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Old 11-22-2019, 12:32 PM   #1
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Trailer camera option on 2020 Chevy Silverado

I am buying a 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500 as my tow vehicle. There is an optional trailer pkg I would like to order so that all the cameras project on my radio screen. It is wired. I currently have a wireless camera, but this one gives surround views. Has anyone successfully ran a camera wire from the camera in back of the trailer to the hitch.
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Old 11-22-2019, 01:07 PM   #2
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I did that with a Garmin camera. Tie wrapped the wire up underneath the trailer. Worked fine, but when I got my 2017 I wanted the display on my truck display, not the Garmin.
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Old 01-26-2020, 04:22 PM   #3
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I did a wired installation of a rear view camera on my 1991 34' Limited that displays on my integrated 8' display in my 2017 Sierra Truck. I've put together most of a thread to describe this project and I will plan post it in the next few weeks.

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Old 01-26-2020, 06:26 PM   #4
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I had the dealer install it on our 2017. Works great except it is a little awkward when going into reverse. Was told that federal law prevents it from immediately accessing camera on rear of trailer. It has cameras on both outside mirrors, rear of cab, rear of trailer and oe back up camera. There are several options of what is displayed on screen. Would be hard to do without.
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Old 01-30-2020, 10:29 AM   #5
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Trailer camera option on 2020 Chevy silverado

Will you provide details on how you wired the rear view camera on the airstream. Where did you run the wiring. inside the trailer or under the trailer. How large of a hole did you have to drill in the camper. We are picking up our pickup today and would like to get started on the wiring this next week. Thank you for your help.
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Old 01-30-2020, 10:40 AM   #6
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Don't know what you have. On my 2017 Silverado the camera is an option and it is wireless to the receiver, also an option(dealer installed) in the truck cab. I mounted the camera just below the rear marker lights, VHB tape and Sikaflex. For power, I removed the middle marker light lens and tapped in to the marker light power. That means you have to have the running lights on to power the camera.

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Old 01-30-2020, 01:11 PM   #7
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To the OP...

I know you want to hear from somebody who has performed the wiring task and I'm not that person. But I did investigate the trailer camera system for the 2020 GM pickup trucks and think the wired camera has merit. I'm sure there are good wireless cameras available but I like the idea of wired. A series of small loop-style pipe clamps would work along the underbelly. I would not route the wire inside the trailer unless necessary. I think the GM instructions indicate the wires are routed outside the trailer.

Don't overlook the tire monitor system for the trailer that can be added for just a few dollars. Seems like having the trailer TPMS as part of the infotainment would be a great feature.

When I was looking at GMC and Chevrolet models a few years ago I seem to recall GMC had a leg up on Chevrolet at the time regarding towing features such as cameras, TPMS and the like. That may have changed for 2020 but the 2019 GMC models clearly had more features/options compared to Chevrolet. I realize GMC and Chevrolet are very similar but GM seems to be making a distinction between the two brands. Be sure to double-check before you purchase.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Bryant View Post
I did a wired installation of a rear view camera on my 1991 34' Limited that displays on my integrated 8' display in my 2017 Sierra Truck. I've put together most of a thread to describe this project and I will plan post it in the next few weeks.

Steve
Steve, your install sounds very interesting and I will be waiting to see what you did. I have the slightly de-featured infotainment system compared to yours so I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish what you've done but I sure want to know more.
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Old 01-30-2020, 05:24 PM   #8
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following this one... If/when my truck returns I want to add the camera. On the GM truck forum I got some answers about a few things I was curious about. If you want to use the invisable trailer mode, your trailer from ball to camera cannot be any longer than 10 meters. 33 feet. You have to certain heights you have to place the camera to make that work as well, which ends up being about center of the Airstream. Which is lower than the one that came on my Airstream, but the image quality from what I've seen is much better than the wireless cameras. Plus you clean it up by not having the external monitor.

The 2020 GMC and 2020 Chevy systems are identical, so nothing to gain by going with one over the other. I will say that right now I think from a pure technology standpoint, GM is well ahead of the others, especially if you get the technology package and get the heads-up display.
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Old 01-31-2020, 10:30 AM   #9
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Folks, I'll try to get busy and get my new thread posted in the next few days.

