Aftermarket rear camera aka always on cam Prime

On my 2006 Prius I spliced wires so I can turn on the rear camera at any point while driving or parked, displaying it on the factory 7 in screen. Was great for taking car naps, lunch breaks, double checking before changing lanes. Did not want to attempt this on my 2020 Prime so the search for a similar setup begins. Since it was going to be aftermarket I wanted it to have a DVR feature which limited my options.

Tried a wifi dash cam that would stream to an old phone but it lagged, needed reconnecting often, and screen was small.


Next was a motorcycle DVRs. One would not get out of split screen mode, another did not retain camera mirror settings and had a small screen.



Tried a trucker DVR setup but the camera were way too large.


A mirror dash cam was not ideal either. I lost my auto dim feature and it covered my homelink garage door buttons a little. Having a front camera on the mirror made it fit awkwardly too. Looked ok setting on the dash but made the front camera useless and you have to scroll up or down to see more of the screen so that did not fit my needs.



Finally came across a trucker DVR system with ok sized cameras, retained settings, 7in screen and was thin. Did several mock ups before taking the trunk apart.


Now to test where to place the camera so it won't block the OEM reverse or look extra silly. It can be seen a little but blends into license plate on the reverse view.



Took all the trunk plastics out and part of the back seat trim. Ran the camera wire through this spot on the driver side where OEM wires route. Went along the hatch panel. Removed the OEM rear cam, dremeled a notch in it and the trunk for the new camera wire to sneak through. Covered any areas I trimmed with black silicone then zip tied the wires.


Ran the camera wire along the ceiling trim, down A pillar and out near the driver side access panel. Since I wanted to tidy up my radar and other dash cam hard wiring, you will see lots of extra wires not related to the camera. Ran the power for this kit in with my radar to a fuse tap into the Power Outlet 7.5 fuse. When you do fuse taps on newer Toyotas the fuse cover will not fit back on so keep it in the car. Included is a picture of the interior fuse panel diagram for reference.


Mounting the screen is done by a bottom and back piece of velcro behind the steering wheel.







Did not use the provided camera mount and used double sided tape but may change that as headlights are right at it sometimes.


Plan on adding the front camera to complete the system whenever I feel like going through the firewall or try going under the floorpanel to the front grill.

 

Finally got around to running the front camera. Was easier than expected poking through the firewall. Only wanted to do it once so ran extra 12v wires for possible future projects like an led light bar. Helps me know where curbs are or if I can drive straight though in a parking spot on top of being a dash cam.

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