Do You Have A Dashcam Recommendation?

[RandyB]

I was recently reading a thread about the Garmin RV 890. I then went to Garmin.com to again review the spec and blah blah blah. That lead me down a dashcam rabbithole. When I emerged, I was overwhelmed with the range of pricing and specs and the acronym soup: HD, UHD, 4K and on and on. What started as being curious about the Garmin Mini due its minuscule size, HD, the ease of transferring from vehicle to vehicle has left me confused.

What do I want to do with it?
Easy transfer from vehicle to vehicle
Resolution high enough for decent screen grabs
Get some video of scenery gone by
And of course to record the numbskulls demonstrating their stupidity.
What I hope to never use it for is documenting an incident, but if necessary...

What recommendations do you have?

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

We have recently installed and are using the BlackVue DR-900S dash cam. It works quite well, but does not interface (at least to my knowledge) with the Garmin RV 890. For us, that's not an issue, but I suppose it might be for some folks.

TJ

 

[Just George]

This is the unit I have. Bought it based on positive comments from folks on that other forum. Seems to work fine although I only have reviewed the video once shortly after I installed it. I never did figure out the clock settings and if it was changing time zones automatically or not. Reminder to self, take another look and refamiliarize before we hit the road again.

 

[sheridany]

Blackvue DR900S Dashcam 4K camera

I just thought of this in the security camera discussion going on and since it's Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale weekend those interested may want to check to see if you can get a deal on this now. I learned of this Dashcam watching @turbopilot coach videos and was impressed with the quality...

rvforums.com

 

[Neal]

I was recently reading a thread about the Garmin RV 890. I then went to Garmin.com to again review the spec and blah blah blah. That lead me down a dashcam rabbithole. When I emerged, I was overwhelmed with the range of pricing and specs and the acronym soup: HD, UHD, 4K and on and on. What started as being curious about the Garmin Mini due its minuscule size, HD, the ease of transferring from vehicle to vehicle has left me confused.

What do I want to do with it?
Easy transfer from vehicle to vehicle
Resolution high enough for decent screen grabs
Get some video of scenery gone by
And of course to record the numbskulls demonstrating their stupidity.
What I hope to never use it for is documenting an incident, but if necessary...

What recommendations do you have?

I have a DR900S 1-Channel in my RV and a 2-Channel (adds rear cam) in my toad. It looks like a new model is out now DR900X

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D99FZ29/?tag=rvf01-20

This is not a trivial decision, this could be a situation you'll need for court. 4K is the only way to go...ever wonder about the crime videos we see on TV and how they are low quality and of no help to solve a crime? You want 4K so you can read a license plate. Consider the largest size SD card such as a 256 GB that I just put in both of mine.

Very easy to transfer between vehicles if you have the power adapters. It's always on and taking 1 minute videos, not all dashcams are always recording, some respond to activities to trigger recording.

 

[GeoKat]

Great advice. I went hunting for advice on rvnetwork and it didn't go nearly as well. I plan on using a dash cam. I want to get motion sensor cams for the rv when we're parked also. See what kind of wildlife is out there.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

We have been using the DR900S-1 for nearly a year and it works quite well.

We've had a bit of difficulty keeping it mounted on the windshield, however, but that was on me. I tried to use the included "sticky tape" mounting adhesive and it didn't hold. I then used some heavy-duty Velcro, but didn't remove the "sticky tape" from the mount (thinking the Velcro would stick to it). It failed again.

Now. I have removed the "sticky tape" completely from the mount and applied the Velcro directly to the bare metal mount. It now seems fine.

My recommendation is to remove the "sticky tape" right off the bat and go directly with heavy-duty Velcro or other fastening material.

TJ

 

[bpaikman]

Great advice. I went hunting for advice on rvnetwork and it didn't go nearly as well. I plan on using a dash cam. I want to get motion sensor cams for the rv when we're parked also. See what kind of wildlife is out there.

2-legged or 4-legged? ?

 

[Doberlady887]

E-gads 2 legs????

 

[JRW-NAW]

I've been satisfied with inexpensive Alfawise G70 I've had in the coach for 2 years now. Great features for the price.

Safe Travels.

 

[GeoKat]

2-legged or 4-legged? ?

Both. 4 legged is the preferred though. The 2 legged version are scary.

 

[Soniccruzer]

We have been using the DR900S-1 for nearly a year and it works quite well.

We've had a bit of difficulty keeping it mounted on the windshield, however, but that was on me. I tried to use the included "sticky tape" mounting adhesive and it didn't hold. I then used some heavy-duty Velcro, but didn't remove the "sticky tape" from the mount (thinking the Velcro would stick to it). It failed again.

Now. I have removed the "sticky tape" completely from the mount and applied the Velcro directly to the bare metal mount. It now seems fine.

My recommendation is to remove the "sticky tape" right off the bat and go directly with heavy-duty Velcro or other fastening material.

TJ

Thanks Jim, I'm having the same issue and I'll give Velcro a try. Happy Holidays

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Thanks Jim, I'm having the same issue and I'll give Velcro a try. Happy Holidays

This is what I am using, Scott.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QNMBB28/?tag=rvf01-20

@Neal recommended it and I have used it in several applications successfully.

TJ

 

[Calsun]

99% of the time it is the GPS that you will be using and that will provide value when driving your RV. I have been using the Garmin 760 for 4 years and it is designed for RV and pro trucker use and provides for routing based on the length of your RV and whether you are towing a trailer and its length. It shows current speed limit where you are driving and provides advance alerts when entering a reduced speed zone as with schools and fire stations. Easy to download and update the maps year to year.

Where I saw dash camera in widespread use was in China and with all their novice drivers who are even worse than the drivers one encounters in the USA (though not anywhere near as aggressive as American drivers who are the worst in the world in this respect). Think back over your entire life as a driver and how many times a dash camera would have been useful and whether a front view would have been enough. I had an elderly man drive into the rear of my SUV and a dash camera showing the front of SUV would have been worthless. His wife was in the car and she swore to the deputy that I had stopped suddenly and caused the accident and the deputy wrote up the report that way. Cost me $3500 to get the charges dropped by the corrupt DA in Monterey CA and I had to hire an attorney and a private investigator (who found that the deputy's report includes a good deal of information that was made up and not supported by actual witness statements).

 

[Soniccruzer]

This is what I am using, Scott.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QNMBB28/?tag=rvf01-20

@Neal recommended it and I have used it in several applications successfully.

TJ

Thanks Jim I’ll give it a try. We will in Wyoming for most of the summer so maybe we can catch you in Polson.