brom Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Have splashed out on a Nextbase 212 dashcam for our car. It mounts on the windscreen, just to the left of the interior mirror, and has been hard-wired in; the camera itself just un-clips from from the mounting. All very neat, and it seems to work. However, I would like to be able to use it on a Sevel X/290 campervan, too. That has Remis blinds, so a windscreen mounting would be awkward - or you'd have to take the suction mounting off every night when you shut the Remis, which would be a bit of a pain. I wondered if anyone has mounted the dashcam on the fascia instead, well back from the windscreen, where it shouldn't interfere with the Remis blinds - or cause any illegal visual obstruction for the driver. I'm pretty sure the standard suction mount wouldn't work, as the surface isn't smooth enough. Has anyone done this - and if so, with what mount? It would need to be compatible with the Nextbase mount; I wondered whether strong double-sided tape might work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksrv6 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I fitted my Nextbase dash cam on my Rapido A Class on the horizontal trim that is back from the blinds because I had the same issue as yourself with the suction mount blocking the blinds, works great. I bought a second suction mount (because I could not find a compatible mount with screw fixing) and removed the clear sucker part by cutting it off and drilling a couple of small holes in the black part and screwed it into position. Hope that helps. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerThat Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I've used these before with pretty good success: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80mm-Dashboard-Disc-Dash-Plate-GPS-TomTom-Garmin-Mount-Holder-Suction-Cup-Car-/231951001900 It's just a plastic disc which sticks to the dash and offers a flat surface for your existing suction mount :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brom Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Excellent! Thanks, both. I'll try the cheapo sticky plate first, as I'm reluctant to drill holes in the dash, but both ways look as if they should work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 You need to be aware that some of the GPS mounting-discs marketed for sticking to a vehicle’s dashboard use a very strong adhesive, so it would be wise to ensure that you stick it in the optimum position. My experience of suction mounts is that they won’t hold reliably. For my sat-nav I’ve employed a variant of Mark’s method involving gluing (with a rubber-type adhesive) the suction-mount to the upper surface of my Ducato X/290’s lift-up ‘document holder’. This avoids drilling holes in the dashboard and (hopefully) the suction-mount can be removed if necessary. If you use a sticky disc and your dash-cam won’t stay on it reliably, you could consider gluing the dash-cam mount to the disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianj8793 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 If the dashcam sits on the dashboard instead on being fixed to the windcsceen, presumably it means its upside down , is that a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksrv6 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 My method does not fix to the dash it fits on the panel above the windscreen and hangs down, its not a problem because you can flip the picture in the settings. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Mine is on the document/map holder in the centre of the dash. Hard wired via a switch and a fuse direct to the starter battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brom Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Thanks for the further input, which is much appreciated. I have sent off for the sticky mounts, for which the blurb says it can be removed... do hope so! My understanding is that the picture on the Nextbase can be rotated - that's what they advised at Halfords, but I haven't yet worked out how to do it. And while the camera worked on its initial trial run yesterday, I did some tweaks on the Menu last night, with the inevitable result that today, the camera didn't record anything at all! Old dogs, new tricks... but I will check out the rotatability of the camera before I irrevocably commit to the sticky disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QFour Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 mikejkay - 2016-12-02 7:06 PM Mine is on the document/map holder in the centre of the dash. Hard wired via a switch and a fuse direct to the starter battery. Yes I fitted my GoPro in the same place. Works fine and you can reach the controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 brom - 2016-12-02 8:53 PM ...My understanding is that the picture on the Nextbase can be rotated - that's what they advised at Halfords, but I haven't yet worked out how to do it... The Nextbase 212 manual can be viewed here https://www.next-base.no/images/download/2016/04/NBDVR212-Instruction-Manual-English.pdf It’s apparent that the installation method assumes that the dash-cam’s mount will be stuck to the vehicle’s windscreen and that the dash-cam itself will ‘hang’ below the mount. As ianj8793 says earlier, sticking the mount to the dashboard would result in the dash-cam being upside-down. marksrv6 has stated that his Nextbase dash-cam’s picture can be ‘flipped’ (which Halfords have also advised). Although it’s evident from on-line information that some Nextbase dash-cam models do have a ‘Rotate Display’ option in their Menu settings to allow for on-dashboard mounting (example here - Page 16 para 1.15) https://www.nextbase.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/NBDVR402G-english.pdf the 212’s manual makes no mention of a display-rotation capability. (Back to Halfords I think...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksrv6 Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Maybe I should have mentioned that mine is a 402g with the facility to flip the screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 If you have a model that does not facilitate flip at the time of recording it is a simple matter to play back the recorded files in a programme like VLC Media Player. VLC has a flip function in the tools section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Useful advice, but I would not want a dash-cam displaying an inverted picture. Bad enough to have a mounting system that’s going to invert the device so that the operating buttons are upside-down without the continuous distraction of a displayed view that differs from what one is seeing through the windscreen. If Halfords has provided wrong information, it would be best to ask them to replace the ‘non rotating’ Nextbase 212 model with one that has a display-rotation capability. OK, there’ll be an extra cost, but that would be worth paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksrv6 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Derek Uzzell - 2016-12-05 11:20 AM Useful advice, but I would not want a dash-cam displaying an inverted picture. Bad enough to have a mounting system that’s going to invert the device so that the operating buttons are upside-down without the continuous distraction of a