Dash cam recommendations

I had that one in my 2021 Tacoma. It was nice and compact and the quality was decent.

 

Yea the quality is not terrible but by 2024 standards I'd expect better from Garmin. At least enough to read a license plate when needed.
My other issue is it seems to take forever to export videos. I've sat in my car for 20 minutes to save a 2 minute video. Seemed excessive.
I'd be curious about other options on the market.

Overall though I'm happy to have it.

 

Oh yeah, totally agree. Downloading from the camera to the app takes forever. It's faster to pop out the card, put into a SD adapter and watch the video on your laptop. I had to do that about two years. I was driving home from work and a large dump truck was driving in front of me (without a cover over the dump bed). A 12 inch piece of metal flew out of the bed and hit my windshield. I was okay and only the window was impacted.

I got the driver to pull over and got his info and his company info. The company initially denied any responsibility, but after I showed them the video, they agreed to pay up. The video quality was able to show the debris flying out of the truck (which was about 300ft ahead of me) and hit my wind shield.

Long story short, the $100-ish dollars I paid for the Garmin Mini 2, saved me $1700. That's how much OEM glass, re-calibration and installation cost for a 2021 Toyota Tacoma. That is why I insist that everyone get a dash cam. Too many people out there try to say you were to blame. A dash cam settles all arguments.

 

That looks great. I just spent some time on their site and I'm considering picking one up. Did you have the rear camera or the parking kit as well?

 

No & No. Here's why:

I have very dark tint on my windows (5% - Limo tint), that would make the rear camera useless at night, and barely viewable during the day. Plus, if someone rear-ends me or hits me while I'm parked, a dash cam will do me no good if that person is not insured. So I carry a lot of insurance. Under-insured & Un-insured motorist.

And 99.9999% of the time that you're rear ended, they are at fault. No need for a cam to record the incident. I see it as over-kill, but if you feel the need to have it, go for it.

 

I highly suggest looking at the new Viofo's, they use WiFi 5 and download videos fast plus have the stavis 2. It's a true dash cam with functional dash cam features unlike Garmin and GoPro's.

I got my Mini 2 for $90. And it is just as good if not better than my old Blackvue $600 dash cam.

If you truly want to deep dive into dash cams visit VortexRadar on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC0WghkIzIk

He's one of the members of a driving countermeasure form I created many years ago. We even have a dash cam section. https://www.rdforum.org/forums/132/

 

This is how I have my camera set up



Note Dongar adapter to the top left.

 

I suggest looking into the Mercylion OEM-Looking dashcam for 2024 SR5 Premium. It has front and rear camera coverage with excellent video quality and reliable performance. The Thinkware Q800 Pro also good option for its advanced features like parking mode and cloud connectivity. Both options provide comprehensive surveillance and security for your vehicle.

 

quick update: I ended up getting the Garmin mini dash cam with the Dongar adaptor. Super easy install, video quality is OK. it seems like reading a plate out of the video is impossible. but happy with results overall.

 

Garmin Mini 2 Dash Camera plus accessories. | Toyota 4Runner Forum [4Runners.com]

Selling the Gamin Mini 2 dash camera. Works perfectly fine.

At no additional cost I will include the following items.
- Polarized filter lens to reduce glare ($28.99)
- Suction camera mount ($24.99)
- Dongar plug and play adapter to your mirror for power source. ($34.99)


$130 OBO, plus shipping.
PICS in link thread

 

I’ve used Nexar for the last couple years. It’s survived very hot summers and I like the phone app as well. Easy to view and stream videos.

https://www.getnexar.com/

 

I have the Viofo A139 Pro 2ch in the 4Runner (and an A119 in our Sienna). I like the video quality but on the A139 it has an issue where it will keep switching the wifi on and off. It's intermittent so I'm not sure if it's a bad unit, firmware issue or ?

It's almost comedic at this point. My son and I were going to the store the other day and it was going "Wifi connected.... wifi disconnected....... wifi connected..... wifi disconnected....." We were laughing by the time it finally stopped.

The app is also a bit rough. Seemed to work well at first, but last time I tried it, it kept having issues staying connected. It's much easier to pull the card and stick it in the card reader.

 

For the app i would uninstall and reinstall. For the WiFi contact Viofo, that's a strange one since the button should be pressed for that announcement. .

 

I just shared with my friends where I see Viofo cameras going cheap on Amazon.
The basic A119 seems to have about 30 bucks off and high-end ones seems to have even better deals. Below are just 2 examples. All models seems to have some sort of discounts.

Basic one - https://amzn.to/4aT2rMH
https://amzn.to/4aT2rMH



4K one -

https://amzn.to/3UhSTFE

 

I just picked up a new TRD ORP and was looking for installation vids or notes on this. Are you using the VIOFO HK4 Acc Hardwire Kit, USB-C Hard Wire Kit?

 

I'm using the Hardware kit in my 4runner and the mirror power adapter in our Lexus. I would suggest the mirror harness, so much easier.

https://dongar.tech/products/toyota5pin (choose your specific model's harness)

 

Dongar and VIOFO arrive today. Next up, Garmin PowerSwitch.

 

Which Viofo? Did you buy one with the new starvis2 sensor? What about resolution, 4K?

 

VIOFO VS1 Mini Dash Cam, 1440P/2K HDR Dashcam, STARVIS 2 Sensor. 4K is overkill.

 

If anyone knows where to get the Dongar Technologies 10-Pin Type B, please let me know. I mistakenly bought the 5 pin. I was looking on [aliexpress.us] but cannot determine which one to get.

Also - what's the reason for taking out the head unit and disconnecting it? I can access everything from the wired mirror.