Ford Customer-Placed Trailer Camera

[BrokeDown]

Hi Chris,
I am thinking about running my camera wire through the ceiling of our 310GK by punching through the back at the top. I assume I can run inside the ceiling by pulling puck lights. Then down to basement at the electrical box area. Is this the routing you took?
Thanks in advance,
Doug

I was thinking the same thing. I asked about pulling the ACs, someone else suggested the puck lights. Great idea....

I just asked a contact at GD for a picture of a roof structure just before they put the plywood on. That might show us the best route. Hopefully, he will be able to provide one.

-B

[CoChris]

Hi Chris,
I am thinking about running my camera wire through the ceiling of our 310GK by punching through the back at the top. I assume I can run inside the ceiling by pulling puck lights. Then down to basement at the electrical box area. Is this the routing you took?
Thanks in advance,
Doug

@Husker and @BrokeDown.

A couple of notes, then the route I took. This is specifically for the Ford HARDWIRED camera. I extended the front cable from the TV to the TPMS receiver so I could mount it behind the basement false wall. This also effectively lengthen the cable from the TV to the camera. I am not sure this is needed (and is a pain as the camera wires are shielded analog wires). Measure your lengths needed before starting. Hopefully you do not need to extend your cable for a 310GK. My (stock) cable lengths were 16' from the TV plug to the mid-line camera connector and (2nd cable) 49' from the mid-line connector tot eh camera connector. The 49' was plenty to get from behind the false wall to the camera mount.

I ended up cutting two holes in the trailer interior (inside cabinets) for access and pulled a lot of surrounds and puck lights. I did not use the AC ducts. The AC ducts are fairly thin/fragile and I have heard of people poking through them trying to fish wires.

The hardest part is getting between the upper and lower cords on the roof trusses. I used a screw together (3 - 5' sections) fiberglass electrician fishing pole (from Home depot - lots of sources) and (to me the key was) I made a triangle (about 1-1/2" tall and 4" long that I attached (ty-wrap & taped) to the end of the pole. This really helped me get between the trusses. With the insulation and working somewhat blind, getting between the trusses was the hardest part. A fish tape is to flexible. You need the rigidity of a pole to poke through the insulation and control the direction you are going.

To start (from the TV I removed 3(?) screws under the nose overhang. This allows the fiberglass to "sag" and makes it easy to fish wires from near the junction box on the pin box to the front compartment of the trailer. I followed the RV 7 pin cable from TV to trailer by routing the wires from the TV 12 pin connector in the box connector to the pin box (leave slack for turning the trailer), up the pin box to the electrical junction box (just for location - I did not use the junction box for the TPMS/camera wires). Then under the fiberglass "skin" and into the front compartment. I used the factory split loom on the wire in this area for chaff protection. Once the wire is in the front compartment, I ran it along the ceiling, drilled a hole in the rear wall of the front compartment and continued along the ceiling to an area behind the rear false wall in the basement on the street (left) side. This is where I mounted the TPMS receiver (which has worked fine). I removed the split loom on the camera cable to make pulling it easier.

Note: for all of my "fishing" I used the pole to fish a strong nylon line, that I used later to pull the wire. I also cut the camera connector off (leave enough pigtail (wire) to reattach (solder) it back together on the outside of the trailer when finished. Otherwise it requires a MUCH larger hole to pull the connector through.

I routed the camera wire up the chase behind the shower. You will see a vent pipe and shower supply lines running up this chase from the basement. In the pantry, there is an access panel behind one of the shelves. It has a screw in each corner. Remove it for access. This helps you guide the fish pole/wires. This is also where you should find your black tank flush vacuum breaker and the back side of the shower valves. While there, check for any leaks. Back up in the bathroom, inside the upper cabinet behind the shower I cut an access hole in the wall. Check if you have room between the vent pipe and the wood structure at the top to fish your wire. I did not and had to drill a hole through the top plate/bottom roof cord in the ceiling. Fish your wire through. In the shower, I removed the inner surround of the skylight. This gives you access to the ceiling (roof trusses). With a hook on the pole I was able to grab the wire (this took a lot of tries and some head scratching before I got it). I pulled the wire into the shower (just for ease of handling - it will get pulled back). I then went to the kitchen and removed the surround for the kitchen fan. This gave me access to the ceiling here. I attached my triangle (find the gap between the trusses" to the pole and went at it. I used to pole to fish the wires from the shower to the kitchen fan. I pulled most of the extra wire into the kitchen, leaving a loop in the ceiling I could reach from the shower surround If I ever needed to get it. From there I removed the two puck lights in the roof (not the slide) on the street side and fished the wire trough. From the rear puck light hole I angled over to the rear, center of the trailer. I cut an access hole (the size of an electrical 2 gang box) in the ceiling inside the cabinet a few inches out from the rear wall and just tot eh right (street side) of center (by an inch or two). This was my target from the last puck light and also gave me access to the factory camera power wire (and factory hole) through the rear wall. Once my pole/pull line was to the hole I feed it through the factory hole to the outside camera mount. I removed the Furrion mount and used the Ford mounting bracket (and sealed everything up with silicon). I covered the hole in the cabinet ceiling with a low voltage (orange open back - an enclosed (blue or metal) box sticks up to high and hits the roof/trusses) electrical 2 gang ring/box (not sure the correct name). I attached a dark brown 2 gang electrical cover plate to the ring/box when finished. both parts are readily available at any big box hardware store. It is inside the cabinet and can be seen with the door open, but does not stand out to much. Rember to put all of the lights, surrounds, access panels, and your cut outs back together.

