Wanted to give everyone a heads up. Today I just finished installing a new backup camera on my truck. It replaces the tailgate latch with a new one that has an integrated CCD camera. There are several brands out on the market, but this one just came out this month:
It's made by Rostra, and it fits 2004-2012 F-150 and Superduty (according to their site). I have a 2008 tailgate, and it was a perfect fit for mine. Got mine from a place called Brandon Distributing. Very good customer service, even followed up with me after my order was placed to let me know it was a brand new product, and that they would ship me one as soon as the got it in inventory. Don't know if posting the link to a non-sponsor like this is kosher, but what the hell:
http://shop.brandondist.com/product.sc?productId=739&categoryId=18
The reason why I'm pimping this camera is that it's at least $100 cheaper than any other brand I've found out there. I picked this one up for $220, and most others were $350+ for a CCD version (which is what my Kenwood requires). It looks to be really high quality, the picture is better than my old backup camera, and it looks OEM. So I'm happy with it.
One thing to note, I was searching the forums trying to figure out where to tap into the reverse tail lights for the camera, and no one had a consensus on where to tap into the cab. Everyone always pointed at the harness under the hood, or the wire loom at the back bumper. Yet this kit was set up for connecting somewhere in the cab. I did find a thread that pointed to the wrong wire under the steering column, and connecting my backup camera to this wire caused my truck to ding like I had the key in the ignition with the door open.
So..... passenger's side kick panel, black wire w/pink trace. Can't miss it. Tap that wire, and there's a ground right there as well. Works perfect for those looking to hook up a backup camera, and need a place to tap into the cab rather than outside. This backup camera kit has the exact perfect wiring length to tap into that kick panel, if you have an in-dash DVD system like mine. If you're using a rearview mirror display, it might fit, but I don't know for certain.
Anyway, just wanted to post this to help others. I was kinda frustrated with my online search for backup camera info, so maybe this will help future installs.
It's made by Rostra, and it fits 2004-2012 F-150 and Superduty (according to their site). I have a 2008 tailgate, and it was a perfect fit for mine. Got mine from a place called Brandon Distributing. Very good customer service, even followed up with me after my order was placed to let me know it was a brand new product, and that they would ship me one as soon as the got it in inventory. Don't know if posting the link to a non-sponsor like this is kosher, but what the hell:
http://shop.brandondist.com/product.sc?productId=739&categoryId=18
The reason why I'm pimping this camera is that it's at least $100 cheaper than any other brand I've found out there. I picked this one up for $220, and most others were $350+ for a CCD version (which is what my Kenwood requires). It looks to be really high quality, the picture is better than my old backup camera, and it looks OEM. So I'm happy with it.
One thing to note, I was searching the forums trying to figure out where to tap into the reverse tail lights for the camera, and no one had a consensus on where to tap into the cab. Everyone always pointed at the harness under the hood, or the wire loom at the back bumper. Yet this kit was set up for connecting somewhere in the cab. I did find a thread that pointed to the wrong wire under the steering column, and connecting my backup camera to this wire caused my truck to ding like I had the key in the ignition with the door open.
So..... passenger's side kick panel, black wire w/pink trace. Can't miss it. Tap that wire, and there's a ground right there as well. Works perfect for those looking to hook up a backup camera, and need a place to tap into the cab rather than outside. This backup camera kit has the exact perfect wiring length to tap into that kick panel, if you have an in-dash DVD system like mine. If you're using a rearview mirror display, it might fit, but I don't know for certain.
Anyway, just wanted to post this to help others. I was kinda frustrated with my online search for backup camera info, so maybe this will help future installs.
