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No more fighting with your spouse when you hitch up the trailer. I think my wife actually gets some perverse satisfaction out of our hitching sessions. That makes one of us. So when she steps back into the house to grab a jacket (or whatever that "one more thing" is that keeps us from leaving), I quickly snap the magnetic camera onto the tailgate and hitch up the trailer before she makes it back outside.
Yes, it's that fast.
The image quality is great. The display is very clear. You can even reverse the picture to correct for the "my left or the camera's left?" challenge. My only complaint is that there is a little static as you get farther away from the camera (or if the charge is low).
I bought this camera for a specific reason (not to avoid the hitching wars with my wife, because that's actually kind of fun--kind of). The spaces in my RV storage yard are very close together and I have a very bad blind spot on the curb-side of the trailer. This happens to be the side that swings wide when I pull out of my space. One time the rear corner of my trailer hit the mirror of the RV parked next to me. So I bought this camera in hopes of correcting that blind spot.
Although my awning arms are aluminium, there's just enough metal hardware for the camera's magnet to stick to. Then as I'm pulling out of my space (or backing in), I can see how close I'm getting to my neighbor's RV. The picture quality isn't great at that distance, but it's still good enough to help me avoid any more close calls.
I kind of doubt the claim of 300' range. Mine has never worked at even half that distance. I'm lucky to get a signal from the rear end of my 30' trailer, but I'm sure there's a big difference between unobstructed line of sight coverage and bouncing the signal around my trailer and over the bed of my truck (probably about 40'). Honestly though, there's slight signal loss just from sticking it on my tailgate ten feet away.
Anyway, I'm very happy with the product. It's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than buying another mirror for my neighbor's RV.
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I too agree with the other positive reviews on this item, however, there is room for improvement. I needed it to hitch up my RV trailer and for backing up my trailer on the blind sides.The magnetic camera would not stick to my trailer's aluminum and fiber glass walls. I researched this unit on the net before buying it from another vendor on ebay. The reason being that my unit, same as the one here, came with a complimentary custom storage bag for the unit & all it's accessories, & a suction cup adaptor for the camera which sticks to any part of my trailer. The suction cup adaptor solved any location placement issues I had with the camera & worked great for my trailer.
The other issue is the charging of the camera & monitor. The unit only came with a 12 volt charger for your vehicle, no ac charger, & the unit requires to be fully charged before first use. It is not practical to drive around for hours charging your unit in your vehicle until it is charged. I solved that problem using a Wagan 5 Amp AC to 12V DC Power Adapter I had previously purchased on amazon for about $20. This way I can always charge the unit at home before any outing I need the unit for.
One other useful trick I discovered, which came in handy, is the video out cable the unit came with. The monitor's 2.5" screen is a bit small for backing the trailer on a the blind side next to my block wall I have nearly missed several times in the past. I simply hook the video out cable from the 2.5" monitor to my high resolution Sony 8" portable dvd player & instantly have an 8" screen to look at instead of the 2.5" mini screen. You can hook up the 2.5 monitor to a TV or any other monitor with a video plug in.
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This is a great little unit. Color screen is clear and easy to see. And the instant night vision lets you see clearly at night. I like the magnetic base to mount the camera; you can place it about anywhere. The range surprised me; I have used the screen over 300 feet from the camera.This thing has more uses then just backup. I use it to monitor my horses in the trailer while driving down the road. And I have used it to keep an eye on cargo in the back of my truck. A++ worth the money.
Honest reviews on Swift Hitch SH01 Portable Wireless Camera System
I do like this camera and have used it once to hook up my small travel trailer. As others have mentioned, an improvement would be to have a wide angle camera view until you get closer to your target. I did find that sun glare and shadows affected my view. I quickly found one other handy use for it too: I can view the fill level on my water tank inside the camper when I'm filling up without having to stop and start constantly to go inside and check the water level.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Swift Hitch SH01 Portable Wireless Camera System
I've had the Swift Hitch for a year and have used it about 30 times. It has improved a number of things for me and ultimately may save me money.When I sold my last tow vehicle the bumper was pretty damaged due to many years of backing up to our trailers and going too far which resulted in scratches, dents, and even holes in the plastic bumper of our Honda Odyssey. The rest of the car was in great shape but the bumper was embarrassing to say the least. When we purchased a new tow vehicle I wanted to keep it looking like new so a back up camera was high on my list. Repairing a bumper could easily cost twice the price of a Swift Hitch.
Of course it also makes quite easy a task that was a bit challenging before. No matter who stood by the trailer to guide me they never fully understood how to give hand signals or exactly how best to position the ball and hitch for proper and easy coupling. This camera eliminates that problem because I now always do the hitching by myself. It was amazing sometimes when the person guiding me would say "okay" and I would get out to find the ball and hitch were no where close to each other. I can man handle my PWC trailer but I have no chance of moving my 4,500 pound boat and trailer by hand. The tow vehicle has to do all the work.
I stick the camera midway up the tailgate of my Toyota 4Runner. That gives me about a 4-5' viewing area so I can see the tongue of the trailer as I back up. Then I can make steering adjustments to center the car to the trailer. Now properly aligned with the tongue that same viewing angle allows me to see exactly how the ball and socket are aligned. I back the SUV up until the ball is just under the front of the trailer hitch, step out and crank the jack down and the trailer falls right onto the ball perfect every time. Swift Hitch is a very good name for this product. My time to align the ball and trailer are reduced to 30 seconds or so. It takes longer to hook up the electrical, chains, and set the lock than it does to back up to the proper spot.
At the end of a boating trip I back my boat into an RV parking place up against a block wall. I want to leave enough space so I can get onto the back of the boat and I certainly don't want to hit the wall. So I take the camera and stick it to the car or RV parked in one of the adjacent parking spots. Then I can back the boat without having to get in and out of the SUV five times to make sure the boat is where I want it to be.
I looked at other back up camera options. Some were nicely designed to fit into the license plate bracket but I was concerned they wouldn't have the correct angle and weren't adjustable. That type also required wiring. The Swift Hitch can be used in many positions and, as advertised, as much as 300' away from the hand held display.
As one other reviewer said I do have trouble with getting a clear image sometimes. I've found that I must sometimes turn things off in the car such as fans, AC/DC inverters, blowers, and other electrical things that interfere with the signal between the camera and display units. Sometimes where I hold the hand held display will eliminate the display noise leaving a very clear high quality picture. This is a minor inconvenience and I suppose would warrant removing one star but frankly this thing is so useful I just overlook this issue.
Update July 15, 2013
Still going strong. The camera is just a standard part of my hitching routine now. I'll be taking the boat out the next four days in a row alone and will have to hitch up each day. I can usually get the boat trailer within 1/2" of perfect on the first try. If it isn't aligned close enough I can just push the trailer to the side with my knee as I crank it down.
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