This took myself, with some key help from my dear wife, a full two days of very trying work. It is doable, but takes patience. I am very happy with the finished results.

Hope this helps. good luck and take your time.
Chris

[tamrick]

I ordered the new truck with a Customer-Placed Trailer Camera. Has anyone installed one of these on a Grand Design? I have a Momentum 351MS on order and would like to be able to use that camera for backing. I plan on getting the 7" Furrion Vision S 4-Camera System with LED Marker Lights but would like to have both.

Thanks
-B

Just read the thread. I have 2019 351M that came with the solar prep. I also use the Ford camera From the basement there is a hole that is marked for the solar wires. Straight up on the roof, there is a spot where the roof rubber covers a hole already made. This access runs between the wall of the bathroom and the walk up steps. I fished mine through there and laid it over the top all the way back. Tacked it down with self leveling sealant. I used a gray junction box on the hole to use an an access point for later stuff. From the basement, I ran it down through the floor of the side plastic tray at the basement door, forward through the propane tank compartment, up the lower front bulkhead into the area above the pin box then out the pin box. Hardest part is fishing the cable from the front compartment to the pin box hole. I think i had to order the extension cable from Nichols. I dont have the wireless camera so i removed the mount and replaced it with a mount I made using 2 pieces of aluminum angle (easy to cut). No issues at all. Hope this helps

[BrokeDown]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I suspect I will use a combination of several of them. I am leaning towards running the wire up the solar prep path and then (somehow) transitioning to the inside of the roof. I think I will keep the Furion camera mount (and use it with a Furion Camera) so I will make brackets and mount it next to it. I'm told that the next generation of the Furion camera will have more features.

I asked my contact at GD for a picture of the roof. He did not have a picture but provided a blueprint which is probably better.



-B

[Jerry Henderson]

Jeff,
Great post, I'm trying to figure out the best way to route the camera cable once I bring it forward to the pass through storage area.. is it best to run the cable over, under or through the storage area on the way to the kingpin? Looks like you ran the cable through the from storage area before feeding it up through the kingpin? Any extra pictures or advice is greatly appreciated. I have 2019 F250 with Ford Camera & TPMS just as you described, I'll be adding the NAViKs module, going in a GDS 2600RD
Thanks in Advance Jerry

[Pete K]

I recently order a 2023 F350 with the FORD Customer Placed Trailer Camera option. However upon further investigation including the expensive wiring harness accessory required I deleted the option and will go with the wireless Furion system.

[Soundsailor]

Jeff,
Great post, I'm trying to figure out the best way to route the camera cable once I bring it forward to the pass through storage area.. is it best to run the cable over, under or through the storage area on the way to the kingpin? Looks like you ran the cable through the from storage area before feeding it up through the kingpin? Any extra pictures or advice is greatly appreciated. I have 2019 F250 with Ford Camera & TPMS just as you described, I'll be adding the NAViKs module, going in a GDS 2600RD
Thanks in Advance Jerry

Hey Jerry, it looks like this is your first post, welcome to the forum. This is a year-old thread, sometimes it's better to start a new thread with your specific question.

[JeffD68]

Jeff,
Great post, I'm trying to figure out the best way to route the camera cable once I bring it forward to the pass through storage area.. is it best to run the cable over, under or through the storage area on the way to the kingpin? Looks like you ran the cable through the from storage area before feeding it up through the kingpin? Any extra pictures or advice is greatly appreciated. I have 2019 F250 with Ford Camera & TPMS just as you described, I'll be adding the NAViKs module, going in a GDS 2600RD
Thanks in Advance Jerry

Hey Jerry. I did not route the cable through the pass-through. It runs from the back of the trailer to the front storage, where the batteries are located. That is where it connects to the TPMS receiver, which I have mounted to the back wall. The 7-pin and 12-pin cables are then run under the fiberglass skin of the overhang to the open area on the back side of the king pin. I keep the cables/plugs rolled up and tucked into that void when not in use. There are a few screws holding up the fiberglass on the overhang. Those need to be backed out to create enough of a gap to pull the cables through. I used some flat bar to create the gap and wire to pull the cables. There are probably multiple ways to skin that cat. After everything was situated, I reinstalled the screws. It really was pretty easy and installation looks perfectly clean. It has now been four years and all is still well. The only thing I've had to do is replace a few of the zip-ties that attach the cable to the roof ladder. Remember, in 2019, there was no 7-pin/12-pin connection in the bed of the truck. You will need to order a mounting box and harness (I bought mine from Nichols Manufacturing) to complete the install. As Pete K stated, a very expensive endeavor (especially when including the NAViKs module), but it is perfectly integrated, which is priceless to me.