Clean back-up camera install for 1st gen Tacomas

I bought an Alpine ILX-w650 headunit from Best Buy and a $40 camera off Amazon. I also bought a Pop-N-Lock for my tail gate. I drilled a hole in the Pop-N-Lock to feed the camera wire through. Ran the wire inside the tailgate and under the truck, following the factory harness. Now, every time I put the car into reverse the camera comes on automatically. It works great, wish I did it when I first got the truck. It is great having apple car play and running the Waze app, it automatically tells you of any police sightings in your area/route.

I wired the automatic camera turn-on wire from my headunit to the reverse gear trigger switch under my seat. It’s a red/black wire in the collection of factory wires.

My headunit has an automatic lock out if the car‘s emergency brake isn’t on, meaning you’re supposed to wire the headunit to the e-brake wire or else the head unit won’t let you use most any of the features. For this reason they sell parking brake bypasses on amazon, I listed the one I used below. The bypass works great, you just wire it to the unit and the unit thinks the parking brake is on all the time

The Pop-N-Lock is cool, but not worth the $50 price tag. It’s just a piece of plastic with a lock. I had no choice as I wanted to do the cleanest install possible. I wish someone could find dimensions for it so the shell could be printed on a 3D printer. Pop-N-Lock also sells a wireless, automatic lock for keyless entry to your tailgate as an added accessory. When my camper shell is locked, it prevents the tail gate from opening anyway.

I also swapped the cigarette lighter for a USB pass-through ($10 on Amazon) so i can run apple car play on my headunit and not have a wire dangling anywhere.

Next upgrades will be to change the dashlights to blue LED, OME suspension, new rims/tires, bumper light bar, and full JL audio sound system.

Parts I used

camera

$40 NATIKA Backup/Front View Camera,IP69K Waterproof Great Night Vision HD and Super Wide Angle Metal OEM Style Reverse Rear View Backup Camera for Cars Pickup Trucks SUVs RVs Vans (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H852D49?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Pop-N-Lock

$53 POP & Lock – Manual Tailgate Lock for Toyota Tacoma, Fits 1995 to 2004 Models, Anti Theft, Truck Tailgate Lock Replacement, Easy to Install, Made in The USA (Color Black, PL5100, Standard Lock)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GVM7CM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

USB pass-thru

$9 ICESPRING USB 3.0 Male to Female AUX Flush Mount Extension Cable for Car Truck Boat Motorcycle Dashboard Panel -(3 Feet - 1 Meter)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01NAMU8KY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Alpine parking brake bypass
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07T545H2M?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title





Install and Pop-N-Lock modification info below

The camera post I did not need to modify, it was short enough to fit perfectly. I did modify the plastic on the back of the pop lock, right where you drill a hole there is a diagonal piece of plastic your drill bit will go through. I clipped that whole diagonal piece off so I could thread the nut onto the camera post. I used a grinder to cut/flatten ONE of the sides of the flanges on the nut so it will fit flush on the pop lock. The nut will stay in place, so twist the camera itself to thread it on.

Here is the back of the assembly


here is a shot of the post. Short enough, no mods required. Notice how your pop lock has a diagonal piece of plastic for reinforcement in this area. Clip it.


this is one of the most important parts. Cutting the flange nut with a grinder so it fits. Thread the camera itself, not the nut.


I took a drill bit and widened one of the indentations for the wire to pass through without being pinched


when you reinstall the assembly it might look from the outside like it’s not flush. It’s vital you get this lip piece on the backside of the factory handle over the sheet metal of the tail gate. Just push in on the handle itself and it will pop into place


this is how I ran the wire. I’m going to add a loom over it. It goes under And passes through into the taillight from underneath the truck. I zip tied all the extra wires and tucked them behind the taillight.

 

hows the view? any images?

 

Yes third picture. View is great I had the option to use the the lines from the camera or the headunit, I opted for the headunits lines.

 

ah, that image didn't looad

 

Nice install of the camera. Do you have the URL for the camera? Plan on doing the same thing.

