The Poor Man's Accessory Trailer Camera: Make Your Own

[Rally6.2RST]

For those of you with trailer camera ports on your trucks.  Those GM accessory cameras are $400.  Here is how to make poor man's accessory trailer camera.  I made mine for about $130 dollars.  Attached is a pic of my invisible trailer working.  You can customize your length of wire too unlike the gm one.

 

Parts

1. Cable Fakra A 9005 Black Female R/A - DVB-T TV Female Cable Assemblies
Item# FKR-TV-F/S-FAKRA/A-F/RA (search this item number on segemart)
Cable Type: RG316
Length: 50 (you can order what ever length you want I bought 50ft).

https://www.segemart.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=FKR-TV-F%2FS-FAKRA%2FA-F%2FRA

2. 360 type Camera- gm part number 23390514

https://www.ebay.com/itm/front-camera-blazer-silverado-sierra-2019-gm-oem-23390514-84179367-360/193620949316

3. Mount- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SZSVT71/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4. Casing- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F462RYR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

5. Adhesive tape and ties- 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YJNVRWS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

6. 3/4 inch PVC pipe

7. Epoxy Glue

8. Wire conduit

9. Electrical tape

 

Steps 

1.  Drill a hole in the mount bracket so the camera connector port with fit in a way where you can epoxy glue the camera to the mount.

2.  Epoxy glue camera to the mount bracket.

3.  Cut casing in half and drill a hole in the thick side for the camera lens to fit in.  Use another half piece as a cover for the back.  You can epoxy glue these onto the mount or use a thin long screw and nut to connect 2 casing shells.

4. Connect camera wire, cover wire with wire conduit and electrical tape and run line using adhesive tape and ties to hold up.

5.  On the truck end of the camera you will can make a plug end over to slide over top the DVB plug end with PVC pipe.  I put the DVB plug inside a PCV pipe and epoxy glued the back side in.  I dremmeled 2 slits in the PVC pipe so connector would fit in port(see pictures)

 

 

[RNAV]

Thank you for this!  Immensely helpful.  Were you able to simply plug the camera in and the trailering app recognized it?

[Gduck24]

So you have to have max trailering package right? Like the options for these cameras on your display are already set up? 

[Rally6.2RST]

On 3/13/2021 at 10:31 AM, RNAV said:

Thank you for this!  Immensely helpful.  Were you able to simply plug the camera in and the trailering app recognized it?

Yes it recognized immediately for rear trailer viewas shown in picture.  For the invisible trailer you need to drive slow in strait line for about a minute to calibrate camera as you do with $400 camera.  If you take it apart the $400 trailer cam that gm sells inside you will find camera I used.

[Rally6.2RST]

10 hours ago, Gduck24 said:

So you have to have max trailering package right? Like the options for these cameras on your display are already set up? 

Max trailering package is a different rear gear, heavy springs, a bigger diameter axle nothing with cameras.  I do not have max trailering.  I had the UVI package there is a camera in my high mount brake light for bedview and I had camera ports in my rear bumper.  I had options for hitch view, bed view, inside trailer view, behind trailer view and rear view.  I retrofitted the to UVS package which is  UVI  package plus 360 view and invisible trailer.

[Darry Pastula]

Thank you very much for replying to this post . The explanation and pictures are excellent.

[Mike S]

Rally6.2RST you seem to have a good electronics knowledge. I just bought a new 2022 GMC 3500 Denali. I already have two cameras on the back of my 5th wheel (one up at roof and one at bumper) that use a BNC cable (male at both ends). I previously had an aftermarket monitor that I hung on my rearview mirror. I know the 5th wheel is not compatible with the invisible trailer which I am fine with, just like having the cameras back there. I would prefer not to run new cables since I had to fish them through my back wall. Do you think it would work if I adapt the GM 23390514 cameras to my existing BNC cable or would there be an issue with the cables? I would need short adapter cables listed below to make it work. 

https://www.segemart.com/fakra-a/1751025116551?filter=882%2C890

https://www.segemart.com/dvb-t-tv/1751025110551?filter=167%2C14%2C170

[Mark Ulm]

Hello, I just came across your write up. Awesome job, but I'm hoping you can help. I ordered the exact same cable setup (I think) and where the plug attaches to the truck, the inner insert fits perfectly but the outer metal sleeve (with the 4 slits) is larger than the male side of the truck plug. Is yours the same way? Does that need to touch for ground wire or complete the video signal? I plugged it in and hit the inner camera button on the screen and its showing no camera attached. I have a 2020 Silverado with advanced trailering package. So it should just work

[AJS59]

Thanks for this post. Question, I have a 42' 5th wheel and 2023 Silverado 3500 on order. I understand the transparent trailer view won't work, but can you use either the rear camera view or the pic in a pic side view, correct? 

