Unplugging the Furrion - going to hardwire a camera - ideas on room to work?

JBoyerinAbq

Active Member
Hello again all,
After three trips with the Furrion wireless observation system, I've decided it's not going to work for me. It is off as much as it's on. I've tried everything I can think of and everything Furrion has suggested. The length of the Newport and the Chevy 3500 is just a bridge to far. I have assembled the components to hardwire a camera. I have a new rv color cam, mounts, wire, etc.

My question is this... Does anyone know how much room there is to fish cable on the rear cap? I'm going to do as Jim talked about before and wire the camera in the same place the Furrion is now. I need to run the cable from the center clearance lights over to the far right clearance light then down the side. Is there enough room to drop some weights on a fishing line and pull cable through or is it all packed up with insulation?

As always - thanks for your input and safe travels.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
JBoyerinAbq,

Can you tell me the specific model number for the Furrion that is not working for you? I see on their website there are two versions.


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JBoyerinAbq

Active Member
The model I have is the FOS48 - their high-speed observation camera system - NOT the back up camera system. The installed system is just on the fringe of working - fairly well. Unfortunately, the video drops about 50% of the time. When there is a signal, it is usually only one bar - sometimes two. While parked, if I step outside my truck with the monitor, the signal jumps to four bars. Just too much interference between the 43 foot of Newport and 20 foot of truck.

Jeff
 

Mburtsvt

Well-known member
Being the devils advocate that I seem to be sometimes I need some clarity here. I too have the Furron FOS48. I[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]’m not a fan of Furrion since the early days. I seem to have had the worst luck with several of their product, (OK to be fair - 5 of them - that would be 5 out of 7 - so yes I’m not a fan). I’m not having any problem with the camera. I need to rewire it. It’s wired hot all the time, (blue pilot light is always on), but thats another project. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]I don’t turn on the monitor when driving. I don’t know what I’m looking for behind me when I’m going forward. The only time I use it is when I’m backing up into a spot. So far its been working perfectly for that.[/FONT]
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Thanks for the specific info, we have a similar length rig and truck.

Just curious, do you have a TPMS system, or smart phones? Wondering if interference from other wireless devices are causing the problem.


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beasleyrl

Well-known member
I had the same problem with the first one I installed (purchase in the December timeframe via Amazon). After I made my first trip with the camera installed in February, I contacted Furrion support and they immediately said the length should not be an issue so it must be a defective system. Without asking for a credit card, they asked for my address and sent me a new one with a prepaid return label to send the other one back. I installed it and on my next same exact trip where I experienced the on/off issue like you mentioned, the new one went out once for about 3 seconds over the entire 800+ mile trip. I will take that any day for the ease of use of wireless. I'd highly recommend you reach out to them before you give up. The email address I found for them is: support@furrion.com. I tend to be pretty picky about my electronics and I am now very pleased with the replacement (not to mention the customer service).

One thing that I do notice that is strange that doesn't seem to impact the performance is that when the truck is idling, I seem to have a "full" signal. When driving down the highway, that typically drops to 2 bars. Again, no impact on video but it does seem to be noticeable on the signal meter. One more thing on the install. After I installed the second camera, I realized that you really have to push the power connector into the camera hard until it clicks. Looking back on it, I'm not sure I did that on the first install... That on/off may simply have been the lose power connection on the camera.

BTW - it started raining the day I installed the replacement camera so I decided to not take the rig out of storage to test it that day. Instead, I drove around the storage lot. The solid signal distance in the lot even between storage buildings was over 300 feet with buildings in between my rig and the truck. I was actually pretty impressed by that.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Roger
 

JBoyerinAbq

Active Member
Roger,

I've been in contact with Furrion and was never offered a new unit to try. They had me testing voltage at the connection, angle of the antenna, testing with clearance lights on and off. I felt like they were trying to address the issue but for me, nothing worked. The camera icon for lost signal is on the screen as much as a picture - then the picture is pixelated and jerky when it does show.

Based on your input however, I did write Furrion and asked about a replacement unit. We will see. In the meantime, I'm finishing getting all the parts together to install a hardwired unit. I have helped install cameras in several Class C's and a couple older Class A's where the end caps were pretty hollow and fishing cable was pretty simple. I'm trying to find out now if the Landmark rear cap will be as easy for if it's stuffed with insulation. That would be a deal-breaker..

Thanks for your suggestion,

Jeff<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>

- - - Updated - - -

TravelTiger,

I do have a cell phone, and we do have an aftermarket TPMS. Based on the specific rf waveforms, I don't see that interference should be an issue but RF can be a bear sometimes.

I researched the heck out of the Furrion camera and I found two specific groups. Loved it or hated it. Those that hated it had the very issue I describe. Beasleyrl responded and said he was able to get Furrion to ship a new unit and his performance has been very satisfactory. Makes me wonder if there was a firmware update or component change and I just got an old unit. I'm giving Furrion a chance. I asked them in writing - we'll see what the response is.

In the meantime, I'm about completed with the parts/pieces necessary to hardwire - in fact, cut a mounting plate this morning to match the original Furrion trim plate. I'm trying to find out now if the Landmark rear cap is stuffed full of insulation or if I'll be able to drop a weight and fish the cable. I'm an hour away from the unit so I'm relying on folks who may have attempted this already.

Safe travels and thanks for your consideration of this issue.

Jeff<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>
 

NHCelt

Well-known member
Not sure if this will help, but I just removed an electrical outlet on the inside of the rear cap of my 2016 Bighorn. My rear cap seems to be full of fiberglass insulation, but I would expect that you could fish down on either side of the insulation.

Luck...Celt
 

JBoyerinAbq

Active Member
Yes, it helps verify what I believed - the rear cap if stuffed with insulation. As you said, I believe with the right tools I can still get the job done.

Thanks

jeff<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>
 
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