 

This camera’s features are great. You can flip the image and shut off the built in back up assistance lines if you want

$40 NATIKA Backup/Front View Camera,IP69K Waterproof Great Night Vision HD and Super Wide Angle Metal OEM Style Reverse Rear View Backup Camera for Cars Pickup Trucks SUVs RVs Vans (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H852D49?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

Thanks for the post, @Cutter_. I have *exactly* the same project underway with the Pop 'N' Lock on my 2003 DC and the Pioneer AVIC-5201NEX head unit I put in a couple of years ago. My camera is different (only a little).

Did you have to work around anything related to the post length on the camera? As I've made dozens of measurements, it looks like the one I have will *just* clear the indentation in the tailgate and fit into the open space.

Any shots of yours from the back before you buttoned it up?

What did you do to route the camera cabling between tailgate and pickup bed? Anything special around strain relief or armoring?



PS: I've put OME kits on two Gen 1 Tacomas now. I've had OME stuff on a number of vehicles, and ARB's Gen 1 Tacoma setup is one of their best. About 2-inches of lift (or a hair under) and ride quality better than stock. I run an ARB bullbar and either an aluminum tonneau or fiberglass shell over the bed, with BFG AT KO 235/85-16.

 

The camera post I did not need to modify, it was short enough to fit perfectly. I did modify the plastic on the back of the pop lock, right where you drill a hole there is a diagonal piece of plastic your drill bit will go through. I clipped that whole diagonal piece off so I could thread the nut onto the camera post. I used a grinder to flatten ONE of the sides of the flanges so it will fit flush on the pop lock. The nut will stay in place, so twist the camera itself to thread it on.

Here is the back of the assembly


here is a shot of the post. Short enough, no mods required. Notice how your pop lock has a diagonal piece of plastic for reinforcement in this area. Clip it.


this is one of the most important parts. Cutting the flange nut with a grinder so it fits. Thread the camera itself, not the nut.


I took a drill bit and widened one of the indentations for the wire to pass through without being pinched


when you reinstall the assembly it might look from the outside like it’s not flush. It’s vital you get this lip piece on the backside of the factory handle over the sheet metal of the tail gate. Just push in on the handle itself and it will pop into place


this is how I ran the wire. I’m going to add a loom over it. It goes under And passes through into the taillight from underneath the truck. I zip tied all the extra wires and tucked them behind the taillight.

 

Looks clean

 

Great write up and detailed information on the install. Thank you for the links as well.

 

Same thing on the stock tailgate handle.

 

Nice work. I’d been thinking about getting the pop and lock system for the bed but now I’m pushed even more to try this out

 

Thanks, i went this route because I figured if I really screwed up i would be out $15 for a new tailgate handle and no one would be any the wiser. I used a 5/16 drill bit to drill out the tailgate handle from the back and open up the screw hole in the tailgate to get the camera nipple to fit. Also used a rubber grommet in the drain hole to prevent chafing and secured the connector on the camera cable to the bottom of the tailgate with a plastic cable clamp so I can disconnect it if I ever need to remove the tailgate and ran all the cabling in split wire loom. I’ll shoot you a picture of it when I get home next week. I haven’t done a lot of mods on my truck but this is my favorite.

 

Very nice! Saved for reference incase I get a camera. Getting a stereo similar to that one put in next week. Are the buttons' location on the bottom of the stereo annoying at all? There's another stereo I'm considering that has the buttons located on the bottom. My current one on order has the buttons on the left have side, vertically oriented.

 

Nice clean install

 

Touch buttons are a bit annoying when driving, it’s hard to hit what you want. I still went with this one because I feel that it looks as close to factory as possible, the other stuff with buttons and crazy colors look goofy and cheap IMO. This one also has a button you can hit to mute the whole system. There’s a guy in the thread below that added steering wheel controls, I just haven’t done it yet. Next thing I’m gonna do is adding a bass knob, once you run a system like mine you NEED IT

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...l-audio-controls-for-50.650541/#post-22609057

 

Do you think you can post pictures of how you wire the camera to the tail light wires? I’m having trouble figuring out which one is the (+) reverse wire and the ground wire for the back up camera

 

Yeah I’ll clarify tomorrow

 

Can you post picture of HU while in reverse to see the angle

 

it should be in OP