best way to put a dash cam?

Have heard a lot of good things about the Viofo A129 duo
not sure which resolution is ideal



What's the best way to install on the 2nd gen? Anyone done it?
Or are other models more 2nd gen friendly?

I have full tint; hopefully the 3M sticky section holds it secure...
After light tint on the windshield it's created a slick surface that my suction cup Garmin GPS keeps falling off of. To fix that I can always get an Expedition Essentials 2TPAM
But that would not help a dash cam stay put since they get installed next to the rearview mirror

Saw this post of a 3rd gen w/ Garmin dashcam and a $30 harness that plugs into his mirror


Does this mean it would be a good idea to upgrade rearview mirror to something like this?
Currently running stock mirror with riser.

I know most other cars have a better mirror. Like electric auto-dimming and a compass built into it.
Which is great because then you can delete the breakage-prone overhead compass and install MESO button holders.


Really just looking to have something to cover my ass, in the potential situation where a car hits you, then the driver gets out and tries to say "No, you hit me!!!" and it becomes a risky your word vs. theirs situation with insurance/fault

 

@PennSilverTaco

 

May take him awhile to break through his duct taped doors to post some pics.

 

I have mine wired directly to fuse box via a fuse tap. Use a circuit that is hot when ignition switch is in on position. Tuck the wire behind the A pillar trim. Alternatively find a hot when on wire in the overhead console and a ground. You also need to know if the camera runs on 12v or uses a module to step down to 5v as many cameras do.

 

I have the A129 duo pro on my 2009. Front cam stuck on driver's side just inside the mirror, rear cam on the top driver's side of the rear window just inside of the sliding window on my access cab. Fuse taps for switched and unswitched power. I run 4K front and 1080P rear, the max settings. Cam has worked great so far. Here is my latest almost incident captured on it.

 

Here's a couple more videos from my Viofo. Watch them in order, rear first then front, keeping your eye on the blue Camaro. In the rear video note when my speed starts slowing... that is when the light turns red.

 

One more point to make... these cams get hot in operation and apparently can fail from excessive heat. Especially the front that has all the electronics. So, I plan to take care in the summer to park with the windshield facing away from the sun as much as possible. If you park towards the sun and then use a sun shield on the inside of your windshield it might cook the head unit/front cam.

 

I put the Viofo duo in the Mazda. Great camera. Bought the harness with it and tapped using an add-a-fuse. Super easy, (except for the fact that all of Mazda's switched fuses are under the hood).


I have a Rexing in the Tacoma. For all of my cars I like mounting on the pax side of the mirror. It's out of the way, but screen is still visible and accessible. Tapping into the fuse box was the easiest out of all vehicles I've done. Very easy on the Tacoma.





Again, the Viofo had a sharper picture than the Rex (and even this is a low res phone screenshot instead of the actual video). The Viofo also has better nightime/low light compensation. One of these days I'm going to swap my Rex for it.

I wish I had the setup pics of the Viofo, but the woman didn't let me drive the car today.

 

Would 55% ceramic windshield tint fix that?

come to think of it my covercraft UVS sunshade might hit a dash cam. Could just trim it

 

Blueskysea B4K mounted as close to my BirdDawg rearview mirror riser as I can put it. Looking back into the truck from outside you can barely tell it's there unless you are looking specifically for it.

I used to have that Viofo (both 119 and the 129) and they are good cameras too. Most of them nowadays you can't go wrong. Buy one that uses a capacitor inside and hardwire it for cleanest look. Dashcamtalk is a forum to look up if you really want to get nerdy on the specs.

Edit: Also search here on TW, lots of people have done this and you can take ideas from them. Here's a convenient link to click to go right to the results: https://www.tacomaworld.com/search/15304907/?q=dashcam&t=post&o=date

 

Got the Viofo A129
Initial glance in the box looks like it's gonna want me to power it from the cig lighter outlet and have a sketchy wire dangling from there all the way to the dash cam - not sure if that's how some people are running it

While that may be good for initial setup and to have it running, it might attract thieves if they see a wire and go "ooh, electronics to steal!"

Is anyone upgrading the mirror to make it compatible with wiring?
Is that even possible on an early 2nd gen?

I've heard of people retrofitting auto-dimming gentex from bobsmirrors, that has a port on the back

 

Sure, you can use the lighter plug to get up and running quickly but better to get the hard wire kit and connect the wires with fuse taps. Hide the wires under the headliner and drivers side windshield pillar cover. If you got the dual run the wire to the rear cam under the edge of the headliner. Easy peasy. As for theft, I don't worry about it. But the front cam pops off the mount and unplugs easily enough if you want to take it with you.

VIOFO 3 Wire ACC Hardwire Kit — BlackboxMyCar

 

How's that VIOFO camera working out for you the past couple years?

I've been holding off on dashcamming it up because the tech keeps getting better and better but it looks like it's now about as good as it can get given the tiny size of the lenses on these units.

EDIT: Just bought (2) x Viofo A119 V3s on Amazon, impossible to pass up at $63/ea for "Amazon Renewed," I've generally had good experience w/ used/renewed stuff on AMZN.

 

Anyone have any ideas for where to buy / how to install a weather-tight very small 1" to 1.5" diameter glass window in the vertical (side) aluminum panel of an A.R.E. contractor cap?

I want to add little camera-lens portholes so I can have additional dashcams facing sideways on the left / right side of the vehicle.

I've searched for "mini clamp ring window", "small rubber grommet window", "screw on clamp porthole" etc. but all I can find is windows in the 10"-and-larger range.

There are a lot of small round rubber grommets out there but I haven't found any that have double channels, i.e. 1 channel on the OD for mounting in the panel, and another channel on the ID for slipping in a 1" or 1.5" round piece of glass. Smallest clamp-ring windows I can find are at least 6" x 8" or so.

An example of what I don't want: