I thought I’d share my approach to getting an inexpensive 'interior' backup camera set up on my travel trailer.
This approach should work if you have a window looking out the back of your trailer and access to 120 volts A/C near that window while travelling (read.. some form of inverter).
If not, this won’t work for you.
This won’t work if you need to see way down near the bumper. I use mine mostly to see if there are vehicles behind me for passing, changing lanes, etc.
But, if you qualify and want to try this, you could try to rig up something like I have. The instructions are lengthy but once you have it all set up, to get it going while travelling is very simple.
What you need is an inexpensive indoor camera (see link below), something to attach the base to the window (I’m using the product below which seems to stick to anything and is hard to remove off the surface it’s mounted on), a very inexpensive router that you can set up as an “Access Point” (important).. not as a regular router or repeater. It also needs to be able to operate on 12v DC. I had an older Asus RT-N12 D1 router available to me which did the trick. This router will be the ‘go-between communicator’ between the camera’s signal and the display phone in your vehicle.
And finally, an old phone you no longer use into which you can install the app the camera requires to view the camera’s video.
Many of this equipment is available inexpensively. You may already have some of it at home due to upgrades. Just a form of repurposing.
Camera:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Silicone sticky material for base mount of camera:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Many comments on the camera above state that it needs internet for it to work. It seems to be true to get it started but it doesn't need the internet once it is going.
You will see what is needed to be done in the instructions below. You have to ‘fool’ the camera for it to work.
The router I had available to me works on 12 volts (It has the power line feeding power converts 120v AC to ‘something’.. if you do, see if the output of it is 12 volts.. it should show right on the converter.. if it is.. you can cut off the converter, figure out which line is positive and which is negative, plug it to your 12 volt battery and off it goes).
I’m not going to go into how to set up your router into an ‘access point’. Lots of Youtube videos on how to do that. What you want it to be able to do is to connect to your personal phone (any phone) that has a data plan and that can also be set up as a temporary hotspot. You won’t need to run this setup on a hotspot all the time. Just to get it started to display the video from the camera.
Once you have your equipment, follow the steps below.
Step 1: using a computer (or even your travel display phone), connect to and set up your travel router as an access point and have it ‘attempt’ to connect to your main phone’s hotspot (the phone that has data). Once it has done that, the router ‘believes’ it has access to the internet. I gave my travel router the name of ‘BKCAM’ and set it up with passwords (just like you would for your home wifi router).
Step 2: Using the app for the camera upon initial set up, have it always connect to the ‘BKCAM’ wifi signal which is your travel router. You may want to do that on your main phone that has data. When done, you won’t be able to view the video on your main phone unless you have it connect to the ‘BKCAM’ wifi router. Your main phone will never need to connect to the ‘BKCAM’ router, hence, the ‘temporary’ aspect of it (that is, unless your ‘travel’ phone conks out and you need a backup phone to view the video from the camera. In that case, you’ll want to make sure your phone is set up with the hotspot turned on, turn on the router and camera, wait a few minutes, then switch your phone to the wifi ‘BKCAM’ (which will turn off your hotspot anyway) and you can then use the app to view the video from the camera).
Step 3: Install the app on the phone/tablet you intend on using while driving. This phone/tablet will always need to connect to the ‘BKCAM’ router’s wifi signal not your regular home router or any other (like a campground wifi or others). This is important!!
Using the app.. see if you can connect and view the video from the camera. If so, you’re well on your way.
Step 4. Turn off the hotspot on your main phone with data and then see if the video is still running on the travel phone/tablet. If it does, you are almost finished.
Installation in the trailer
Step 1. Locate a source of 120V AC for the camera near the back window. I got lucky on that one. My travel trailer came with a built-in inverter. With some fancy rewiring, I was able to provide 120V AC to a plug that is real close to the back window. You could try to feed 12 volts to a cigarette plug near the rear window then get a portable inverter (12 volt to 120 volt).
When you have that, plug in your camera’s power plug into it. The camera now has power.
Step 2. Install your router near the front of your rv (front storage, bedroom upper cabinetry, anywhere high) and make sure it also has 12volt DC power available. Your router is now active whenever you need it.
Step 3. Now that you have the equipment installed, turn on your ‘main’ phone’s hotspot that the router uses for the internet. Make it ‘think’ the internet is available. This is only for a minute or two.
Step 4. Start up the app on your travel phone/tablet and make sure it’s WIFI is connecting to the ‘BKCAM’ router. You should now see video streaming from the back window camera.
Step 5. On your ‘main’ phone with data, turn off the hotspot. What I’ve found is that the travel camera ‘should’ still be showing the video even though the ‘BKCAM’ router lost the access to the internet. It may ‘hiccup’ here and there but mostly.. it should transmit the video all of the time. As long as your camera and travel router do not lose power along the way, you should be good to go forever. If both lose power, just restart your hotspot, let it reconnect.. check the video feed and once it’s restored, turn off your hotspot again.
You now have a backup camera that is protected from the elements and will run as long as it has a source of 12 volts for the router and 120 volts AC for the camera.
Having the router in between the camera and your display phone/tablet eliminates a lot of WIFI signal drops due to distance or interference.
What I’ve also found is that the order that you turn on the equipment makes no difference.
If you turn on your ‘hotspot’ first, the order you turn on the camera and travel router makes no difference.
Just something I thought of doing instead of relying on the expensive cameras out there where their signal may or may not always work. Reusing old equipment I already paid for (but sitting around collecting dust) appealed to me. The camera is indoor and protected from the elements (and removable for winter storage or if you sell the trailer).
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