How to Install into a Pickup Truck

If you’re installing a one-channel dash cam in your pickup truck, then it’s as easy as a standard install. You can simply mount the front camera on your windshield, and it’s up to you whether you want to install it via a 12V car cigarette charger (with no parking mode), or hardwiring. Alternatively, you can also use a dash cam battery pack like the PowerCell 8 to extend your parking mode.

While the road ahead is important, we also think that having a rear camera is a must, especially if you need to transport valuable items in your pickup truck on a regular basis. In case a thief rifles through your rear cargo, or anything breaks in the rear, you will have everything recorded in a wide-angle perspective. However, if you’re using a dual-channel dash cam, you might wonder where to put the rear camera.

We recommend you mount the rear camera to the interior of the rear window. If the rear window slides horizontally or vertically, we recommend mounting the camera to a section that does not move, ensuring it’s fully out of the way of the sliding window. Don’t worry, high-quality rear cameras have a wide Field-Of-View, so they’ll still capture all the action back there. For the cleanest installation, you can wire the cable that connects the front and rear cameras along the headliner and panels that run down the vehicle.

Given the smaller cabin for pickup trucks, you’ll likely have plenty of extra slack in your rear camera cable. We recommend running that slack back and forth inside the frame of the vehicle, tying it together with zip-ties or sound-absorbing tape for the cleanest install.

As every truck driver with a Canopy knows, a Canopy does limit your visibility out the rear. The same goes for if you install a rear Dash Cam. The secondary camera can still be mounted on the rear windshield facing out the canopy, and the installation will be much easier than the alternative.

While this method is unlikely to provide much visibility of your bumper, it is still effectuve for watching over any gear in your truck itself. It will still supply recording of any rear-end collisions. It is much simpler than any options beyond this.

Suppose you would like a camera that is mounted to your weather-proof canopy. In that case, our recommendation is to bolt the rear camera mounting bracket to the canopy exterior to get a wider view. Here, a weather-proof rear camera and wiring are also recommended. For our installation, the reference will be based on the DR770X-2CH Truck.

Based on our previous installations, it’s cleaner to run the cables underneath the vehicle. You can also run the cable along the underside of the canopy as well, securing the cabling with cable clips.

The rear camera will need to be bolted down to the canopy, typically on top of the rear cargo area. This allows for a very secure and discreet installation.

We recommend wiring this external, bolted camera, as standard interior cameras are not weather resistant, and long-term use in an open canopy could prove detrimental to the unit.

The two rear camera options each come with their own drawbacks and advantages.

For the first option, the visibility might be less since you’re mounting your dash cam on the rear window. For the second option, the installation is pretty difficult as it will require extra drilling of holes, and keeping your camera safe.

For Canopy installation, there might also be a situation where you would have to remove your truck Canopy. If you have to remove your Canopy, you will have remove the rear camera cable. If you run the cable underneath the vehicle, removal will be easier and you can tuck away the cable for future use.