T6 (Ocean) 'A' pillar & Dash Cam hard-wiring question.

[Ocean Spirit]

Contemplating hard wiring the Kenwood DRV-410 myself.
Happy enough with the concept of the piggy back fuses (one to live & one to switched live) and happy enough with finding a ground point.
Supplied loom is clearly long enough to facilitate the routing to the fuse box. All good so far.

My mental barrier is looking at the A pillar covers which have the windscreen blinds in. I can't see how to remove or simply loosen them and therefore don't know how complicated this will become with the blind mechanism.
Anyone had a successful crack at hard wiring behind the A pillars with blinds?

 

[briwy]

If the A pillars on the T6 are the same as the T5 or similar then you don't need to remove the trim to get the wire up to the roof. Simply push into the rubber door seal.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Thanks Briwy,
I'll take a look at that in the morning. I did obviously briefly look before posting but without that train of thought in my mind. Can't imagine they'd be different though I must say it didn't leap out at me that it would lend a hand to the cable routing.

 

[Skewif]

For what it’s worth. To save all the routing down the pillar I connected my hard wired dash cam to the wiring for the camper control. There is a ground, permanent and switched supply to use. There is a post in an old tread about connecting dash cams with all the details of what wires to use.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

That would be so tidy, I assume then that it would use the fuses those connections have plus an in line one on the permanent live still?
Got any pics? or was it obvious?

 

[Skewif]

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/dash-camera-install.16017/

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Thanks @Loz
Thanks @Skewif

That is probably the cleanest tidy way but now I ponder over whether splicing into the wiring will wreck my nerves or not

 

[stephen watson]

I have the same question. Have bought a dashcam, don't really fancy wiring into camper control unit. Any advice on how easy to remove or loosen a pillar trim to hide wire gratefully received thanks. Think this will be neater then doorseal.

 

[Sandyvan]

I have the same question. Have bought a dashcam, don't really fancy wiring into camper control unit. Any advice on how easy to remove or loosen a pillar trim to hide wire gratefully received thanks. Think this will be neater then doorseal.

As said it just pushes underneath then in the door rubber, I then took mine under the glove box to the cig lighter looked neat enough. easy to remove as well.

 

[ArunAlec]

I have the same question. Have bought a dashcam, don't really fancy wiring into camper control unit. Any advice on how easy to remove or loosen a pillar trim to hide wire gratefully received thanks. Think this will be neater then doorseal.

I used a hardwire kit and ran the cable down the A pillar to the fuse panel. On the T5 the A pillar trim is easy enough to remove with a set of trim tools, after removing the grab handle. If you google it there’s a video.
If you are using the cigarette socket on the dash you can push it between the trim and windscreen but watch out the edge of the trim is sharp enough to cut the insulation if your heavy handed.

 

[Moakesy]

As mentioned above, you have to pop the cover off. It scared heck out of me first time I did it, but it does come off.

Trim removal tool is recommended, you can do it without but for the sake of a tenner off Amazon it’s better to have the proper kit.

 

[stephen watson]

Thanks for your advice all. I ended up doing a half way house. I removed the grab handle on the A pillar and then using a bike tyre leaver loosened the trim near the door seal. It was my intention to take the A pillar off but it didn't seem to want to come. I was able to push the wire under the headlining and then under the a trim on the door seal side. The only bit which isn't perfect is the route from the headliner to the a trim doorseal side - but I'm happy because I would probably have wrecked something if Id tried to force the A pillar off.