Whats the best dash cam and why?

[Roam_CO85]

As a career truck driver, I’ve always wanted to put one in the semi but sense I don’t do that anymore. Just gonna put on in the daily driver and swap it back and fourth between that and the adventure rig. Have no idea what the best or even where to start looking. So any 2 cents or change in info is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Roam_CO85]

Thats how the law is here. And the sole reason ive been wanting one... put it on my back burner too but had a guy cut me off and slam on his brakes cus the guy beside him flipped him off...really smart! Same thing if a car slams into a car and that car rear ends someone and causes a chain reaction. Person that started if gets a carless driving ticket and responsible for everyrhing. Owl i think makes a good one. But feel the same about a hot windshield

 

[Gary Stevens]

Start here, this is where I always go when I need a new one.
Dash Cam Reviews - All Major 2019 Cams Compared

 

[Roam_CO85]

Thank you for the link @Gary Stevens how often do you go through them?

 

[Gary Stevens]

Thank you for the link @Gary Stevens how often do you go through them?

It seems the technology moves forward enough for me to buy a new one, about every 3-4 years. Right now, the 4k units are what you want, but are still a bit pricey. Once they drop in price, I will move up to one of them. Here are some of things I look for. 1. Permanent tape mount, not a suction cup. 2. One that fits behind the rear-view mirror, or there abouts. 3. Units that appears as part of the vehicle, best with a wire cover. This looks factory and prevents thief. 4. Newer models have the ability to view footage on your smart phone via an app. This is really helpful if you need to show a LEO an accident or incident immediately. Now I have to remove the chip, find the chip holder and insert that in a dongle than into my tablet. 5. Consider the wiring harness to the fuse box, rather than the plug lighter. Since I keep the screen off, I have to keep an eye on the unit to make sure it always powers up, cause the plug can dislodge. 6. Check the camera angle often, the camera can be angled up too high easily, like when you go to the car wash and they clean the window, they often hit the unit and the camera is pushed up or down, and not recording what is in front of you. 7. Consider a rear camera as well, I have two separate units, one in front, one in back

 

[systemdelete]

I run a Thinkware F800 pro, with front and rear cameras. I’ve tried several newer 4K cameras and wasn’t impressed. While the resolution is better in full sun daylight, detail was poor at night and in low lighting conditions like my work parking garage. When parked at work or home it connects to the WiFi and can stream live footage of motion when parked to my cell. It could do it parked anywhere but I didn’t want to add it to my cellular data plan with a constant hotspot. If I need footage I can download it to my phone and email it without touching the cam.

 

[Wolf427]

I use a Viofo A119c in both of my vehicles. Excellent camera.

 

[Roam_CO85]

Thank you for your time to post. That answered a huge question about the wifi. I have a hotspot that I keep in my vehicle for business. The f800 ive read alot about it

 

[systemdelete]

Thank you for your time to post. That answered a huge question about the wifi. I have a hotspot that I keep in my vehicle for business. The f800 ive read alot about it

I’m happy with it now, but I will say the setup for the WiFi/cloud connect was less than intuitive and quite kludgy. My camera was one of the first of that model so it didn’t support it out of the box, it was added via a firmware update later and the instructions I was emailed certainly could have been better.

I’ve ended up going with the time lapse mode while parked, it’s ok for security, and stopped all the errant motion recordings I was getting in the busy parking garage.

 

[MOAK]

As a career truck driver, I’ve always wanted to put one in the semi but sense I don’t do that anymore. Just gonna put on in the daily driver and swap it back and fourth between that and the adventure rig. Have no idea what the best or even where to start looking. So any 2 cents or change in info is greatly appreciated!!

Yup, me too, retired with 25 +/- years and a hair over 3 million miles. The last two company assigned power units I had were equipped with dash cams. If I ever felt the need to install one in my cruiser I wouldn't mess around with the cheaper ones. I'd want something known to be reliable in the transportation business. Given that, I'd have to go with the KD Links HD. the top of the line model. You can download a whole bunch of different programs for it and even put in a larger memory card. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Desert Runner]

