? I see what looks like trailer plug but no hitch. And a block on the other side, what is it?
One of the reasons I want the front camera is that I added a front hitch, but coupling the trailer without camera is a real pain.
The other thing is the Tazer, no way without? I would have to buy it for this purpose only since I am not changing my tires diameter or re-gearing.
Thanks again.

Thanks! Hopefully the info is helpful for others.

I don't know if the 7" camera has the same wiring harness on the back side or not. Mine is the 8.4" and I've not looked at any other to know if there is a difference.

The other items you see next to the camera are a trailer wiring harness and a breakaway cable. We tow our JL behind a motorhome, so those are required for lights and safety purposes.

I don't know of any way other way to enable the second camera without the Tazer. It's an option you have to enable/disable through the Tazer itself and once enabled, presents a second camera option in the apps screen and when you have the front/rear camera being displayed. It technically shows up as a bed camera as if it were for a truck, but it's just a camera and you can put it wherever you want.

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