Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

BuckandTeresa · 05-16-2021, 01:52 PM

Yes, I did both on my new F250 truck in 2019.

I researched the Ford camera system and realized it would require drilling and fishing cables, something I have avoided since I personally rewired an entire three story Victorian home from the original 1910-installed wiring. The alternative was to have an unsightly cable wired somewhere on the outside of my brand-new trailer, also undesireable for me. It also was probable that the Ford cable was too short for my 3310 trailer, which is about 37 beeline feet from the camera wiring point to the socket on the rear of the truck.

I chose the wireless camera set from Furrion for ease of install, and gave up the in-dash display for a separate 7-inch display that came with the kit. If you can do simple things like remove phillips screws and twist wires together you can do the Furrion wireless transmitter camera wiring yourself. No sweat.

I bought the Ford TPMS system from the dealer. I wired the TPMS connection cable socket kit under the rear of the truck near the license plate (everything was there, but it took me some "cipherin' " to figure out how to replace the existing socket with the Ford TPMS/camera socket. The cable is about 25' long, and includes both the camera cable and the TPMS power cable. You will want to roll up the extra to secure it-- I was driving down the road and stopped to check something and saw the extra cable being dragged on the pavement. Gorilla Tape fixed that. The power cable that plugs into this socket on one end is hard-wired into the metal junction box at the trailer fifth wheel hitch pin area. I had Discount Tire put in my TPMS sensors that came from Ford into the wheels. For some reason, my dealer would sell the kit to me but would not touch my trailer. Discount Tire did a good job. I can't remember why, but shortly after they were installed one TPMS stopped working, and my Ford dealer accessories manager was kind enough to order me a whole new TPMS kit and give me whatever I needed. It has worked great for the last three seasons.

As far as the Furrion screen for the camera, I couldn't see very well due to ambient light when I tried to mount it on the dash. Another thing I noticed is the screen display is very view-angle dependent and is too dark unless you set it well below eye level. I made a block of two pieces of patio Trex, shaped them to fit the console opening on the driver's side, about five by five inches, glued them together, then screwed the suction mounting cup into the Trex. The block is pretty heavy, so the screen won't tip over. The custom shape to the console opening also stabilizes it. Now, the display isn't blocking my dash view, and the screen is very bright when looking down on it for a quick glance. Works well for me! Also, the microphone in the camera lets me hear my wife's instructions as I'm backing up. You can select the volume level or turn it off on the road by the touch-screen display.

The cameras are fish-eye type lenses, which work well for close objects, but slightly further away, like 50 yards, vehicles get so small they practically disappear. I bought the big kit with both side cameras as well. This was a mistake. I almost never use the side cameras, as the multi-camera view is useless (pictures too small). I almost always use it in full-screen rear camera view.

Another minor point-- if you select "AUTO" mode on your headlights switch, the camera is not powered. You must turn the switch to either "parking lights on" or "headlights on" so the mounting light fixture in back is powered.

I didn't fish any wires. Just replace the center light in back with the identically shaped Furrion camera. No hard-wired camera connection required between the camera and the truck.

05-16-2021, 01:52 PM	#19
BuckandTeresa Seasoned Camper Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Monument Posts: 98 M.O.C. #24683	Yes, I did both on my new F250 truck in 2019. I researched the Ford camera system and realized it would require drilling and fishing cables, something I have avoided since I personally rewired an entire three story Victorian home from the original 1910-installed wiring. The alternative was to have an unsightly cable wired somewhere on the outside of my brand-new trailer, also undesireable for me. It also was probable that the Ford cable was too short for my 3310 trailer, which is about 37 beeline feet from the camera wiring point to the socket on the rear of the truck. I chose the wireless camera set from Furrion for ease of install, and gave up the in-dash display for a separate 7-inch display that came with the kit. If you can do simple things like remove phillips screws and twist wires together you can do the Furrion wireless transmitter camera wiring yourself. No sweat. I bought the Ford TPMS system from the dealer. I wired the TPMS connection cable socket kit under the rear of the truck near the license plate (everything was there, but it took me some "cipherin' " to figure out how to replace the existing socket with the Ford TPMS/camera socket. The cable is about 25' long, and includes both the camera cable and the TPMS power cable. You will want to roll up the extra to secure it-- I was driving down the road and stopped to check something and saw the extra cable being dragged on the pavement. Gorilla Tape fixed that. The power cable that plugs into this socket on one end is hard-wired into the metal junction box at the trailer fifth wheel hitch pin area. I had Discount Tire put in my TPMS sensors that came from Ford into the wheels. For some reason, my dealer would sell the kit to me but would not touch my trailer. Discount Tire did a good job. I can't remember why, but shortly after they were installed one TPMS stopped working, and my Ford dealer accessories manager was kind enough to order me a whole new TPMS kit and give me whatever I needed. It has worked great for the last three seasons. As far as the Furrion screen for the camera, I couldn't see very well due to ambient light when I tried to mount it on the dash. Another thing I noticed is the screen display is very view-angle dependent and is too dark unless you set it well below eye level. I made a block of two pieces of patio Trex, shaped them to fit the console opening on the driver's side, about five by five inches, glued them together, then screwed the suction mounting cup into the Trex. The block is pretty heavy, so the screen won't tip over. The custom shape to the console opening also stabilizes it. Now, the display isn't blocking my dash view, and the screen is very bright when looking down on it for a quick glance. Works well for me! Also, the microphone in the camera lets me hear my wife's instructions as I'm backing up. You can select the volume level or turn it off on the road by the touch-screen display. The cameras are fish-eye type lenses, which work well for close objects, but slightly further away, like 50 yards, vehicles get so small they practically disappear. I bought the big kit with both side cameras as well. This was a mistake. I almost never use the side cameras, as the multi-camera view is useless (pictures too small). I almost always use it in full-screen rear camera view. Another minor point-- if you select "AUTO" mode on your headlights switch, the camera is not powered. You must turn the switch to either "parking lights on" or "headlights on" so the mounting light fixture in back is powered. I didn't fish any wires. Just replace the center light in back with the identically shaped Furrion camera. No hard-wired camera connection required between the camera and the truck.