[Ezekiel2517]

This is cool!  Does the trailer view stay on while driving to act as a rear view mirror or do you have to select it in 5 second interval?

[Traction]

Saved. I'm doing this for sure!

[Nicholas Faust-Doty]

This is fantastic! Awesome write up. I will be doing this soon. One thing I would like to try is adding an analog video switcher such as this. The reason is so I could have the exterior rear trailer cam and the 2 interior, cams and switch the source accordingly for the interior cams in the single interior cam port on the bumper. Of course I would need the DVB-TV to RCA for the splitter. One reason I think this might not work is the GM cameras seem to get power and video line all on the single DVB-T to Fakra A cable. If i were to add a splitter inline it may kill the feed entirely as the power might not pass through as expected. None the less, the switcher is cheap enough and so would the adapter cables to test.

 

On another not I plan to design a 3d Printed mount for the cameras. I can provide the .stl files once I figure it all out. 

 

Again thanks for the write up.

[matt99199]

9 hours ago, Nicholas Faust-Doty said:

This is fantastic! Awesome write up. I will be doing this soon. One thing I would like to try is adding an analog video switcher such as this. The reason is so I could have the exterior rear trailer cam and the 2 interior, cams and switch the source accordingly for the interior cams in the single interior cam port on the bumper. Of course I would need the DVB-TV to RCA for the splitter. One reason I think this might not work is the GM cameras seem to get power and video line all on the single DVB-T to Fakra A cable. If i were to add a splitter inline it may kill the feed entirely as the power might not pass through as expected. None the less, the switcher is cheap enough and so would the adapter cables to test.

 

On another not I plan to design a 3d Printed mount for the cameras. I can provide the .stl files once I figure it all out. 

 

Again thanks for the write up.

 

It's not an analog signal any longer, these cameras operate on TI FPD Link III and it's a pretty sensitive protocol. Signal integrity and impedance matching is very important.

[matt99199]

On 6/12/2022 at 7:52 AM, Mike S said:

Rally6.2RST you seem to have a good electronics knowledge. I just bought a new 2022 GMC 3500 Denali. I already have two cameras on the back of my 5th wheel (one up at roof and one at bumper) that use a BNC cable (male at both ends). I previously had an aftermarket monitor that I hung on my rearview mirror. I know the 5th wheel is not compatible with the invisible trailer which I am fine with, just like having the cameras back there. I would prefer not to run new cables since I had to fish them through my back wall. Do you think it would work if I adapt the GM 23390514 cameras to my existing BNC cable or would there be an issue with the cables? I would need short adapter cables listed below to make it work. 

https://www.segemart.com/fakra-a/1751025116551?filter=882%2C890

https://www.segemart.com/dvb-t-tv/1751025110551?filter=167%2C14%2C170

It would work with a BNC cable but as I said in the post above, it's not analog 75ohm style camera system. 

It's a 50ohm impedance system so if your wire was 75ohm it will have to be re-ran.

[Nicholas Faust-Doty]

21 minutes ago, matt99199 said:

 

It's not an analog signal any longer, these cameras operate on TI FPD Link III and it's a pretty sensitive protocol. Signal integrity and impedance matching is very important.

Okay that was my other thought that it was not analog. Thanks for the information. More research will be done on the TI FPD Link III to see if something can be bought to have 2 inputs with 1 output. 

18 minutes ago, matt99199 said:

It would work with a BNC cable but as I said in the post above, it's not analog 75ohm style camera system. 

It's a 50ohm impedance system so if your wire was 75ohm it will have to be re-ran.

Luckily i have not bought or ran anything yet as i just found this thread. I will make sure to purchase 50ohm RG316 cable with proper ends. At the end of the day, if i cant have two interior cameras it is not the end of the world. I will at least have 1 interior and 1 exterior with this solution. 

 

Thanks for the additional information!

Edited November 14, 2022 by Nicholas Faust-Doty