"Camera ready" statement on 2016 Cyclone ads

[PALTeam]

We ordered a new 2016 Cyclone 4100, and on the order info I was excited to see 'camera ready'. I 'assumed' there would be provisions to run a cable from back to front. Wrong. What it turned out to be was a mount on the back of the unit, up above the ramp door, for a very specific type of camera, made by Furrion (furrion.com). It does have power to it.

Sorry Furrion and Heartland, I already owned a hard wired Rear View system that I like a lot.

I have no clue how good the Furrion is, but if it's as good as it is expensive, it should be great.

 

[danemayer]

We ordered a new 2016 Cyclone 4100, and on the order info I was excited to see 'camera ready'. I 'assumed' there would be provisions to run a cable from back to front. Wrong. What it turned out to be was a mount on the back of the unit, up above the ramp door, for a very specific type of camera, made by Furrion (furrion.com). It does have power to it.

Sorry Furrion and Heartland, I already owned a hard wired Rear View system that I like a lot.

I have no clue how good the Furrion is, but if it's as good as it is expensive, it should be great.

View attachment 39735

I'm not a camera expert, but from prior posts, I think there are all kinds of wireless and wired cameras on the market. Some of the wireless varieties require repeaters when mounted on long trailers. I'm sure the wired variety all use different connectors and wiring schemes. Not surprising that the camera you have in hand requires a different setup.

Same thing with many other offerings. Washer/Dryer prep doesn't mean you can use whatever you happen to already have.

 

[PALTeam]

Sure thing, Dan. I was just pointing out that 'camera ready' really meant "Fussion camera ready".

 

[jam20ster]

This is good to know. I purchased a 2016 4200 and didn't know anything about being camera ready. Has anyone installed the furrion system? If so any reviews?

 

[beasleyrl]

This is good to know. I purchased a 2016 4200 and didn't know anything about being camera ready. Has anyone installed the furrion system? If so any reviews?

I just installed it (Furrion FOS48TAPK-BL) on my 2016 Cyclone 4250. I'm pretty disappointed right now. I used the camera on a trip a couple of weeks ago and the signal was on/off the entire trip. I tried moving the monitor around the cab of the truck and changing the antenna angle. Nothing seemed to help much. It just seemed like every time I wanted to use the video to change lanes or back up, the signal was out. Very frustrating.

Now, in fairness, the 4250 is 43' 6" long and I'm pulling with a full size Ram 3500 so we are a long way from the camera. But, at the price I paid for this thing, I would expect better. I actually sent the support people an email yesterday to see if they have any suggestions.

 

[wehavefun]

I have the FOS48TAPK on my 3760EL I am 41'6" pulling with a Dodge 3500 crew cab, no problems at all so far, I have pulled it to Florida and back and loved it. I hope Furrion takes care of you, I am sure it's not too far away at 43 ft.

 

[ColoradoCyclone]

I just installed it (Furrion FOS48TAPK-BL) on my 2016 Cyclone 4250. I'm pretty disappointed right now. I used the camera on a trip a couple of weeks ago and the signal was on/off the entire trip. I tried moving the monitor around the cab of the truck and changing the antenna angle. Nothing seemed to help much. It just seemed like every time I wanted to use the video to change lanes or back up, the signal was out. Very frustrating.

Now, in fairness, the 4250 is 43' 6" long and I'm pulling with a full size Ram 3500 so we are a long way from the camera. But, at the price I paid for this thing, I would expect better. I actually sent the support people an email yesterday to see if they have any suggestions.

I have been disappointed with the system on our 4250 as well. Mounted to the windshield I couldn't get a reliable signal. I can't mount it to the dash of my F350 because it isn't smooth. Finally hung it from my sunroof and had a little better performance.

I was looking at antennas on Amazon and considered changing to a set of antennas that the drone guys use for FPV. They fly drones at decent distances going toward and from the receiver so maybe those antennas would help.


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[ColoradoCyclone]

I was frustrated when we drove home from last weekend's camping trip with how horrible the camera stayed connected. I was ready to ditch the Furrion for another camera but decided instead to replace the antenna on the camera first. I ordered this guy for $10 from Amazon:

Alfa 9dBi WiFi Booster SMA OMNI-Directional High-Gain Screw-On Swivel Antenna
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MUU6L4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qmfIxbHR8AHNA

The antenna is 15" long. I installed it before dragging the trailer home to pack this evening and it doubled the amount of signal bars showing on the display. The entire way home I never lost signal. This $10 saved me $300. If you are experiencing signal issues you might want to try it.

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[Cane.MBA]

Thank you for posting the pics! I picked up a high gain antennae for use with my Furrion after it wouldn't make the connection from the 4250 to my Ram. I will admit I'm an IT guy, but I was debating on where to mount the antenna, the receiver, or the camera. Very happy to hear it works on the camera, as I wasn't sure how to deal with a monster antennae inside the cab of my truck! I actually even contemplated buying two high gain antennas one for each end of the signal, nice to know it isn't needed.


Thanks,

Mike

 

[acro2eaa]

Hoping somebody has already figured this out and can save me a ton of headaches.

