Looking for 3 camera setup

I was trying to figure out what the discrepancy may have been with the long file history. The only thing I can come up with was that when I first installed my system it may have only recorded with the ignition on. My truck went in for warranty work some time back and the system was not working when I got it back. I did some trouble shooting and wired it back to the fuse box where it records without the ignition being on. This is the only explanation I can come up with and I am only guessing. Either way it still records for multiple days which is plenty for my use.

 

Well, I apologize in advance. But no matter how many times I have reread your original post, I don't fully grasp what all you are saying with all of those timing scenarios. All I can say is how my systems work. For example, here is what you need to decide in terms of record time settings:

a) Do you want the unit to record only when the truck is running? Or do you want it recording even when the truck is turned off?

b) The hard drive can hold the recorded videos for weeks or even months depending on the size of the drive. You need to decide how many days is enough before it starts over. I only use Samsung EVO850 SSD drives for speed and reliability. For example, a 250 GB will go 6 days, 500 GB will go 12 days, a 1 TB will go 24 days, etc. Bigger the drive, the more money Samsung wants for it.

c) The hard drive can store the video in "segments" or as one long video. I recommend segments because it is MUCH easier to find an incident that happened at 2:00 pm yesterday when each video segment is named with the start time and date. The alternative is to watch a 250 GB (or larger) video in fast motion till you find that time. (painful)

 

Mostly a general suggestion... I find the best way to be sure is go to their website and read the manual. It doesn't tell you how well it works in practice but it does tell you how it's intended to work. With a simple device, i.e. thermoelectric cooler, build quality and reliability is about all that matters so reviews. Most complicated devices like GPS's the manual tells you a whole lot more than their advertising. If it gets real complicated, i.e. CPU, then professional reviews to cut through the technical details.

Personally, I like D-Link cameras. They're cheap and reliable. Assuming you have an inverter hook up a router and plug a DVR into the router. Their DVR is only $60 straight off their website and you can connect 2 drives up to 4TB each. It can record 4 cameras. You can also run multiple ones at the same time. I would use a dashcam front and center, one with built in GPS that will overlay time, speed and location on the video. It's just the easiest way to get that. You can get GPS's with built in dashcam and backup camera support.

I would mount two pan/tilt IP cameras at the corner of the dash. You can see out with the privacy curtain pulled, record the lanes to the sides and they're useful for backing. Dome cameras at the top of the front and back of the inside of the trailer would be handy, you can watch the load/unload, check for shifts in transit. If someone does break into the trailer it'll record them. Outside there's the issues of where to mount it so you're not over height/width, it's protected and you can actually see something. Security would be a logical choice, but realistically you're not going to see them breaking into the trailer. Rather the next day you see the lock was cut off so then who did it.

Use a cheap Fire HD10 as a tablet with a big max mount. It's 1080p and you can install the play store on it.

 

You said three cameras but didn't say how which leaves a lot if possibilities. The problem I see with external cameras is the abuse. Cleaning off salt spray will scratch plastic lens covers and on the mirror it will be gail force winds so weatherproof is a whole different world.

Still I prefer pan/tilt to fisheye lens. On the mirrors you could use power over ethernet so you just have one connection. I would still go with ip cameras and dvr. It just gives you a lot of options on software.

On the mirrors I would definitely put some type of shield in front of it. It would be a whole lot cheaper than a camera rated for 80 mph rain.