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Posted

Have many of you out there used the transparent trailer camera? My AT4 came with the technology package and is set-up for it but I have seen some mixed reviews. My concern comes from the fact that, while is says it comes with the camera and 59 feet of harness, it is only compatible with trailers no more than 32 feet in length. We recently purchased a 36'11" long travel trailer and I am stumped why this wouldn't work since it has plenty on length in the harness and is a direct plug-in and not wireless. The travel trailer came set up for a separate unit that you can purchase but I didn't want to have to deal with an extra screen when I could get everything though my truck. Opinions and experiences greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Posted

I am using the camera on my AT4 - to be honest I never set it up for tranparent view - just put it in the top middle of rear of the trailer - it gives a fantastic overview of what is behind the trailer.

 

I went over the top of the trailer and down the front - I had about 8' of "excess" cable and my trailer is 24' - so maybe  the limitation is cable length versus trailer length.   regardless the camera is seemless, works really well, so I would get one, even if you don't set up in tranparent view - so nice to have everything in your Camera icon all set up to use.

 

In your case if you mounted top rear - went 37 feet from back to front, then figure 12' down the front - 4' out the tongue plus 2' of slack for hook up - you are at 57' (37+12+4+2)j - so my guess with 59' of cable that is the limitation - but maybe when you center - you can't adjust to line up with side cameras and a have a clean clear rear view where all three cameras line up.

 

Regardless I would recommend getting one and mounting on top rear of your trailer - great addtion. 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

The trailer is actually 36' 11" from hitch point to bumper and is 11' tall so by those dimensions I should have roughly 11' of extra harness cable left over. My travel trailer has a full enclosed under-belly so I planned on running it down the back and the underneath where the harness would be protected. I guess I may order this thing today.

Posted

You can get transparent to work on longer trailers.  There might be some things that aren't completely optimized.  Just type in maximum allowable length and try to calibrate.  Make sure mount camera in proper location.  On travel trailers you may need to remove propane tanks, spare tire, and/or bike racks to get it to calibrate.

 

#iworkforGM 

Posted
On 2/6/2021 at 11:36 AM, MTU Alum said:

You can get transparent to work on longer trailers.  There might be some things that aren't completely optimized.  Just type in maximum allowable length and try to calibrate.  Make sure mount camera in proper location.  On travel trailers you may need to remove propane tanks, spare tire, and/or bike racks to get it to calibrate.

 

#iworkforGM 

Thanks for the help! I went ahead and ordered it last night and fingers crossed ?it shows up later this week like it said.

  • 2 years later...
Posted

I was able to calibrate the transparent camera once I removed the spare tire from the back of the trailer.  Once I put the spare tire back on, it says it needs to be calibrated again.  How do I keep the calibration working with the spare tire mounted on the back of the trailer.

Posted

The tire is changing the camera's field of view.

 

Do you have a cover on the spare tire?  What color is it?

 

Look in the truck display with the spare mounted and see what the tire looks like compared to the ground.

 

You might be able to trick the camera into ignoring the tire if you cover it with something that looks like the ground (light grey, black, etc.).

 

Or space the camera mount out away from the rear wall of the trailer a few inches, so that the camera does not see the tire?

 

Try tipping the camera angle up a bit?

 

  • 1 year later...
Posted

I want to get this for my 2021... Does the same part work between the years 2020-2025? Or do I need the specific part number for the 2021? I noticed there are different part numbers 

 

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