The Proper Dash Cam Choice, Setup, and Use

I wouldn't drive a rig 20 feet today without at least one dashcam lookin' out the windshield. Too many crazy car drivers holding cell phones in one hand and pretending with the other. And they all speed out there now. It's #### anarchy in some places it's gotten so bad. You need a witness in your corner now at all times, and if you drive solo, the only guaranteed witness is dash cam. Be sure to have at least one looking forward at the craziness. But know a dash cam isn't the only thing you need. Let me lay it out, as I've made the mistakes (once) with these things.

1. Buy a dash cam
Get a camera from Fry's or from Wal Mart. Someplace like those. Do NOT get a dash cam from a truckstop. Their return policies suck. Which cameras should one get? I have a Garmin 35, and it's awesome. The videos are incredible. But I think other cameras are good. Check Consumer Reports.

2. Buy some accessories
You'll need two chips. Make sure they're BIG, as in at least 32 gigs. A big chip will record all day, no problem. Dash cams come with little piddly cards. Forget those. They're not big enough. You want something that will continue recording if you're in a wreck, as you don't want to have to worry about turning it off if the vehicle you hit or hit you is in flames. If you have a small card and you don't turn the camera off, it'll start writing over videos in no time. You don't want that. You'll also need a laptop to save videos on and a card reader if the laptop doesn't have a built-in reader for small camera cards. Both of these can be had at Wal Mart, Kmart, Fry's, whatever. Make sure you have a spare laptop battery if you don't have an inverter on board. You won't be able to show the cops anything if your laptop battery's dead, unless they have an inverter. Always have a charged backup battery ready to go.

3. Mount it right
You'll need to mount the camera right, meaning high up on the windshield and IN A SPOT THAT IS WIPED BY THE WINDSHIELD WIPER. Videos may not be clear if the camera's trying to look throw a pouring rain or snow. My garmin came with two mounting disks. It needed about 4 or even 5, but I've found those 3M mounting squares for heavy wall pictures work well at holding the mount if you've used up your disks from changing trucks. Also...you do want to mount it high to keep it away from hot defroster air and to keep it out of your line of sight.

4. Reformat it at times
Sometimes take the chip out and do a hard format, no "quick" format.

5. Keep it cool
When you're shut down for days in the summer, cover the camera if it's in the direct sun. But know I've had no problems with one not wanting to work after sitting in a hot truck all day. I fired and it worked each time like it was supposed to.

6. Use it even if your company has provided one in a navigator / camera combo
I'd use my own camera no matter what. That would give ME control over saving the videos to my laptop. If the company provides one, it may not have a removable card, so you won't be able to save videos. Putting my video evidence in the hands of somebody else, giving up control over it, won't work for me. I want total control over my evidence. So I make sure I have my own camera with a removable card. I can pull out my card, save videos to my laptop, and I'm done. No calling anybody at the company begging for a video and then waiting on it, being at somebody else's mercy. No thanks. I'll keep that control.

Hope this helps.

 

The best set-up for a dash cam rig is one looking out the windshield and one looking at each rear view mirror. Ideally, one should also be aimed at the rear, but the cord may be a bit long. Plus there's the dirt-on-lens issue. For now...three cams. You gotta CYA out there more than ever. And plus there're the ELDs tattle-tailing on you.

 

I agree with you guys. I may try to mount mine lower, but know I use my defroster in the winter time a lot, and I don't want the camera chip to overheat. The chips get hot enough as it is. Pull one out after about 4 hours of recording and hold it. Then think of a defroster baking it on top of that.

 

I've rehearsed the scenario where I have to beat a ticket with a dash cam. You can time the lines and spaces on the road to tell how fast you're going.