displayed view that differs from what one is seeing through the windscreen.. I don't know about others but my dash cam does not display the road ahead after a couple of minutes, but you can turn the display on permanent if you want to but i can't see the point because it only shows what you can see out of the windscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I had one that switched off the display after a couple of minutes but I sent it back. I needed to be sure that the camera was actually working. Nothing worse than needing the footage only to find that the camera hadn't been recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brom Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 Currently thinking the camera will have to go back anyway - it's not recording, though the display on the back shows it is. Assuming it was me who had b....ed up the system when playing with the menu, I switched it all back to default setting today, and still nothing recorded! Nothing is ever straightforward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksrv6 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 brom - 2016-12-05 2:35 PM Currently thinking the camera will have to go back anyway - it's not recording, though the display on the back shows it is. Assuming it was me who had b....ed up the system when playing with the menu, I switched it all back to default setting today, and still nothing recorded! Nothing is ever straightforward! I have the nextbase 402g, its a bit more expensive but worth it I think, obviously the sole reason for having it, needs it to be reliable. I have put a link to my camp site with an amazon link if you are interested http://homefieldscamping.co.uk/motorhome-kit#DC I don't know if links are allowed! if it gets removed pm me and I will send you the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Unlike many on-line forums there’s generally no objection to posting links here as long as they aren’t offensive and (for this particular forum) relate to motorhomes. For example this link http://tinyurl.com/gmglzdt may be of interest to Chausson owners living in the Manchester area and seeking specialised servicing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brom Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 Faulty Nextbase 212 returned to Halfords, replaced by 312 at minimal extra cost - this has a higher spec. and is rotatable, according to the instruction manual! So this model CAN be used as a dashboard-mounted dashcam. Alternatively, if a Dometic/Seitz pull-up pleated windscreen blind is fitted, instead of Remis, as this is guided up inboard of the interior mirror, there would be no problem with having a windscreen mount in the usual way. Sorted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I can appreciate the reasons for wishing to mount the camera on the dashboard but you may get better results if the camera is mounted higher up the windscreen. With a dash mount position the camera will be looking pretty much along a horizontal line. This makes it prone to bleaching out from on coming headlights or even low sun. You may also find it is a compromise with the angle of the camera between seeing too much bonnet and too much sky. A higher position allows the camera to be angled down hence cutting out glare and removing unwanted sky from the image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 If it has a small suction cup mounting, stick it to one side of the interior mirror. It's then high enough for a good image and allows the blinds to shut. It does not interfere with rear vision via the mirror, there is still a lot of mirror to see through, plus you have the door mirrors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 As Andrew Bromley explains in his original posting, he would like to mount a Nextbase dash-cam in a Sevel X290 motorhome fitted with Remis pleated cab blinds. Although it would be practicable to mount the dash-cam high up on the motorhome’s wiindscreen (which would be the optimum position and avoid the camera-unit being upside-down) by using the device’s suction cup, this would prevent the blinds from closing fully and, consequently, to fully close the blinds would mean first removing the dash-cam from the windscreen. I’ve attached a photo of the Remifront windscreen blind fitted to current Ducatos. This has two pleated sections that slide out from the vehicle’s A-pillars and meet centrally. The sections when extended are quite close to the windscreen’s glass and - to allow for when a rear-view mirror is fitted to the windscreen - there is a small push-back piece in the vertical end of each section that permits the mirror’s ‘arm’ to poke through. (This will be apparent from the photo.) Given how close to the glass the Remifront blinds are, mounting a dash-cam or sat-nav on the windscreen will require the device to be removed before the blinds can be closed. Detaching the rear-view mirror (my Rapido’s mirror is no longer there) would make no difference. As Andrew adds, if a motorhome has the Seitz pull-up equivalent (photo attached) to the Remifront blind, leaving a dash-cam/sat-nav permanently in place on the windscreen should be OK as the Seitz blind is well away from the windscreen glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brom Posted December 10, 2016 Author Share Posted December 10, 2016 Thanks Derek, for posting those photos to clarify things. We're getting a new van, (again!), and have now chosen to have the Dometic front blind, partly so we can fit the windscreen-mounted dashcam in the usual way. However, we've also chosen to have the Remis cab side-window blinds, rather than a full set of Dometic all round. Why? Because in our experience, the Dometic side blinds, which open backwards, fan-wise, to cover the side windows, block out the driver's sightline of the lower door mirrors, when lying flat, whereas the Remis side blinds cause us no visibility problems. It turns out we couldn't have had the Remis windscreen blinds anyway (even if we hadn't wanted a dashcam), because they're not designed to fit when there's a parcel shelf (which our particular model has). Nowt straightforward, as they say! But, hopefully, we're now sorted. By the way, the Nextbase 312 is a cracking little dashcam, if our first trials of it are anything to go by; much better than the 212. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Are you sure that the Dometic/Seitz ‘pull up’ windscreen blind will be OK? I can’t find anything on English-language websites to suggest there might be a fitting problem, but some adverts on French-language websites warn about unsuitability when there’s a "compartiment de rangement dans le toit”. http://www.campingcarsaccessoires.com/store-seitz-dometic-dometic,fr,4,1039.cfm Just an observation - I’ve seen plenty of damaged Seitz “Duette” window blinds in motorhomes and, although their double-walled construction should provide better insulation than the pleated material used by Remis, Duette does seem to lack strength. The Seitz windscreen blind covers an awful lot of area and will be vulnerable to accidental impact as a consequence. I’d also be wary of its structural stiffness when raised (ie. whether it might ’sag’ in the middle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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