What's behind Me?

[Gold Coaster]

I have a 96 Transporter and am currently looking at what is behind me when reversing??? ATM I'm weighing up the cost of a tailgate mirror v's a rear camera (much more expensive). Is there anyone who as tried one of these tailgate mirrors and if they are worthwhile? Apparently they are not a VW accessionory so I'km wondering if there's one that would suit an T4 VW?

[Seano]

Jaycar does a complete wireless reversing camera kit for $150. How much is a tailgate mirror? Personally I'd go for the gadget that doesn't impede your general rearward view.

[Gold Coaster]

That is cheap but a tailgate mirror is my first preference at this stage. The reason I would like one is for the safety aspect and also to make it easier to get close when backing up to attach the boat trailer. However since I’ve never looked through one I don’t know how good they would be for doing this?
A new tailgate mirror for a Toyota Hiace is around $350 but the surface area of the mounting bracket is too big to allow for the curve on the top of the tailgate. If it had have fitted I would have hunted around for one second hand. I saw a Kia Pregio that had a mirror with a smaller mounting bracket that might be suitable so I’m keeping my eye out so that I can have a closer look next time.

[Sunny43.5]

We have replacement head units in all our vans and they all have reverse cameras fitted so as soon as reverse is selected the camera comes on and all audio is muted , the angle we have them set on gives us the actual edge of the bumper bar as the last thing you can see , no mistakes are made when reversing up to a trailer or another car etc.

[Gold Coaster]

Thanks Sunny, I hadn't thought about having it combined in a head unit. Are they expensive and would they fit into a 96 2.0 T4 dash?

[LunchboxVRS]

There are a couple off good ones that have the screen in a rear view mirror. you cant see the screen untill it turns on. means you can see behind and still get a wide view of whats at the rear because the screen only takes up a third of the mirror and they just clip over your old mirror. reversing camera mirror | eBay.

ARB do some but there more expensive

[Sunny43.5]

This is the one in my sons T4 his is a 97 and can only have the single din unit unlike T5's which can have double din unit price around $355 including delivery , remember the camera is an extra about $25 ES829AU 7" 1 Din HD Car DVD Player GPS IPOD DVB-T Bluetooth | eBay

[Gold Coaster]

This is the one in my sons T4 his is a 97 and can only have the single din unit unlike T5's which can have double din unit price around $355 including delivery , remember the camera is an extra about $25 ES829AU 7" 1 Din HD Car DVD Player GPS IPOD DVB-T Bluetooth | eBay

Thanks for the input Sunny43.5. I visited a local supplier and he wanted to sell me a camera for $199, telling me that anything less wouldn't do the job. Just wondering how important is the camera in the overall equation?

[Sunny43.5]

Most of these "local" suppliers are probably buying their products from the same Chinese manufactures and putting their mark up on top , yes there may be some better cameras but I can say ours are more than adequate for the job , I will admit here that inmost circumstances I still rely on my own judgment when reversing as I trust my eyes , the camera gives an extra bit of security with regards to children and some objects that are lower then the view through the back screen tailgate etc . Some cameras have infared which is a bonus at night , placement is the main criteria so as to get the best usable view , this how mine looks late afternoon viewto the east setting sun , the very bottom of the picture is the very edge of the bumper slight light shadow .

[Gold Coaster]

This is the one in my sons T4 his is a 97 and can only have the single din unit unlike T5's which can have double din unit price around $355 including delivery , remember the camera is an extra about $25 ES829AU 7" 1 Din HD Car DVD Player GPS IPOD DVB-T Bluetooth | eBay

Still haven't decided on which way to go but am now swaying towards putting in a head unit like the one in your son's van. This seems to make sense as I was looking to replace the original audio unit anyway. It appears that this head unit also comes with GPS? If this is the case, is it accurate for here in Aus and do you know if it can it be updated?

[Luke]

Dont dismiss the mirror. I used a hiace van for work and found the mirror invaluable for parking. And it costs alot less.

[Sunny43.5]

Hi again Gold Coaster as I have tried the mirror style some years back the head unit ones are far superior in my opinion , first thing you get a full 7 inch screen view as in my photo plus the unit has all the other features GPS built in with latest maps mine even works in the Clem 7 and Airport Link Tunnels and it only opened two months ago !! . The purist will poo poo on the Chinese but hey we all said the same about the Japanese back in the sixties and then the Koreans in the eighties so time will tell . As for updates I think you would have to contact the suppliers as they are constantly updating the units with new maps so they must have a source to get them from . We had an issue with one of the units in my T5 and they kindly sent over a free software update to fix it . The only problem I found with the mirror unit we had was it was a "wide "view style and was a mongrel to reverse with as the view was not accurate plus it only utilizes a small portion of the mirror size .