Here's a brief synopsis:
I put together a working system using off the shelf components from Rear View Safety (camera, wiring and a couple of other components). The interface wiring/module for the truck is a BrandMotion unit that I bought from Crutchfield. I ran the camera wire through the left frame of the trailer.
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Old 02-01-2020, 01:41 PM   #10
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For anyone who is interested, take a look at my thread on a wired system that displays on the tow vehicle's screen.
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Old 05-31-2020, 11:21 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by wbrisett View Post
following this one... If/when my truck returns I want to add the camera. On the GM truck forum I got some answers about a few things I was curious about. If you want to use the invisable trailer mode, your trailer from ball to camera cannot be any longer than 10 meters. 33 feet.
Have you added it? I looked for GM truck forums that provided additional details on this but couldn't find anything so specific. I did read about people not leaving themselves enough slack at the hitch and pulling the cable out from its head when backing the trailer up at sharp angles. I have a 1986 32' Excella, which is really 32'9". So I'm encouraged by your figure of 33', because the GM materials I've seen merely say that the trailer can't be more than 32' long. I'm also very curious about the specifics of mounting and recommended routing.
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Old 05-31-2020, 03:03 PM   #12
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I have a 2020 GMC 3500HD and I bought the GM accessory camera that gives rear view (and the famous invisible trailer view). I routed the wire through the inside of the trailer and then wire-tied it to my 7-way umbilical.

Here is the camera mounted on the back of my trailer.


Here are the settings I used to get the invisible trailer to work.


And here is what it looks like when it's functioning.



Now for the bad news. It doesn't always work. My truck doesn't always recognize that the camera is present. GM is aware of the issue that some of us are having with the camera, but have not yet made a diagnosis or offered a fix. I have a work-around, so the camera gives me a rear view in the center stack--even when the invisible view goes wonky.

Overall, it really gives a great view when it works correctly, for both changing lanes on the freeway as well as backing into tight spots. My understanding is the camera is currently on backorder with no ETA in sight.
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Old 05-31-2020, 03:27 PM   #13
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get a garmin RV gps. its about $250 with free lifetime maps
we got it with the remote camera which we mounted above the rear window

we wire the remount camera to the RV trailer light ( that comes from the 7 pin socket to the TV).

that way when we use the GPS, we just turn on the TV lights and now see what behind us
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Old 05-31-2020, 03:34 PM   #14
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nah, I had the Garmin. Better than nothing but the resolution and latency was far worse than other options. I have the GM accessory now and it is way superior.

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Old 06-17-2020, 09:35 AM   #15
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Flying Cloud camera install

Hi Jay,

I purchased a Silverado HD with the invisible trailer function and would like to set it up on my 25' Flying Cloud. Can you describe how you accomplished the wiring for this? Did you have your Airstream dealer do it?

I'm disappointed to learn the cameras are in short supply. This seems like such a good feature.

Thanks

Don














Quote:
Originally Posted by jaybauman View Post
I have a 2020 GMC 3500HD and I bought the GM accessory camera that gives rear view (and the famous invisible trailer view). I routed the wire through the inside of the trailer and then wire-tied it to my 7-way umbilical.

Here is the camera mounted on the back of my trailer.


Here are the settings I used to get the invisible trailer to work.


And here is what it looks like when it's functioning.



Now for the bad news. It doesn't always work. My truck doesn't always recognize that the camera is present. GM is aware of the issue that some of us are having with the camera, but have not yet made a diagnosis or offered a fix. I have a work-around, so the camera gives me a rear view in the center stack--even when the invisible view goes wonky.

Overall, it really gives a great view when it works correctly, for both changing lanes on the freeway as well as backing into tight spots. My understanding is the camera is currently on backorder with no ETA in sight.
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Old 06-17-2020, 10:48 AM   #16
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get a garmin RV gps. its about $250 with free lifetime maps
we got it with the remote camera which we mounted above the rear window
I too have the Garmin RV770 with the BC-30 camera. The concept is good. Mine is mounted inside the rear window.
Now the only downside. The resolution of the BC-30 is only 295 lines. In the age of 720P as normal, it's pathetic.
For highway driving, it's fine. Yes there's a delay, as there is with every wireless digital device. But backing into a campsite, the delay is irrelevant, but the resolution is annoying. "Is that a shadow or a bush?"
Where it shines is backing up in a gas station or parking lot.
Now Garmin came out with a BC-35 but instead of fixing the issue, they just made it WiFi instead of Bluetooth.
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Old 06-17-2020, 11:48 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deklund View Post
Hi Jay,

I purchased a Silverado HD with the invisible trailer function and would like to set it up on my 25' Flying Cloud. Can you describe how you accomplished the wiring for this? Did you have your Airstream dealer do it?

