One of the upgrades I wanted to do to the Dream Seeker was to install a good rear view camera. Looking round for options it seemed that you could easily spend a lot of money and end up with something that didn’t achieve what you wanted in terms of reliability and quality.
I did a little research and found that there were options from several manufacturers on Amazon that would fit the bill that seemed to match my basic requirements of being reliable, good vision day and night and durable with the option to upgrade or add to the system in the future.
I chose a wireless AMTIFO kit, 1080P 7 inch LCD display with a range quoted as up to 320 feet with a 150 degree rear camera. I’m not doing unboxing or installation, although installation was really easy and all the hardware you needed comes in the box. The system also records onto an SD card (not included) and the screen can accept up to 4 cameras.
Quick note: I bought this from Amazon, I paid just under £110 for the screen and one camera. This is not a sponsored post and the link to it is here https://amzn.to/44pOB0x if you want to see it and you can also see my review on Amazon… I’m SP
Fitting on the Dream Seeker was quite easy… except I realised just how tall it was!… and it was wired to come on when the vehicle supplied power to the trailer. This means as long as the engine is running the camera is active. I may opt to change this in the future if I add more cameras and a screen in the caravan.
I set the angle of the camera slightly different to convention. Most people set them so they can see the rear bumper, I set it so the bottom of the screen is about two feet from the bumper. My thoughts are if an object is at the bottom of the screen I’m still two feet away and that is close enough! The secondary advantage this gives me is that the top of the screen is effectively seeing further behind… about a cars length in fact. Due to the height of the camera and the angle of view on the motorway for example I can actually see both lanes either side of me and this helps when judging when to pull in after an overtake as I know if I can’t see the vehicle I have overtaken I must be at least one cars length in front of it. Mind you I don’t do much overtaking!
Mounting The Screen…
In the box comes a couple of options for mounting the screen… fixed dash mount or sucker on the windscreen mount. I sat in the truck for ages moving the screen about… then thinking of moving the Sat Nav somewhere else so I could locate the rear view screen in its place. Then I had one of those “Doh” moments…. why not put it where the rear view mirror is as the mirror is really just full of caravan nose cap when towing. I know they do make mirrors with screens in them but I looked at a couple of these at the caravan show and they seemed really small… a honking seven inch screen on you mirror is much better IMHO. I’ve also discovered that located there its still natural to glance at it as you would normally look at your mirror and its also unaffected by sunlight reflections.
I came up with a simple solution that used a tiny elasticated cord and a pad…. it kept the screen off the mirror and gave enough room to angle the two small aerials downwards behind the screen. I installed a power feed via the roof lining and can simply unplug the screen and remove to stow safely when not towing.
Mounting it on the mirror also has a secondary advantage… I can angle the mirror so that Sue in the passenger seat can also see the screen… just incase!
I had never towed with a rear view camera before and after fitting I really can’t understand why caravan manufacturers aren’t fitting these as standard.
How’s It Working Out?
Picture is clear and bright, no drop out or freezing, there are options to change screen layout, number of cameras displayed etc. etc. Even my unconventional screen mounting with the two aerials pointing down doesn’t seem to affect things. The screen recording works great…. I can see this being a great help especially if you have side cameras to compliment your dash cam system in your vehicle.
Adding To The System…
I said that you can add to the system… up to 4 cameras. Well after using it for a few weeks now I will be adding a left and right side rear facing camera so I can see down the full length of the trailer, but first I think I will be adding a rear view camera on the pickup bed to make hitching up a lot easier.
Would I recommend a rear view camera?…. most definitely. Would I recommend this rear view camera?… well based on my experiences so far, yes. For the money… £110 is not a lot to invest in something like this.
Caravan Chronicles 
An excellent presentation of this rear vision camera inovation.
I fitted a hard wired unit from outset to ensure following vehicles could be seen always.
It defies understanding why the said (Australian) authorities have yet to recognize the superior benefits of such systems over limited wing mirrors.
Only concern is that vision can be significantly impaired when raining and wet road back-wash occurs over camera lens.
I put the Amtifo unit on my caravan last year, at the time Amtifo were offering a “free gift” if you left a review, so I got a second camera.
I didn’t want to drill the caravan body so mounted the cameras on a piece of uPVC capping board and silicone this to the roof. Power lead is run down the offside rear awning channel then under the van to a vent into the front o/s bed locker and connected into the towing electrics.
This gives me a view behind when towing, so I can see the traffic approaching, then on site by changing channels, a view of the pitch .
After travelling in France and Spain we looked at rear view cameras as in those countries they like to tailgate in the slipstream of the caravan and you only know they are there if there is a shadow on the ground.
The one that I was interested in was the Falcon as the monitor clips over the rear view mirror. However besides the price which was a bit off putting, I have been reluctant to drill into the body of the caravan to wire in the camera. The other factors when considering which camera were that on the windscreen offside we have the TomTom Go camper and on the nearside we have the Tyrepal TPMS. In addition, the car has a dashcam with front and rear cameras.
However recently on the Buccaneer FB group someone had found a rear view camera that was charged by a small solar panel on the roof. It is the Auto-Vox Solar 4. No drilling was required and the price was more acceptable however I am still debating as winscreen area is getting a bit cluttered..
Hi
Great idea I have been running with a similar setup for the last seven years although my screen is one that clips onto the rear view mirror and I can only have two cameras.. I have been very satisfied with the system and find it extremely useful when overtaking especially on the continent. I also added a second camera to the rear of the car where it is very useful for reversing and for hitching up however this does require me to leave the screen attached at all times. Would really like a standard view lens (50 to 60 degrees) on the caravan camera instead of the wide angle lens as I have the system on all the time when towing and this would give a more natural view similar to the rear view mirror but have not been able to find a suitable camera. I am sure you will find the system well worth the investment and time taken to install it.
Dave