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Old 03-17-2021, 01:37 PM   #1
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Question on Garmin BC-35 Installation

I have the Garmin RV 890 GPS so I want to use the Garmin BC-35 backup camera with it. I am planning on installing the camera into the Furrion mount already on my camper. I have the Tadibrothers adapter plate and power adapter. I also have a electrical adapter to connect to the bare Garmin transmitter wires so I can plug right into the Tadibrothers power adapter which then plugs into the Furrion power cord. The electrical cord from transmitter gives me 140" but the video cord from transmitter is 30" and the video cord from the camera is 61" so that gives me roughly 8-1/2' to play with. Garmin says that the transmitter must face forward for best results. Also to pay attention to mounting location as dense metal or appliances can reduce effectiveness.The BC-20 and BC-30 cameras can use an optional extension cable that is 50' long but no such extension cable exists for the BC-35 as of yet. My thoughts were to try and drill a hole behind the Furrion camera mount to run transmitter inside of camper and as far straight forward as I can. Possibly use some kind of small angle iron or L bracket attached to ceiling. My camper is a Wildwood FSX 190RT which is about 25 feet long. I also have a Chevy Silverado Crew Cab and the Garin 890 is mounted to front windshield. I haven't measured yet from hitch to windshield just yet. The Garmin Transmitter has an max effective range of 45'. By trying to mount it in center of camper and facing forward, there are no interior obstructions and it should be a clear shot to the aluminum front of the camper which should help.

Any thoughts on this or better ideas on mounting locations? What about any ideas to mount transmitter on and towards the middle of the roof?
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Old 03-17-2021, 05:13 PM   #2
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Test fit it

I'd wire it up using your mounts and temporarily put it where you want it. Just place it in the location you'd like it to be. Then power everything up and make sure you get a good picture on the monitor. Adjust from there.
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Old 03-17-2021, 05:29 PM   #3
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Ok, that's kind of what I figured too. I'm still waiting on Garmin to ship the camera so I can try out some different choices. They are awfully slow to ship...
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Old 04-18-2021, 10:02 PM   #4
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Well I finally got my Garmin BC35 camera and had time to try mounting it today. Not real thrilled with it. The wiring for power and the camera branch off the transmitter. The biggest thing I don't like is the fuse for the power wire is real close to transmitter as well as not being shrouded. The wiring is very small gauge wiring. It is shrouded before and after the fuse though. I wish they would have put the fuse further down the wiring. I ended up not using the Tadibrother adapter. Instead, I just mounted the camera directly to the Furrion cover that usually gets removed when installing a Furrion camera. In order to get power, I did completely remove the Furrion mount and was able to slowly pull the wiring out. There are 2 quick disconnects the the Furrion power adapter is attached to. I ended up leaving the Furrion power adapter and using the same quick disconnects to power the Garmin. Because I wasn't real keen on having the power wire with the exposed wiring and fuse exposed to the elements, I ended up installing the transmitter inside the trailer. I still need to put in some extra clips to attach the wiring to the ceiling so it doesn't hang down but will sort that out later. To get the wiring installed inside, I drilled a small hole in ceiling panel all the way to the rear and just off center to match where the outside bracket is mounted and then used a hanger to pull the wiring out to the furrion bracket. I have a skylight in rear of trailer and mounted the transmitter to the front of that as high as I could. I know the roof is plywood so that should help preventing the signal from getting blocked. I tested it by pairing the camera to my Garmin RV890. It seems to work but my truck is in shop right now so I wasn't able to check picture quality from dash. I was able to get a decent picture by standing probably 30 feet or so in front of trailer. I should be getting truck back this week and will be able to test it next weekend. Not entirely pleased on how it turned out but at least happy to have it mounted and wired.
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Old 06-15-2021, 07:09 PM   #5
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Hello, if you're willing, I'd like to see a photo of your outside install work. I'm attempting a similiar project with a Flagstaff Microlite and can use all of the help I can get! Thanks in advance
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Old 06-15-2021, 08:41 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by WNYScouter View Post
Hello, if you're willing, I'd like to see a photo of your outside install work. I'm attempting a similiar project with a Flagstaff Microlite and can use all of the help I can get! Thanks in advance
You will have to give me a few days. I have my camper parked at my Wisconsin place and I'm not going to be able to get back up there until maybe this weekend. But I will get a few photos and post it here.
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Old 06-15-2021, 08:44 PM   #7
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Much appreciated!
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Old 06-28-2021, 10:19 AM   #8
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Much appreciated!
Sorry for the late response. I have had quite a bit on my plate lately. Anyway, here are some photos of my install. When I did it, I had a trip coming up quickly and just wanted it to be functional and didn't care about making it look professional. When I get some more free time, I will work on that. But here is what it looks like.

