Best Dash Cam For Off Roading? Need Advice!

Looking to purchase my first dash cam and am not sure what to look for. Mainly want to use it to record our off road adventures. Would like to mount it to the factory GoPro windshield mount.

Was thinking about getting a GoPro Hero 9 but think a dedicated dash cam might be better? I’ve had luck with Garmin GPS products so was considering their mini dash cam but don’t know if that would be too basic. Just looking for a front camera. Nothing in the rear.

Any recommendations and what to avoid would be appreciated.

 

I run a

$240 Blackvue DR590W 2CH 16GB Dual Full HD Wi-Fi Dashcam

BlackVue DR590W (not the latest model) and it's been super reliable on- or off-road. With a 64GB card, it can record couple of days' worth of footage. It takes 12V directly (not 5V USB) so it's easy to tap into the rear view mirror's plug with a Mirror Wire 3005202 power cord.

Various recordings on my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0c0zTivlzKxple6pjfz0qA/videos Video quality isn't as good as Blackvue's latest models.

You can download individual clips from the camera to your phone over wifi via the Blackvue app, or take out the microSD card and view the videos on a PC.

 

Dash cam and action cam (go-pro) serve different purposes. I run both. Go-Pro for fun times and dash cam all the time for insurance. Would have saved my ass 3 times over now if I had just got a dash cam.

Picture quality is vastly different between a go-pro and a dash cam in my experience.

 

So which do you think is better?

 

I'm debating pulling the trigger on the Garmin Dash cam mini. Certainly not cinema quality but not bad either imo

 

The dash cam if I had to pick one, it could save you thousands in a claim, on premiums, and in a law suit and in a pinch you might get a grainy 60fps or worse 1080p video of something cool you did I suppose but it wouldn't be great. The action cam is by far the better camera, they just make for a bad dash cam as they are higher profile more likely to be targeted for theft and use more power more expensive to replace if they break and often get really hot when loop recording and charging full time.

This is kind of an apples to oranges question.

What's better; a crop duster or a jumbo jet?

Depends on what you're doing or why you want it.

For what it's worth I have A go-pro hero 4 for fun excursions and I use an A129 Duo for my dash cam.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I get what you're saying about "Depends on what you're doing or why you want it.' For me it'd be mostly for damage claims and idiot drivers. I'm thinking dash cam over anything else, only forward facing 'cuz of the cap. Been pondering how to set one up in the cap's rear window. Could probably tap into the hitch wiring for battery power. I would want it tight to the top of the window and to the glass. I expect to film the glass in the cap so that it's mostly reflective from outside which should hide the camera quite a bit.

 

My A129 duo came with a LONG usb cable for the rear cam I could have run it out of the cabin and back into the bed under or in the load rail track and back up to the capper window if I had my cap on.

That said most sources recommend a separate cam for the back instead of a "duo" set up.

I have multiple powered accessories in the back of my truck I ran individual power wires originally but I have enough junk back there now that I have been thinking of running 2/0 wire to the back to a buss bar for shorter accessory runs and enough gauge to run my winch off the rear if I felt like it, the problem would be fusing that monstrosity.

 

Another Blackvue DR590 here, In my opinion the best part of a dash cam is forgetting it's there. It comes on and off (parking mode ftw) with the truck, loops the SD, doesn't beep or have lights, and no one needs to even know it's there. Unless something happens- and then you've got the footage.

I'd hang a gopro on the mount if I were filming a run or what have you..

 

This is the way i would go OP
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/well-that-was-an-easy-dash-cam-install.650486/

 

Given the touchy nature of Tacoma's electronics, that is a sensible approach. I'd try to find a HD circuit breaker at the battery, run at least 2/0 wire to the bed, then individually fuse accessories off the buss.

 

A winch can draw over 400 amps, so that changes the scope of the mod considerably vs. all the other accessories combined. A 500A weatherproof breaker is rather expensive, but a 500A fuse holder is only $8:

$8 Baomain ANL-500A Electrical Protection ANL Fuse 500 Amp with Fuse Holder 1 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/Baomain-ANL-500A-Electrical-Protection-Holder/dp/B072PCPN1Q/ and there are better quality ones for $30:

THOR Manufacturing THANLFB-500 500 Amp ANL Fuse with Block

https://www.amazon.com/Thor-THANLFB-500-ANL-Fuse-Block/dp/B01M2DF03H/

 

For winch circuit, how about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/500-AMP-1-...KER-HEAVY-DUTY-CAR-AUDIO-MARINE-/301968133378
https://www.newegg.com/getwiredusa/p/0H9-03Z4-000V4#
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/circuit-breaker-sizing-for-winches.200311/

I'd also include a manual switch on the winch circuit - off until needed.

 

Those Chineseium breakers typically trip at less than half their rated current, and the brand name ones (Eaton, Blue Sea) tend to be super expensive. More reliable at the low price points to have a separate fuse and switch.

 

Looks like a singe lens Blackvue DR590 could be a good choice although I’ve never heard of that brand before. It does record 60FPS whereas the Garmin Mini only does it in 30. I’m guessing that might be a noticeable difference in video quality especially when viewing on a large TV?

Thanks for all the input everyone!

 

Odd. Blackvue is usually the go-to brand for dash cams lol. The DR590 comes in 1-CH and 2-CH kits. The 2-CH kit includes a second slave camera you can attach to the rear glass. I set the camera to record in 30 FPS to reduce the file size (and get more hours of footage on the SD card).

 

Dash cams on the windows are not ideal to record your offroading adventures. Maybe it's good while you're driving and it captures beautiful scenery in the distance, but it does not help capture your truck and what it's doing while wheeling.

I have a dash cam recording at all times when driving for sole purpose of having proof to back up any claims for insurance and law enforcement.

You can get a go pro with suction mount to stick on the side of your vehicle if that's what you want. (technically can use as a dash cam too)