Furrion Backup Camera

Buying the Furrion back up camera for my travel trailer was one of the first upgrades I made when I bought my new RV. The Furrion Vision S 5- FOS05TASF gives me a great visual field and keeps its wireless connection. Both its day and night views are excellent in either condition.

Why I Bought the Furrion Vision S 5 Backup Camera

When I first bought my Ford Expedition, it came with a factory-installed backup camera. At first, I thought it was an added luxury that I didn’t need. Once I got used to it, I found it useful. It wasn’t until I almost ran over one of my dogs that I became a supporter of back up cameras.

My wife and I bought a Grand Design Imagine 3100RD. When I asked about getting a backup camera, the dealer told me that the trailer comes pre-wired. They could install one for me, but for the cost of them doing it, I could do it myself, and buy a few tanks of gas for our first vacation.

When I did my research, I found that Furrion had great reviews. I also wanted to make the project as simple as possible. Even though I trusted Grand Design, I wanted to make sure Furrion was the right choice.

There are other cameras out there. Some even come with adapters to the Furrion pre-installed bracket. After the great reviews I read, and the fact that most of the RV industry uses the Furrion pre-wire, I chose to stay with that brand.

Of the different versions, I decided on the Furrion Vision S 5 because of the screen size and the many capabilities the camera has. It has daylight and night vision. I can see the traffic behind me and to either side due to the angle of the camera.

Other cameras give you a shorter view angle, so you can’t see the full scope of what’s behind you. Other units become unreliable with longer trailers. I needed something dependable.

I also like the guidelines the camera gives, to give me perspective on where everything is in relation to where I am. Green being further away, and red being right behind me. I found out how valuable that was on our first camping trip when I had to back in.

Installing the Camera

When it comes to do-it-yourself projects, I’m decent, but not a master. My adult nephew is the handyman master, so that’s why I had my wife guilt him into coming by to help me. Putting the camera in and installing the monitor side only took a couple of hours.

When we looked through the Furrion Vision S manual, much of it we didn’t need since we were using the preinstalled bracket. The bracket also has the various wires pre-wired to the bracket as well.

If we were attaching the brackets ourselves, the instructions are easy to follow. The wiring connects to the brake and taillight wires on the coach. Through Furrion observation camera troubleshooting sites, the camera’s power comes from your taillights.

If I had one complaint, wiring the camera through my lights would be it. Although some states require running lights to be on at all times, if I forget to turn my headlights on, the camera doesn’t work. I have to remind myself to turn them on and off manually.

For the monitor, I wanted to try to use my Expedition’s factory display instead of using a separate screen. You can do this if your tow vehicle’s screen has an HDMI connection, but you may lose the use of the screen for other purposes. In the end, we stuck with using the camera’s separate monitor, treating it like a rearview mirror.

Performance and Image Quality

On our first road trip, my wife and I drove through the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky. If you’ve ever been through those mountains on I-75, you know how dark it gets at night in certain parts. The night vision black and white image was crystal clear.

I did have someone behind me for most of Tennessee. Due to the anti-glare feature, their headlights didn’t washout the entire picture. I was still able to see everything clearly.

One thing I didn’t think of until I was on the road was the vibration factor. No matter how bad the road conditions were, the vibrations didn’t change the angle of the camera. When we pulled over a couple of times, I even went back there to check it out: rock solid.

A friend of mine did tell me that they had trouble with their camera. He has a toy hauler. Based on his research, he found that the metal that reinforces the garage can interrupt the signal of the wireless system.

He ended up running a wired backup camera system instead and solved his problem. Some metal-skinned trailers have the same issue. Make sure you do your homework before you buy your camera.

It’s Worth the Purchase

When I shopped around for my camera, I looked at many different places. I started at the Furrion website first to see the difference between the camera options. Before I bought direct, I wanted to do some comparative pricing.

I looked at various big-box chain stores to see what they had once I decided on the Vision S 5. I ended up buying on Amazon since they had the best price and had exactly what I wanted.

Overall, I have to applaud the RV industry as a whole. All passenger vehicles built after 2018 are required to have backup cameras. The RV industry was proactive in adding this pre-wired feature on most of its towables. Not only is it safer, but it also makes the driving experience that much easier.

Changing lanes and backing-up have become a lot easier. Having the ability to see those blind spots behind you makes it that much better to navigate through traffic. Especially those times when you have to brake, and you have someone close behind you.

The Furrion backup cameras have three monitor sizes. 4.3, 5, and 7 inches. I chose the 5-inch because it gives me enough detail without hindering my windshield.

Product data was last updated on 2024-04-26 at 17:51.