The first photo is the camera mounted to the blank Furrion plate. I just used the screws supplied with the BC35 and the BC35 mounting bracket. I had to drill a hole in the plate for the wiring to run through. I also had to remove the entire Furrion camera bracket to access the wiring. There was a harness/lead that was used to provide power to the Furrion camera option. It is a short harness but I carefully pulled it out and disconnected the power wires and removed the leads. The wiring uses some quick disconnects that pop open easily. The second photo is not the same similar to the connectors.

I then drilled a 1/2 hole in ceiling all the way to rear of the camper then used a coat hanger through that new hole to reach the hole outside of where the Furrion camera bracket. I didnt open ramp door but rather estimated about where the outside bracket and hole were and got pretty close. I used the coat hanger to pull the BC35 power wires through and then using the existing quick disconnects, hooked up the BC35 power wires. The third photo shows the hole and wiring coming out in the interior.

The next 2 photos show the wiring and the wifi transmitter. I used stick on bases which let me use zip ties to hold the wiring up. If I keep this setup, I may find some white corrugated wiring loom cover and redo it to make it look neater and blend in better. I originally had transmitter mounted higher on front face of the skylight. When parked, I seemed to get pretty good connection but not always when underway. The transmitter only transmits forwards and backward so it has to be mounted vertically and facing the direction of the RV890. The directions read that it should not have metal obstructions in front or it will affect reception at receiver. I decided to try and mount it so only top part is attached to bottom of skylight and will see if this shows any improvement.

Also, I'm not real impressed with the BC35 wiring. It has plastic sheathing over most of the power wires until you get close to the transmitter. Buy then that is where the fuse is and the wiring going into and out of fuse holder is open. IMHO, the fuse holder should have been placed towards the end of the power wire. The directions called for me to place the transmitter on the roof for the least obstructed setup. But that would have left the fuse holder exposed but also difficult to get to if I ever needed to change the fuse. Also there is really nothing on roof close enough to mount the transmitter vertically. The BC30 has an extension cable so transmitter could be mounted more towards the front but this one doesn't. And the BC30 won't work for the RV890. Luckily my camper is a 25 footer so the signal will reach most of the time. A longer camper may have trouble with the tranmissions.
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Old 07-25-2021, 05:10 PM   #9
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So far, I'm not a real fan of this camera. It is convenient because I don't need another display to use it as it pairs with my RV890 GPS. But it isn't as reliable as I had hoped. I can usually get it to work just enough for backing which is what I really wanted it for. But it isn't 100%.

I think I know what the problem is. It is just a tad too far from where I use my RV890 but not really any way to correct this. The way it works is that there is a cord that extends from the wifi transmitter to the power source. For me, I am using the running lights. Then there is a separate cord from transmitter to the camera to power it and get the video feed. Garmins specs claim there is a max distance of 45 feet from transmitter but that would be in absolute perfect unobstructed condition. The transmitter also only transmits forwards and back, not omnidirectional. And the transmitter is also listed as having no waterproof capability. This limits placement. But also because of the length of the video feed cable at around 91", there would be nothing to mount the transmitter to vertically on the roof as far forward as I would need. Realistically, there really isn't anything on the rear to mount the transmitter to anyway. Additionally, the thin power wires near the transmitter are exposed and also the fuse is located very near the transmitter.

I remounted the transmitter as far forward on inside as it can go. This puts it at about 8' forward of the rear on the ceiling. This still leaves about 17' forward on camper and roughly about 15' from back of truck to the dash. So the signal has to only travel roughly 32' which falls well into the 45' capability. And where it is mounted, it is unobstructed except for the front cap of trailer which I believe may be fiberglass. The signal also has to pass through the fiberglass cap I have over my truck bed and then the rear glass on my crew cab. Based on the information provided by Garmin, I should have a solid signal an connection for video feed. But I don't. It continually cuts in and out. At least with the BC30 camera, there is a 50' video extension cable to allow transmitter to be placed pretty much as far forward as needed. The BC35 has no such option but it is desperately needed. I'm still going to keep it for now as I can usually get it working just enough to be useful and like I mentioned, I have no desire for another video device on the dash. Eventually I will pick up a tpms to monitor the trailer wheels so if I was to get a different brand camera, dash real estate will become an issue...
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