ShotgunZ71

My previous TT was 9500 lbs and I averaged 8.5 running 87 octane. If you're getting 6.5 running E85, I'd say that's pretty good. A lot has to do with terrain, speeds towing, etc. E85 is good for making power, but crap for getting good mileage. I believe @Cowpie runs E85 almost all the time on his 6.0 and could be a better source for the power/mileage of E85.

Had another trip with the 5th wheel over the Thanksgiving holiday. Somehow, I averaged 8.0 mpg on the trip home. Usually is around 7.5 so far in various types of traffic and roads.

Here's my "bests" after 4100 miles: 18.9 over 25 miles 18.0 over 50 miles 16.3 over 400 miles Overall with all driving and towing the TT, and now 5th wheel, my overall is 12.2 mpg for all the miles. My DD is a 2 mile trip to work and a 2 mile trip make home. I also one who warms up a vehicle in the colder mornings.

Has anyone linked it Bluetooth and then not allow it to send and receive messages, etc? Maybe that is an answer, but it may also not allow calls to go through, either.

Many other manufacturers are starting to do this as well, it's not just GM. I have friends with other makes they've purchased recently and their vehicle does the same in regards to texts. If it's plugged in, you can also send and reply to FB Messages, too.

Ahhh, got it. Makes sense. Learn something new (or at least try to) every day.

Indeed!

The rear trailer cam on my 5th wheel. I can select it and it will stay on as long as I want, if needed. The others have a limited time to view, but not the rear trailer camera. Not that I've experienced, anyway.

The rear trailer cam will stay on as long as you want it to, regardless of speed.

I tried this when I got home this evening and it all worked like it is supposed to. Thank you for the tips and info about the cameras. Not sure why is decided to not communicate all of a sudden, but once I followed your instructions, it worked like it should. Hopefully I remember each time and it continues to work right. Thanks!

I will try that! Thanks for the tip. Will let you know how it goes. So, basically have the truck off, then connect the 2 cables, then start the truck? May even try some contact cleaner on the connections to make sure nothing got in them.

Messed with it some this afternoon. Never got it to work on the rear trailer mode/plug, but did get it to work briefly when plugged into the interior trailer plug. While it was on, I pulled, shook, and flexed the plug and wire. The picture stayed on. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it wouldn’t come on that time. It’s almost as if it’s a power issue with the truck plugs or the ECM isn’t sending power to the camera all the time. Anyone know how the power is supplied to these trailer cameras?

Took the 5er on another trip this weekend. Rural roads, 60 miles away. Averaged 7.6 mpg on that trip. Average speed was about 60 mph, so no doubt that was the biggest factor vs running interstate speeds.

I'm going to check the back of the connection on the truck to see if something is loose. It's like it knows there is a camera there, but no picture. The one time we got a picture after we got home, I went a shook the cable, wiggled it, etc to see of that was the issue but it stayed on until we unplugged and plugged back in. Odd, for sure.

Been using my on my 5th wheel and it's been great...until today. Got home and went to use the camera to get backed up correctly and got nothing but a black screen. The infotainment lets me select it, but it shows no picture. I've changed ports to the in-trailer view and got the same result. One time we did get a picture blip, but nothing consistent. Any ideas or similar issues?

You can put them on 5th wheels, you just won't have the transparent trailer view. However, the view with the mirror cameras and rear vision camera is pretty dang good.

I wonder if anyone with a long 5er or gooseneck tried to manipulate the numbers and style of camera to get this to work, or at least semi-work? I know that any 5th wheel is ineligible to have it, so you'd have to select a type of tag-along trailer and pretty much max out the dimensions. I installed the rear trailer camera and was happy just to see behind the camper, then noticed there is a view that shows the mirror cameras and rear trailer camera on one screen. That's pretty nice, especially when backing.

Looking through some specifics in the manual, it states the trailer must be less than 32' long. If any of your information is outside the parameters, the feature will be unavailable. So, I guess one could toy with the dimensions and see if it lets you get a transparent view. Like I mentioned earlier, the 3-camera view that it does give will be fine with me. Heck, even my TT was 36', so that would be out of speck also.

I have it mounted up where the factory camera prep location was. Maybe 5-6" from the top.They recommend not running the wire underneath due to debris, snags, etc. If you have a safe pathway, it may not be an issue, however. My part number is 84580657. That is the one GM has for the 2020 HD trucks. Yes, that is the one I have. It only mentions having the camera mounted up high. They say the invisible trailer feature doesn't work well with 5th wheels due to the tailgate camera pretty much looking directly on the storage hatch. When I have mine hooked up, it had a 3-camera view on the screen. The main view was the rear trailer camera, then it had the mirror camera views on each side of that. Not exactly invisible, but it should do all I need it to do when maneuvering the camper. The true invisible camera feature works best with tow-behinds, per GM. The premise is the same using those same camera views as well as the one of the back of the cab to create the silhouette. I may change some settings to try and get the invisible camera option to calibrate and see what it might look like.

What I did is put one anchor as soon as it turns under the cap and left the rest loose so I have plenty of slack for turning. My 5er is 42', so there is a good amount of cable in the kit. I was a bit concerned about having enough, but it's good. I'll try to get a pic when I hook up next time.

Here's the front cap routing. I have left it loose underneath after fastening at corner with the slack for attachment to bumper.

This is a pic of the back routing, then it goes along the roof and comes down at front cap. I will try to post that pic as well. Looked better than below the gutter, BTW.

I will try and get some pics once I get it all completed. Thinking of running the wire right under the gutter instead of along the roof. Going to do both and see which was looks best and gives better functionality for hookup.

I have received mine and installed on my Jayco Eagle. I haven't completed the cable ties/mounting, but I have mounted the camera. I took the factory camera prep off and caulked the hole for the factory wiring and also put some on the mounting screws before I put them back in. Then, I put silicone caulk on the camper area and the mounting bracket and used the "temp" double-sided tape as a gasket also. Then I fastened the bracket to the camper with screws. The picture looks very good, and have not not yet tried to see if it will do any part of the transparent camera option since it's a 5th wheel and I ran out of daylight yesterday. I did like the view where it shows the trailer camera and both mirror cameras in the same screen shot. Very helpful when backing up the trailer. Hope to get it finished up today if the weather cooperates.

Nice results! Thanks for sharing!