Dash cam

[Pat-inCO]

I have had a run of near misses on the highway here of late. Fortunately, the only
one that would have involved me just didn't seem right and I paused to see what
seemed wrong. GOOD THING! Little ding-dong ran a stop sign (limit is 40 there)
and had both hands on the wheel (hands free talking?). - - - The two others at the
intersection were wide eyed as she ran the stop.

Got me thinking about an upgrade to my current dash cam. The one I have does
quite well with motion sensor (if you get hit) that captures thirty seconds before
impact to two minutes after impact (marks the space as non reusable). It also has
GPS location, current speed and time.

I'm looking at the new one because it shows front AND back.
Anyone else have experience with these?

 

[Jeepnik]

Can't help with the rear but I installed a Garmin on my Tacoma. It uses a dongle that takes power from the rear view mirror. Comes on when you start the truck and runs for however long you program the lights to stay on after you lock up. Some folks have tried using ones that run 24/7 but have problems with battery life and overheating.

 

[Mobuck]

I ran a cheap dash cam for 3 years before the battery went poop. I got 7 seconds of video of a vehicle crossing the median and going between myself in the right lane and the car in the passing lane. I've used the video dozens of times in safety training sessions. Nothing else of value.
I bought a slightly used Uniden dash cam for the New Mexico trip and found it's either defective or can't handle the glare of running on snow or with headlights on. Sending that back today and beginning new search for replacement.
As for the rear facing cam: probably of more use in urban driving scenarios.
Hey "Jeepnik" where does the "dongle" plug in?

 

[foxtrapper]

Can't help with the rear but I installed a Garmin on my Tacoma. It uses a dongle that takes power from the rear view mirror. Comes on when you start the truck and runs for however long you program the lights to stay on after you lock up. Some folks have tried using ones that run 24/7 but have problems with battery life and overheating.

Just grabbed that dongle! Lol for my Tacoma, which cam u go with?

 

[Jeepnik]

Can't help with the rear but I installed a Garmin on my Tacoma. It uses a dongle that takes power from the rear view mirror. Comes on when you start the truck and runs for however long you program the lights to stay on after you lock up. Some folks have tried using ones that run 24/7 but have problems with battery life and overheating.

Just grabbed that dongle! Lol for my Tacoma, which cam u go with?

Garmin Dash Cam Mini. The pair work well together. But so far I haven't been on any long trips to see how long it will record until the media is full.

 

[Mobuck]

I don't think my 04 Chevy has a "dongle port".
At this point in time, I'll just wait to see what comes up on ebay after X-mas when folks start selling stuff they don't like or replaced.

 

[Pat-inCO]

I'm on my second one since starting the thread.

The first one had front and rear vision, but you had to install a remote camera on
the rear of the vehicle. - - - Went back.

Tried another one and the display was so cluttered with extraneous, useless,
"information" that it went back.

WHAT ever happened to the simple date, time location and speed display (plus
the actual video)? Bunches have date and time, but unless you have GPS those
are set manually, so have zero value (I'll bet) in court.

Looks like I'm headed for the "junk" box and see if I can find my old one. SIGH!!