Anyone has any suggestion for a backup camera with dynamic parking lines? I have seen a few but would like to have an educated opinion from actual users. I have a Chevy Silverado 1500, already have the display setup on my radio and want to replace the "license-plate holder" camera I currently have.

A company called 3rd Eye makes a good one. Kinda spendy, but you can integrate up to three cameras and toggle between them.

I have the OEM one that came in my 2018 Ram truck. It is excellent, and the lines are very accurate. If you can buy an aftermarket unit as good as this OEM device, you will not be disappointed.

I also use it to hook up a trailer to the ball. The camera gets me to within 1/2" of where I want to be, which I consider excellent.

My ‘18 BMW has it and it’s really accurate. It’s got front sensors too. It saves my aging neck from craning around.

I guess mirrors are out of style...

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Originally posted by jbcummings:
I guess mirrors are out of style...

. I find the mirrors much more helpful for lining up in parking places, but the camera can be nice to see how far back you can go.

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
I guess mirrors are out of style...

Mirrors are close to being similar to slide rules when backing up. You don't use a slide rule anymore, do you?

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Originally posted by jbcummings:
I guess mirrors are out of style...

No not at all, but it's not one or the other, they complement each other nicely.

I ordered the ...not an option in the US... factory backup camera from Japan for my '17 Mazda and installed it myself. They are standard equipment now. It's great but the guide lines aren't dynamic like the OP mentions.

I've seen them in action, they're pretty darn good after you get the hang of it. Particularly if you're older and have a hard time turning your head to see where you're backing up.

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Originally posted by jbcummings:
I guess mirrors are out of style...

LOL... I can imagine when mirrors became a "thing" (1920's?) some old curmudgeon saying something like; "I guess turning around and looking is out of style"...

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
I guess mirrors are out of style...

Mirrors suck!

On many vehicles these days, they're too small to be useful while backing up. The mirrors on my 2015 F350 are fantastic for backing up, but let's face it, they wouldn't look right on a Focus. They also don't help with getting the ball under the trailer like a backup camera does.

The other issue is visibility out the rear window. The first time I drove my wife's Odyssey, I lost an entire Mazda Miata behind my. Couldn't see it at all in the mirrors while backing up. Even looking out the rear window, I had no clue other than it's horn honking that it was there. That's when it dawned on me that the Odyssey had a backup camera. It was the first vehicle we owned with one.

My dad, almost 80, used to laugh at backup cameras. Who needs one of those, right? I used to laugh, internally of course, because all of the damage to his vehicles he's done while backing up. He hasn't backed into anything in 5 years since buying vehicles with backup cameras.

Again, mirrors suck, along with crank starters, manual windshield wipers, chokes, lap belts, and carburetors

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:

I guess mirrors are out of style.

I need to install a camera on my delivery truck. The mirrors are fine for lining up, but they do not tell me when to stop. I have to take a guess at it, stop, get out of the truck, walk around to look at the clearance at the back, get into the truck, back up a little more, rinse, repeat. Royal pain in the ass, especially for an Old Guy who is mobility limited. Getting into and out of the truck multiple times is fun.

Not sure a brand to recommend but the unit in our 2015 F150 works great. It also has the side-to-side rear sensors so if a car is approaching as you are backing it will alert you as well as the objects in the way of your path.

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Originally posted by slosig:
...but the camera can be nice to see how far back you can go.

Isn't that what the slow bump is for?

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Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
...but the camera can be nice to see how far back you can go.

Isn't that what the slow bump is for?

Hah! You might be aware that I have a small mom-and-pop business, a fleet of carpet cleaning machines (competitor to Rug Doctor) that I place mostly in hardware stores for the do-it-yourself rental business.

One of my customers opened an additional store and asked me to set the new store up with rental units. I got there a few days before the store was open for business, carefully backed the truck into a parking slot, and put the very first dent into the store's overhanging roof, before the first customer had even set foot in the place.

I have the factory camera on my '14 Silverado. It's located in the tailgate handle. Maybe you could just install the handle since you have the display. I find it very effective for putting the ball right under the hitch, first try. The lines are very accurate for when I'm backing my trailer into the side yard's narrow space.