Dashcam Recommendations

I've been in the market for a dash cam for a while and cannot make up my mind what would work best for my truck. So I'm coming here to see what anyone with a Taco recommends as I've already tried looking through all the posts and still have come to no decision or been able to find much. I was eying the Garmin Mini 2 but again not quite sure if that is what I should get. I guess a list of basics I'm looking for would be a good start.

- I don't need GPS but Wi-Fi enabled would be preferred.

-If I can avoid wires hanging everywhere with a hard wiring kit great. I just need to know what to get to make that happen.

-I don't need a screen as I'm just wanting video in the case of an accident, hence me looking at the Garmin

If there are any little extras I'm not thinking about please let me know.


TIA!

 

my friend bougtt some dongle in order to pull power from his rear view mirror. this was for his FJ. very clean install. i googled it once, and there are many many options.

 

I have a cheap Apeman dash cam (forward facing only). It was like $45 if i remember and works great. I've tested the video via the MicroSD on my computer and it looks great, high resolution. No sound. I have it plugged into a cigarette lighter but have the wiring all hidden so all you see is one wire coming up out of the center console (by the cupholders) and into the plug. Would recommend for a basic one.

 

How'd you manage to hide all the cables? I assume a lot of paneling came off to get that done, yeah?

 

Bought this one. Picture quality is pretty good. I'm happy with it
It has recorded some interesting stuff while I was driving since February. FYI the picture quality went down when I made these into gifs...



https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rexing...-cam-with-wi-fi-black/6430227.p?skuId=6430227

 

I have been using this one for a couple years now and it’s fantastic:

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/731428

You can buy an adapter on Amazon so it plugs straight into the back of your review mirror. It’s a really neat setup and it works flawlessly.

One version of the adapter:

$37 Dongar Dashcam Power Adapter (10-pin Type B). Compatible with Select Toyota, Lexus, Subaru Models. Connects to Rearview Mirror, Built-in USB Power Source, Easy to Install

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BH4G1NW

 

Will the adapter work on a 2015 Tacoma ?

 

I’m not sure, you would have to read through the descriptions of the various ones on Amazon.

There are a bunch of them and the page for the one I bought isn’t “available” anymore because I bought it a few years ago.

 

No panels needed to be removed. I mounted the dashcam, and then ran the wiring along the headliner and front windshield plastic piece just by pushing the wire in with a plastic tool, same down the A-pillar side, just pushing it in between with a tool. Then ran it up under the glove box out of the way with some zip ties and to the center console. Coming up through the cup holders was easy just remove the cupholders and a big hole opens up where you can just run the final wiring up to the cigarette lighter. Put the cupholders back and bam, all good. I drove my 4runner to work today but i can take a pic of how it looks in my Tacoma later today.

 

That's some nice work!

 

For the install on my truck and my buddies (which I helped him with and is the same model of vehicle and camera) I ran the power wire along the headliner to the A pillar where I tucked it behind the trim along the top, into the weather strip down to the door sill, ran it under the sill, had it run under the seat and into the center console. Only trim piece that was removed was the door sill plate and that just comes up by pulling on it. I insulated the floor on my old 2nd gen while I still had it and it's much easier to remove than the F150s trim pieces...


For the rear camera I ran it along the headliner like the power wire but ran it in the weather seal to the B pillar then under the rear door weather stripping to the C pillar trim. I looped the extra and tied it up with the twistie that comes in the kit. Tucked it behind the C pillar and stuck the camera on...

 

No, I checked on this for my 2015. But you can accomplish the same by splicing into 2 wires in the overhead unit where your map lights are. There’s a write up on how to do it somewhere on here with pics on the wires you need to tie into. I think you need a voltage reducer to go from 12 to 5 volts if I remember correctly.

 

Garmin Mini 2

 

Thanks,I will look that up.

 

I have the Garmin, started with the original Mini, and just added the Dash Cam 47, moving the Mini to the back of the shell for rearward facing video. Since I have a base model, I didn’t have the fancy power in the mirror, so I used the Garmin harness for both cameras, which also gives me monitoring when parked.

 

This is the only cable you see from my installation:



The left plug (right one is a phone charger cable). Just tucks up under the cupholder, everything else is hidden.