It seems the technology moves forward enough for me to buy a new one, about every 3-4 years. Right now, the 4k units are what you want, but are still a bit pricey. Once they drop in price, I will move up to one of them. Here are some of things I look for. 1. Permanent tape mount, not a suction cup. 2. One that fits behind the rear-view mirror, or there abouts. 3. Units that appears as part of the vehicle, best with a wire cover. This looks factory and prevents thief. 4. Newer models have the ability to view footage on your smart phone via an app. This is really helpful if you need to show a LEO an accident or incident immediately. Now I have to remove the chip, find the chip holder and insert that in a dongle than into my tablet. 5. Consider the wiring harness to the fuse box, rather than the plug lighter. Since I keep the screen off, I have to keep an eye on the unit to make sure it always powers up, cause the plug can dislodge. 6. Check the camera angle often, the camera can be angled up too high easily, like when you go to the car wash and they clean the window, they often hit the unit and the camera is pushed up or down, and not recording what is in front of you. 7. Consider a rear camera as well, I have two separate units, one in front, one in back

2 separate is what I would prefer over a dual unit that 'logs the driver in the vehicle'. It's one thing to record what is behind you and what's in front, but you don't need the cops or the other lawyer using your own CAM unit against you.

 

[MOAK]

2 separate is what I would prefer over a dual unit that 'logs the driver in the vehicle'. It's one thing to record what is behind you and what's in front, but you don't need the cops or the other lawyer using your own CAM unit against you.

If you aren’t a horrible driver then why worry? We had cams on us to protect us in the event of an accident.

 

[Desert Runner]

If you aren’t a horrible driver then why worry? We had cams on us to protect us in the event of an accident.

It's not the horrible driver, it is the lawyers. Example, had you looked down for an instant, had you looked out a side window for a moment,.....aka....YOU WERE DISTRACTED. Anything that puts you on the defensive.

Another example. The insurance company incentive for safe driving with the plug in module.
All state, progressive, state farm etc, they promise lower rates, but in reality over 75% of people will see an increase, and now it's documented. You brake to fast, you brake late, you brake to hard,you accelerate to quick, and on and on. By just using the no ticket system , no accident system, you are eligible for the average safe driver discount.

 

[MOAK]

It's not the horrible driver, it is the lawyers. Example, had you looked down for an instant, had you looked out a side window for a moment,.....aka....YOU WERE DISTRACTED. Anything that puts you on the defensive.

Another example. The insurance company incentive for safe driving with the plug in module.
All state, progressive, state farm etc, they promise lower rates, but in reality over 75% of people will see an increase, and now it's documented. You brake to fast, you brake late, you brake to hard,you accelerate to quick, and on and on. By just using the no ticket system , no accident system, you are eligible for the average safe driver discount.

No offense but we have different outlooks on this subject.. I come from a world where drivers were reprimanded for having more than 5 hard braking incidents a month.. that’s right, 5, in the heavily populated northeast region. And that was only one of seven criteria that was monitored. I watched guys wash out during the 90 day probationary period regularly. It was my job to ride with them, observe & make recommendations. Unfortunately only 1 out of 10 drivers lasted more than a year.. end result of this program and others like it? We had the lowest accident rate per mile of any fleet in the country for 5 years straight. Our North East division would regularly go for a year or two before any reportable accidents, and we were one of the highest paying jobs in the nation. I can’t even begin to tell you how many young drivers that I’ve ran into over the years that have thanked me for teaching them good habits. If I saved only one life along the way then all my efforts were worth it. you mentioned, “ look down for an instant,” combine that with tailgating, which leads to hard braking incidents and you’ve a distaster waiting to happen, it only takes “ an instant” Saftey is no accident .. personally? I’ve never been involved in any accident either in a company assigned power unit, or in any of my personal vehicles since 1970. Insurance companies can monitor me all they want- I welcome it. If you have good driving habits, the lawyers are not gonna come after you.

 

[Horse Soldier]

As a career truck driver, I’ve always wanted to put one in the semi but sense I don’t do that anymore. Just gonna put on in the daily driver and swap it back and fourth between that and the adventure rig. Have no idea what the best or even where to start looking. So any 2 cents or change in info is greatly appreciated!!

Take a look at windshield cam.com, I the 4 camera set up on my tj and on both of my semis.

 

[diabetiktaco]

I use an escort M1 which integrates with my Escort IX radar detector. I like the clean look of the integration. It's got a decent amount of features and also works with my ipad which is mounted. Not sure it's the best one, but it's the only one I have experience with and I like it.