- Sep 23, 2013
- 2,585
- 8,773
- Funster No
- 28,231
- MH
- Globecar Campscout
- Exp
- Since 2008 (started in a VW T4 campervan)
I have a 6.4m long Fiat Ducato based PVC. No internal rear view mirror. The outside mirrors give a pretty good view of the road behind, but you can't see the rear corners of the van - anything behind the rear wheels is a bit of a guessing game & as it's the Maxi body, that leaves quite a bit of guessing.
Parking at home involves a very narrow alleyway with an angled approach to the entrance and/or straight forward (!) parallel parking into a gap in a row of parked cars. If someone has parked a small hatchback badly (i.e. 6" off the curb), it completely disappears from view.
So - I need a reversing camera. But where to put the monitor?
The Fiat dashboard doesn't have a flat surface anywhere. In addition to the difficulty of mounting something on it, aesthetically it's going to look pretty terrible. I'm not sure windscreen suction mounts are suitable for anything bigger than the very small SatNav screens - not sure how long a decent size monitor would stay on. Also, I really don't want to have to dismantle everything & hide it away every time I park - I use the van more like a car, so it's not just parked for camping on site.
Where the '& the rest' of the title comes in is that I'm also considering a better SatNav. While I had my VW T4 camper, I managed pretty well with one or other of the free navigation tools on my smartphone. Google & Waze both work pretty well, but I wouldn't mind something a bit more sophisticated & with a bigger screen. Anyway, at the moment, I'm still trying to work out how & where to mount my phone - there isn't anywhere very obvious.
Finally the radio. The van has what is I imagine is a standard Fiat fitting. Basic FM with presets, a single CD slot & that's about it. To be honest, I haven't investigated it very closely because listening to the radio is pretty low on my list of priorities. But DAB would be nice - when I do have the radio on, it's often one of the digital only stations.
Two solutions spring to mind. I could fit a reversing camera monitor where the internal rear view mirror would be. That still leaves the SatNav as a separate screen. I haven't seen anyone suggest sending the SatNav output to a mirror mounted monitor.
The other option would be to replace the existing radio with one of these all-in-one integrated systems, combining camera monitor, SatNav & DAB radio all in one. Not cheap, but no more expensive than buying a quality monitor, SatNav & DAB radio separately. Not that I would bother buying a new radio at the moment if I went for separates. As an example, VanBitz do a nice Pioneer console mounted system.
So I'm keen to hear of your experiences.
1. Are the all-in-one solutions too much of a compromise, not doing any single job as well as a good quality stand alone item would?
2. Is a centre console mounted unit too far out of sight lines? Presumably no more so than a normal rear view mirror, but are those of you with centrally mounted SatNavs happy with them? The Fiat mounting point is towards the top of the console.
3. Is a twin camera set-up worthwhile, one camera showing an always-on view of the road behind, with the other one kicking in for reversing & showing the area immediatly behind the bumper?
4. Anyone got the Ventura Pro, in one of it's various guises (Caravan Club etc)? Is it much better than other systems? It is now available with built in DAB radio, doubles as a TV if you really want it to & I assume will accept reversing camera input.
It will have to be stuck on the dash somehow, so won't look as nice as something integrated into the console, but will it do a better job?
Any advice you can give or experience you can share will be gratefully received.
Parking at home involves a very narrow alleyway with an angled approach to the entrance and/or straight forward (!) parallel parking into a gap in a row of parked cars. If someone has parked a small hatchback badly (i.e. 6" off the curb), it completely disappears from view.
So - I need a reversing camera. But where to put the monitor?
The Fiat dashboard doesn't have a flat surface anywhere. In addition to the difficulty of mounting something on it, aesthetically it's going to look pretty terrible. I'm not sure windscreen suction mounts are suitable for anything bigger than the very small SatNav screens - not sure how long a decent size monitor would stay on. Also, I really don't want to have to dismantle everything & hide it away every time I park - I use the van more like a car, so it's not just parked for camping on site.
Where the '& the rest' of the title comes in is that I'm also considering a better SatNav. While I had my VW T4 camper, I managed pretty well with one or other of the free navigation tools on my smartphone. Google & Waze both work pretty well, but I wouldn't mind something a bit more sophisticated & with a bigger screen. Anyway, at the moment, I'm still trying to work out how & where to mount my phone - there isn't anywhere very obvious.
Finally the radio. The van has what is I imagine is a standard Fiat fitting. Basic FM with presets, a single CD slot & that's about it. To be honest, I haven't investigated it very closely because listening to the radio is pretty low on my list of priorities. But DAB would be nice - when I do have the radio on, it's often one of the digital only stations.
Two solutions spring to mind. I could fit a reversing camera monitor where the internal rear view mirror would be. That still leaves the SatNav as a separate screen. I haven't seen anyone suggest sending the SatNav output to a mirror mounted monitor.
The other option would be to replace the existing radio with one of these all-in-one integrated systems, combining camera monitor, SatNav & DAB radio all in one. Not cheap, but no more expensive than buying a quality monitor, SatNav & DAB radio separately. Not that I would bother buying a new radio at the moment if I went for separates. As an example, VanBitz do a nice Pioneer console mounted system.
So I'm keen to hear of your experiences.
1. Are the all-in-one solutions too much of a compromise, not doing any single job as well as a good quality stand alone item would?
2. Is a centre console mounted unit too far out of sight lines? Presumably no more so than a normal rear view mirror, but are those of you with centrally mounted SatNavs happy with them? The Fiat mounting point is towards the top of the console.
3. Is a twin camera set-up worthwhile, one camera showing an always-on view of the road behind, with the other one kicking in for reversing & showing the area immediatly behind the bumper?
4. Anyone got the Ventura Pro, in one of it's various guises (Caravan Club etc)? Is it much better than other systems? It is now available with built in DAB radio, doubles as a TV if you really want it to & I assume will accept reversing camera input.
It will have to be stuck on the dash somehow, so won't look as nice as something integrated into the console, but will it do a better job?
Any advice you can give or experience you can share will be gratefully received.