Nextbase 222X Dashcam in a Cali

[CaliAzur]

Dear all
I wondered if anyone has any experience installing a Nextbase 222x Forward and rear dashcam in their Cali. I know the the cable is 6 metres, and given the vehicle is under 5 total, I am hoping its enough to set up the rear window cam too. Never installed one of these before, so all advice welcome.

PS, i bought the cam, so if its not adapted, I am plucked.

Thanks a lot

 

[Ozzy Pete]

We actually have 2 nextbase cams because we have a bike rack and the rear window is visually limited.

With a cam in the back you can get a perfect view of the road and vehicles behind, if it’s placed between the bike rack bars it’s perfect and it can be wired under the rubber seal and taken to the 12v socket. The rear sockets are permanently live so you are always safe.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Dear all
I wondered if anyone has any experience installing a Nextbase 222x Forward and rear dashcam in their Cali. I know the the cable is 6 metres, and given the vehicle is under 5 total, I am hoping its enough to set up the rear window cam too. Never installed one of these before, so all advice welcome.

PS, i bought the cam, so if its not adapted, I am plucked.

Thanks a lot

Hi @CaliAzur
Not got Nextbase but I’ve got Blackvue front and rear cameras and the installer (SatNav Solutions, Surbiton) needed an extender cable for the rear one. You should be able to get an extender for your Nextbase if necessary?

I assume the rear camera if mounted on the tailgate glass is not an easy install because they took best part of a day.

Something to bear in mind is if your cameras support Parking Mode you may want to also fit a cut off device such as the Power Magic Pro to avoid draining your starter battery if parked for a long period.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Hi @CaliAzur
Not got Nextbase but I’ve got Blackvue front and rear cameras and the installer (SatNav Solutions, Surbiton) needed an extender cable for the rear one. You should be able to get an extender for your Nextbase if necessary?

I assume the rear camera if mounted on the tailgate glass is not an easy install because they took best part of a day.

Something to bear in mind is if your cameras support Parking Mode you may want to also fit a cut off device such as the Power Magic Pro to avoid draining your starter battery if parked for a long period.

I always disconnect the front when at home but leave the back connected. The battery drain is minimal and still has plenty charge at the 4 week recommended time. With 2 connected maybe pushing it a bit.

 

[willwander]

Jobs for lockdown - Hardwiring a Dash Cam

With a little more enforced time on my hands, I am looking for van related jobs to keep me occupied and thinking of tidying up our dash cam by hardwiring it in rather than having an unsightly wire that has to be plugged into a 12v socket. I know there are various threads on this, but to be...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[CaliAzur]

Hi @CaliAzur
Not got Nextbase but I’ve got Blackvue front and rear cameras and the installer (SatNav Solutions, Surbiton) needed an extender cable for the rear one. You should be able to get an extender for your Nextbase if necessary?

I assume the rear camera if mounted on the tailgate glass is not an easy install because they took best part of a day.

Something to bear in mind is if your cameras support Parking Mode you may want to also fit a cut off device such as the Power Magic Pro to avoid draining your starter battery if parked for a long period.

Thanks a lot for the info, I might just go with the front one connected for this first trip, and worry about the back one after. I have received the 222x and need to read the instructions well before picking up the Cali on the 16th.

 

[CaliAzur]

I always disconnect the front when at home but leave the back connected. The battery drain is minimal and still has plenty charge at the 4 week recommended time. With 2 connected maybe pushing it a bit.

Yes hesitating on whether to leave the cameras on or off during long park ups. It won’t be in a drive way, but out on the street. The good thing is that where i live in a town with street surveillance cameras everywhere, and it will be parked pretty much right next to one. The police here do share such information with insurance companies in case of a shock or an act of vandalism. Before the cameras were installed, about 10 years ago the city went through a spate of incidents of wheels being stolen. You’d wake up to find your car on bricks. That’s all stopped with the cameras

 

[dripster]

We've got front and rear Nextbase 322. Cable for the rear cam was long enough. Very glad we had the rear cam after being rear-ended on Tuesday! We wired them to the fusebox so only on when the ignition is on, although now we have solar for the leisure battery I am wondering whether I would have been better to plus them in the dashtop 12v socket as they turn off when the stop-start kicks in!

 

[AlanC]

I have a Blackvue setup. The coax cable needed to be tucked under the roof lining edge around the top of the windscreen.
I then ran the cable over the front passenger door tucked under the rubber seal edge and inside the body strengthening void above the kitchen window towards the wardrobe. The B pillar trim needs to be loosened and getting this refitted properly with the seat belt adjuster is a fiddle but not impossibe.

Using a stiffer wire I fed this from the rear of the van over the wardrobe but still in the void. Taking the kitchen lights out helped here. I taped the stiff wire to the plug and gently pulled it back to inside the rear wardrobe cupboard.

The difficult part was running the coax plug down inside the rubber covered cables to the tailgate.
Once through, round the rear window trim to where you plan to mount the rear camera.

Sounds easy and for the most part, it is. Just the last part from the body to the tailgate through the rubber conduit is troublesome.

I failed to pull off the trim around the rear window (as I didn't want to break it) so I just tucked the cable under the edge of it. This trim does come off apparently, so you may be lucky and find a better route to the rear mounting position.

I mounted the camera at the bottom of the rear window to the right of the wiper housing (looking from the outside) to avoid the bike rack.

Alan

 

[B J G]

Not got to the point of fitting a rear camera but was considering fitting one to the rear drop storage unit instead of the tailgate for wiring in simplicity.
Could be a temp/test mounting before deciding.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Not got to the point of fitting a rear camera but was considering fitting one to the rear drop storage unit instead of the tailgate for wiring in simplicity.
Could be a temp/test mounting before deciding.

The only issue then is that you can’t use the rear window blind without obscuring the camera. Not a problem for some.