I purchased the Furion camera to put on my 2017 Cyclone 3611 "camera ready" fifth wheel. There was no power to the mount at the rear. The dealer told me it was wired into the running lights. But it wasn't. The factory said it was wired into the running lights, but it wasn't. On this forum elsewhere I saw some people said it had its own power-- there was a separate circuit breaker (fuse) in the front electrical compartment and check there to see if it had a circuit breaker in it. I had asked the factory if that was a breaker for the camera. At first they said no. But then later they got back and said yes- It was for the camera. So I put a 10 amp breaker in it "purely guessing since the camera only draws something like 250 milli amps". The Furion literature and Heartland literature did not address the circuit breaker.

Anyway, after I put the breaker in, it worked. for about an hour. The circuit breaker (fuse) blew. And- the circuit breaker (fuse) has another wire fed into it. Same color. Purple. So i put another breaker in (fuse) and it also popped. So I asked the factory- Haven't heard back.

Anybody have any idea what the other wire runs to on that camera breaker????

Sam

 

[RoadJunkie]

What size fuse did you install? The factory advised me that on the Bighorn the power was derived from the lights and if I wanted to disconnect power I needed to pull the fuse for the lights. Handy design, huh?

I have a 2015 Ford and installed this gadget that will stay attached to the un smooth surface of the dash and works great with the Furrion camera: Magnet mount

 

[acro2eaa]

I put a 10 amp fuse in. And yes, it's not a very well thought out plan. The factory rep that I talked to was pretty convinced that having a always hot circuit for the backup camera was not the way it was supposed to be. But apparently, the way it is powered is random by the product model and day of the week. I'm hoping i will hear back from the factory before too long. I live too far from the dealer to haul it in for that, and they take a month of sundays to correct anything as it is. It would be easier to do some troubleshooting if I knew what else was on that fuse. But truthfully, I don't think Heartland really knows. I asked for a schematic of how the coach was wired but they wouldn't even respond to that request. Oh well.

What size fuse did you install? The factory advised me that on the Bighorn the power was derived from the lights and if I wanted to disconnect power I needed to pull the fuse for the lights. Handy design, huh?

I have a 2015 Ford and installed this gadget that will stay attached to the un smooth surface of the dash and works great with the Furrion camera: Magnet mount

 

[TxRoadWarrior362]

Colorado Cyclone thanks for the post. I think you helps many!

 

[freedomcycle]

Ok,I bought the Furrion system,read the label on the already installed rear mount, 5 minute plug and play installation but somebody forgot to tell Heartland that,lol. I have a 2017 Cyclone 3800 that is awesome. This turned into a 2 hour job trying to figure out why the camera wire supplied had no power. Apparently it should if the running lights are on. Pulled the wiring out from behind the mount,everything was connected fine but not to the running light right below the mount,which would be the obvious point I thought. I just wired the plug to the running light like the instructions stated and everything works fine. Im sure Heartland has a secret fix for the lack of power to the camera,but why? If its plug and play,make it that way! Camera works great btw!

 

[TxRoadWarrior362]

Ok,I bought the Furrion system,read the label on the already installed rear mount, 5 minute plug and play installation but somebody forgot to tell Heartland that,lol. I have a 2017 Cyclone 3800 that is awesome. This turned into a 2 hour job trying to figure out why the camera wire supplied had no power. Apparently it should if the running lights are on. Pulled the wiring out from behind the mount,everything was connected fine but not to the running light right below the mount,which would be the obvious point I thought. I just wired the plug to the running light like the instructions stated and everything works fine. Im sure Heartland has a secret fix for the lack of power to the camera,but why? If its plug and play,make it that way! Camera works great btw!

I did about the same thing. No power. I asked the forum after the install and was informed that all I needed to install a fuse at the fuse box. Lol

 

[pjones1969]

I did about the same thing. No power. I asked the forum after the install and was informed that all I needed to install a fuse at the fuse box. Lol

luckily I ran across a site about the fuse before I took delivery of my CY3800, installed it at the dealer during the PDI, popped in the fuse and everything worked.

heres a pic of the fuse holder I took for another forum member

 

[TxRoadWarrior362]

luckily I ran across a site about the fuse before I took delivery of my CY3800, installed it at the dealer during the PDI, popped in the fuse and everything worked.

heres a pic of the fuse holder I took for another forum member

Now you tell me!!

 

[mehall2003]

That's funny also. We have a 2017 RW427 that came prewired for the furion camera also. 5 minute install and setup. My husband likes it EXCEPT it never turns off. Power to the camera also. Calls to Heartland yielded "hmmm! We don't know". The only problem with this is that you will eventually wear the camera out faster.


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[justafordguy]

That's funny also. We have a 2017 RW427 that came prewired for the furion camera also. 5 minute install and setup. My husband likes it EXCEPT it never turns off. Power to the camera also. Calls to Heartland yielded "hmmm! We don't know". The only problem with this is that you will eventually wear the camera out faster.


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I really think they should have wired it to the running lights from the factory. This way the camera is only on when hooked to the truck and lights are on, which is when you need it on.

I wired mine to the running lights.

 

[CoveredWagon]

I really think they should have wired it to the running lights from the factory. This way the camera is only on when hooked to the truck and lights are on, which is when you need it on.

I wired mine to the running lights.

Reading this post got me thinking. I think I've seen people show pictures of a fused wire connection for ithe rear camera from the buss bar. If that's the case wouldn't a simple wireless remote 12 volt relay be a simple on / off solution. Just wondering.