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Old 03-28-2014, 09:10 AM   #1
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Tailgate backup camera tip

For those of you that have the factory backup camera installed in your truck tailgate, thought I'd share a simple trick my father-in-law passed on.

If you loop the tailgate cable over the post, it aligns the camera perfectly with the hitch. Take a look:
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:18 AM   #2
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I'm not familiar wtih the GM camera set up. What's the normal view look like? Does this just give you a more overhead view of it? On the Ford I can see from the bumper and beyond with it closed.
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:23 AM   #3
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Good question. Here are two more shots, this time with the tailgate closed. As you can see, the camera angle with the tailgate closed doesn't show the hitch / trailer alignment nearly as well.

Looping the cable over the post solves that
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:25 AM   #4
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I have a after market one installed and have painted tongue of trailer orange. This makes it more visible, because when you back up the tongue goes into a shadow of the truck and makes it harder to see. It also helps those blind people that walk into the tongue avoid it.
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:27 AM   #5
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I did something similar. I cut up white reflective markers (the same as you find on telephone poles) and stuck them to the front of all my trailers, so I have a reflective spot to aim for. It helps, but not nearly as much as flipping the tailgate down so you have that direct overhead view.
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:34 AM   #6
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Second set of pictures looks pretty much like my camera view, so I can see the benefit of the angled tailgate. Definitely a better view. I may try it just for the heck of it to see what mine looks like with the tailgate angled.
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:51 AM   #7
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If I have helped one person, then my work here is complete lol
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:54 AM   #8
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My new 2015 2500 has camera view in the 8" display, not the mirror. Still, this might work ok. So far, I can see the hitch pretty well just in normal view, though.

One thing I learned last week while helping my son move stuff out of his house he sold........if you drop the tailgate, and then back up.......the truck gets mad as a hornet and beeps at you like crazy!! It thinks you're about to hit something. Possibly I can turn that off, but I'm only on page 5,360 of the manual and it takes an Engineering Degree to figure out all the buttons!!!! If it can't be turned off, just have to live with the beeping while backing up with tailgate down!!
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Old 03-28-2014, 10:08 AM   #9
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My ford gets mad too when you leave the tailgate down. But, throws up the warning on the dash screen with the option to turn it off real quick.
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Old 03-29-2014, 11:01 AM   #10
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Mine is an after market camera that is on the license plate so it hits the ball and tongue direct on not looking down. The paint is florescent orange so it shows up good on cam and in the dark I hate bumping my knee or shin on this and this has helped with both hook up and eliminating injuries.
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Old 04-05-2014, 10:28 AM   #11
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On our truck we can push the reset button when in reverse and it will turn off the warning sound till you switch off the engine.
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Old 04-07-2014, 11:06 AM   #12
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That's a pretty neat idea, force. I'll definitely try it out!
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Old 04-08-2014, 04:45 AM   #13
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Great tip Force! Wheb I get my new TV, that will be handy!

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using the FRF mobile app.
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Old 04-08-2014, 06:50 AM   #14
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Thanks, good tip...
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Old 04-08-2014, 07:17 AM   #15
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When we had tongue trailers, I semi-permanently mounted a convex mirror on the tongue of the trailer and painted both the hitch and the socket white. Sure made things easier to hook up even with a full tonneau cover.
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Old 04-08-2014, 07:33 AM   #16
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Great post, force !!

If I even get a truck with a tailgate mounted camera, I will give er a try !!

For now, I use the "Old Coot" method.

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The holder also acts as a flagpole mount.
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Old 04-08-2014, 08:24 AM   #17
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That's a great idea too. Although I've yet to see an OC post that wasn't.
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