I'm disappointed to learn the cameras are in short supply. This seems like such a good feature.

Thanks

Don
Hi Don

I don't trust my local Airstream dealer to wash my trailer, let alone do any work on it. (The first and only time I took it there for service, the did not fix any of my 3 problems and they damaged my trailer in the process!) Instead, I have a local service shop handle all of my warranty and service work. These guys mounted the camera and mounted the cable for me.

I didn't want to ruin the sight lines of my trailer by having a black cable run along the trailer, so my installation is completely internal. To get the transparent trailer view, there are rather tight tolerances on where you can mount on back of the trailer. They routed the cable from back to front. The cable goes through the shell into my rear storage compartment. From there, it goes through my bathroom (under the shower) and then there is a series of cabinets (bathroom vanity, kitchen cabinets, then seating) that goes all the way to the front BR. There is a section of a few feet where the cable is exposed in the BR before it goes into the front wardrobe cabinet, but the installer placed a strip of aluminum over the cable, and it perfectly matches the wall--if you didn't know better, you would think it OEM. The cable further routes from the wardrobe locker, down to front storage, and comes out the bottom with my 7-way connector. Overall, the only cable you see is the bit on the back by the camera and the other end where it connects to my truck. The excess cable is rolled up in the front storage locker.

Before I commissioned the work, we talked quite a bit about the routing options. The original plan was to drop the belly pan and run it there, but prohibitive labor costs led us to the internal routing. The big challenge was getting though bathroom; the rest was very quick and straight-forward.

I'm sure your Airstream dealer could do something similar for you, but there are many other RV repair shops who could do the same (or better!) work for lower cost. The key is to design the strategy and discuss contingencies before committing to the work. They gave me an estimated price, but the final job ended up being a few hours shorter than they quoted me.

If I were to do it again, I would probably do the work myself. I am now aware that you can take the camera housing apart and simply unplug the cable from the camera. With this much smaller end, it would be very easy to snake the cable from front to back through all the tight spaces, reassembling the camera when finished. I think the hardest part would be penetrating the shell at the rear and dropping the belly pan at the front to bring the cable to your TV.

Sorry for the long response. PM if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Jayson
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Old 06-17-2020, 01:11 PM   #18
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Jay,

Thanks very much for the detailed response. I was afraid it was going to be a substantial undertaking and you confirmed it. I really don't want that big cable visible down the back of the trailer. My trailer layout is different as I have a 25FB (dining table at the back, bedroom at the front). There is a gas line to the water heater only a few feet from the back and I'm wondering if I can just pull enough of the belly pan to get from the license plate to that point. If so, I'm okay with running to the hitch alongside the gas line.

When the camera arrives in a couple of weeks, I'll post an update.

Thanks again,

Don
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Old 06-17-2020, 04:38 PM   #19
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Correction, meant to say furnace, not water heater...
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Old 06-17-2020, 05:02 PM   #20
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I installed an aftermarket rear view camera on my pickup tow-vehicle which mounts on the license plate frame and the monitor on the dash... but I mounted the monitor on a “RAM” brand of mount which clamps it on the rear-view-mirror “stalk” so the monitor sits just above/left of my rear view mirror.

I then mounted another identical camera on the Airstream license plate frame and ran it’s hardwire thru the trailer and out the front alongside the 7-pin trailer plug... but connected it to the truck via a 4-pin trailer plug (female) and put the (male) receptacle in my rear bumper next to the 7-pin plug. (The camera on the truck is powered by the trucks backup light circuit. The camera on the Airstream can be powered by a dedicated switch...OR... by the Airstreams backup lights...I prefered by it’s dedicated switch so I can monitor traffic behind the trailer.)

I hook up the trailer, plug in the 7-pin and the 4-pin and I have a switch (which actually operates an automotive relay) that switches the monitor between the truck’s and the Airstream’s camera.

I can see as I back up to hitch-up the trailer.
I can see if someone is tailgating the trailer... I can see as I back the trailer into a campsite. (Hint: I also added backup lights to the back of the Airstream. B/U lights are accomodated by 7-pin plugs allready... all I had to do was install the lights and run their power wire forward to the 7-pin plug. 2nd Hint: LED backup lights are not as effective IMO as incandescent because LEDs do not have sufficiently-wide-color-spectrum to illuminate dark campsites.) YMMV

Hope this helps.
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