Dash cam recommendations

I did a little searching but couldn’t find exactly what I’m looking for.. here’s my must haves:

-front and rear facing cams
-plugs into my mirror (please include a link for that cord everyone talks about)
-will record even when truck is off.. maybe motion sensor to activate?

 

If you have a 2020 + Consider hooking up a recorder to your front grill and rear tailgate cams. Then you don't have a clunky cam in your windshield.

 

Why is the mirror power a deal breaker? The plug and play harness' for the mirror hookup really narrows your options. Not sure if the mirror power cable will let you use parking mode in any camera.

 

I didn't know that was even an option. I wired mine with an add a fuse. I have front camera only. It turns off with with the truck. Auckey DR02 is what I have. They do make a dual camera version as well.

 

I almost went with that Dongar USB-Mirror connection until I read the mixed reviews. Went with the Vava 2K and just hid the long wire in the headliner and A pillar. Not rear facing but has an in cabin cam so 360.

 

Here's a link for the mirror power adapter, but I don't think it'll provide power to your dashcam when the car is off...and wiring it to power both a front and rear is gonna take some wiring work. I think yours would require the 10-pin but not too sure.

https://www.dongartechnologies.com/#products

I've been using the one for the 2nd gen and it works perfectly for what it is. But i only have it hooked up to a front camera, and it shuts off with the car

 

Blackvue DR900X-2CH

 

I didn't think that would support parking mode without hardwired to always on power.

 

It has a parking mode, you need to get a battery to power it, i believe blackvue also sells a battery specifically designed for parking mode.

 

Blackvue

Pick your poison

 

There is a gigantic battery in the truck already. Blackvue makes descent cams but they are so expensive for marginally or not at all better image quality or features. $450+ for the single channel version? GTFO, I'll take a

$190 viofo A129pro VIOFO A129 pro duo 4K dual dash cam 3840 x 2160P ultra HD 4K front and 1080P rear car wifi dash camera 8MP sensor GPS, buffered parking mode, g-sensor, motion detection, WDR, loop recording

viofo A129pro 2ch for half that

 

Honestly your best fit would be a 2 channel Blackvue camera with a Cellink Neo external battery setup. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for. You'll get a front and rear camera and be able to record when the truck is parked for over 24 hours off the Cellink Neo battery, no risk of running down your truck's battery. I have this set up in my Audi and it's pretty good. I have the Cellink Neo battery hard wired via an add-a-fuse to an ignition only source so the battery charges whenever the car is running. The camera connects to the Cellink Neo and when the car is off, it keeps recording off the external battery power. There's an app for the cameras to view them remotely and an app for the battery to view charge rates and battery % remaining. You need to be close to the battery though to use the app since it runs off Bluetooth.

Not sure you'll check all your boxes with a camera that connects to the rear view mirror.

 

I have a VIOFO A129 Plus and like it so far (installed ~1 month ago). Can’t get parking mode without hardwiring though. I think that will be true for most cameras unless they have an integrated battery, but that would increase the size on your window quite a bit.

At first I was set on using the mirror harness as well but the VIOFO harness was half the price and easy to install using add a fuse on the driver side fuse panel. The VIOFO harness has a voltage cut off too to save your battery you can choose from 11.8 to 12.4

Camera:

$170 VIOFO Dual Dash Cam, 2K 1440P 60fps+1080P 30fps Front and Rear Dash Camera with Wi-Fi GPS, Parking Mode, Emergency Recording, Super Capacitor, Motion Detection (A129 Plus Duo)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DV51H2X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VSGXJNT93MA79VBEB9AT

harness:

$14 VIOFO HK3 ACC Hardwire Kit for A129, A129 Plus, A129 PRO, A129 IR, A119V3, Enables Parking Mode, Low Voltage Protection

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KZGM9LS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1872TEMC2BA0TMA2QV3B

 

I have the VIOFO A119 V3 in my Jeep and my truck. Have worked very well. Pulled video off a few times and even the night shots look good.

 

I've pulled video from my Auckey DR02 dash cam and they look good in the daytime but a little soft at night. Still it's a 1080 resolution camera and the front has a good wide angle. The single cam version is $69 and the 2 channel on is $129. You do have to use the extreme survalace SD cards. I have a samsung 128GB in mine. It didn't like a cheaper card I tried first. I think most dash cam are Picky about the memory card though.
If anyone wants to see the video i can see if I can share a day and night clip.

 

After reading this I did a search but didn't find anything about this. Can you provide any more information on this?

 

You don't need a dedicated battery to power a Blackvue with the truck off, you can use a power magic pro which is pretty cheap (there's probably cheaper generic ones out there and works on any cigarette lighter powered camera)

 

Blackvue. Lots of friends i know run that on their vehicles

 

OP for what it’s worth I installed a front facing, off the mirror cam. You could certainly get a dual camera model (unless you meant facing the rear of the vehicle and not the driver)

the donger adapter is the jam. I made a quick little install video with it if you’re interested.
https://youtu.be/NAvQUGT2DwM

I plan to add a bed facing camera (same mode) at some point, though I’ll have to use a different wire to tap

 

My girl just got it in an accident today her dash cam came perfectly in handy as the guy ran the red light. She uses cobra just like the radar detector. She’s fine