DashCam Battery Thoughts?

$279? Are you crazy? You haven't even documented the voltage loss to your 12volt using your dash cam and now you're you gonna get scammed out of $300 and have a whole bunch of loose wires cluttering up the inside of your car forevermore?

Please take a more professional approach where you measure how many amp-hours you're losing during your longest security mode sessions and then hardwire in a $20 battery into the car in a way that you don't have wires and boxes visible.

 

Trying to make sense of it all... I've never in my life owned a car that wasn't at least 6 years old... It's a whole different culture, a whole different lifestyle where people lose a huge amount in depreciation value of their vehicle soon as they drive it around for a couple years.

Whereas Gen2 and Gen3 Prius are still holding their value for a decade or more if you keep the mileage down. Used to be Prius owners were super frugal on here.

 

One other thought.

I just looked at my company jeep let and discovered (to my disappointment) that Priuses are not the only one with idiotic 12vd management issues.
If I were going to buy a pass-through 12vdc charger, I'd make it a jump-pack - since it seems that it would be idiotic to drive a G5 Prius without one anyway.
This problem is not unique to Priuses, BTW.

A swift confirmation from the googles confirms my suspicion that the people who design these devices thought this out ahead of time.
A stand-out jump pack can be had for about $100.
They're like EDC firearms.
You don't have to overspend or get one with the highest capacity - but you're going to get the cheapest one out there you are probably better off without getting one at all.

My answer from the Googles after asking about jump packs with pass through charging: (TIFWIW)
.......Yes, several modern lithium jump packs feature USB-C ports that support pass-through charging, allowing them to act as a power bank while being recharged. Key models often cited for this capability and fast charging include the Noco Boost series (e.g., GB40), Imazing jump starters, and Gooloo (GP3000).

 

That's why I disclosed that they were AI generated.
Using a jump pack as a battery bank with pass through charging was my own perhaps even original thought for your need - which is why humans still have one leg up on Robbie.

To quote a person who is unencumbered by intelligence, artificial or otherwise....
HUMANS can still "imagine what can be, unburdened by what has been."

 

I am not sure what you consider huge. I bought my 2017 Prius Two in late 2016.In late 2024 dor $23K, Almost 7 tears and over 50K miles later it was totalled & I got $18K from the insurance company. To me, that is not a lot of depreciation.

 

I do not worry about appreciation or depreciation with cars because they're not an 'investment' but rather they are an expense to be managed according to ones own needs and budget.

People with large disposable incomes sometimes eat at McDonalds.
People deeply in debt sometimes eat at Ruth Chris.
Priuses are hardly what you would call up-scale sheet medal, so it would be hard to argue against using one for commuting.....unless you park one next to a Corolla.

AS ALWAYS.....
YMMV.

 

Safety first, pay enough that you are confident that the battery won't burst or catch fire when the cabin is 140°F (or however hot it gets where you live)

Mitigation strategies include mounting it under a seat, but there are other ways as well.

I've read many good things about the Blackvue B-130 battery. Looks like it will support any 12v camera, not just the Blackvue-branded ones.

Also pay attention to charging times and set your expectations appropriately. A large battery may sound great for keeping your cameras operating several days in a row, but may then require a solid hour of recharging while you drive. Not a good fit if (for example) you're going to take two fifteen minute drives per week and expect recordings of the rest of the week.

So, make sure the advertised performance actually fits your usage pattern.

We decided against adding the complication of power for recording while parked. The original value proposition of 'automatic 4k movies of every time we drive' was good enough.