Easy DIY 2.5 Gen Tundra Anytime Front And Rear Cameras
Having an anytime backup camera and/or the addition of a front camera are very common features to desire on your Toyota truck. I’ve gotten a lot of questions and requests for this write up so here you go Toyota fam!
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The advantages of the anytime rear camera mod are to be able to check your trailer load while going down the road, keep camera on while jockeying around to hitch a trailer, and aid in parking. I use mine to see a tape mark on the floor at the rear of the truck while driving forward to let me know I’m far enough in. Then I can close the garage door behind the truck while leaving room to walk around the front of the truck.
A front camera can be helpful with parking too. As well as some extra field of view when off-roading, remotely watching winch line blanket approach the spool, etc. This is NOT to be used as a replacement for G.O.A.L. – Get Out And Look. Always trust your first hand view or a spotter over a small distorted camera view.
Applications
The wiring harness connections are fairly common across most late model Toyota head units that are equipped with a factory backup camera. So these modifications may work on other 2014+ Toyota models, excluding any model with the birds eye 360 degree view. Consult your specific model’s factory wiring diagram to confirm the connections are the same.
I have only completed and tested this on my 2017 Toyota Tundra. Modify your vehicle at your own risk. If you’re not comfortable with cutting factory wiring there are a couple of really good plug and play options out there that achieve the same result at only a marginally higher cost: anytimebackupcamera.com and the Tundra forum favorite (with more features) fracv2.com
I’m not going to cover wire routing or stereo/head unit removal in this tutorial since it varies by model. There’s great videos on youtube that show exactly how to do that for every vehicle. Rago fab also has a nice video about it for the Tundra as part of their dash plate install. Use tape to not drop to two back 10mm head bolts, and remove the two yellow clips from the dash trim and clip back onto radio before reinstalling it into the dash.
Anytime Backup Camera
- Parts List
- Wire or anytime backup camera harness (I had one left over from a failed install on a model with 360 degree camera)
This feature activation is achieved by jumping a keyswitch ignition 12 volt power source to the reverse signal pin on the head unit. It allows us to toggle on the factory reverse camera at any time with a simple SPST switch. Which just means a two pin on/off switch. In this case that means J135 (28 pin connector) pin 1 (12 volt ignition power) to J135 pin 2 (reverse signal trigger). Note: This is a reverse signal trigger from the gear selector switch so turning on your anytime backup camera will not illuminate reverse as indicated gear or reverse lights.
I took this simple install a step further and used a relay triggered by the Switch Pro 9100 panel to turn on the backup camera, with no backfeed to the switch panel. The anytime backup camera mod is required in order to add the front camera input. This added relay could also be used to automatically trigger the rear camera mod to enable front camera anytime the front camera switch is pressed. Currently I must push both the rear camera switch and the front camera switch to activate the front camera. The Switch Pro 9100 has a “master switch” feature that can automatically toggle the rear camera switch on/off whenever I press the front camera switch. So technically I don’t need the relay since I’m using the switch pro, but it works.
Front Camera Addition
- Parts List
- 3 way Video Switch
- Spare RCA cable to cut up or plug and play with purchased harness 24 pin
- Female to Female RCA adapters (depending on which RCA connectors you have available to use)
- Male to Male RCA adapters (depending on which RCA connectors you have available to use)
- Front camera
- Switch Pro 9100
To add the front camera I purchased an RCA switch made for this purpose. It features 3 inputs; factory backup camera plus two additional analog video sources. At first I was unsure of how to separate and wire into RCA coaxial cables but anyway you could go about this project DIY style, at least one RCA will need to be spliced in somewhere. In hindsight I could have achieved the same function with two standard 5 pin automotive relays for a little less expense but this was easier for me to conceptualize before I learned how analog video works during this process.
Alternatively you can choose to purchase the plug and play 24 pin harness and use the yellow RCA plugs. Do not use the red/black power wires on this harness. They are not needed to use the factory rear camera with the factory head unit.
DIY Wiring Method
If you want to be cheap like me, you must cut the wires going to J136 (24 pin connector) pin 12 and pin 24. Then solder them to RCA connectors. I stole some male RCA connectors from an old VCR component audio/video cable I had laying around. The V+ pin 12 gets soldered to the RCA insulated center wire, and the V- pin 24 gets soldered to the RCA outer shield wire. One RCA connector on each side of the two wires you cut. This can be a bit tricky. Take your time. Then cover with heat shrink and electrical tape for strain relief when complete.
The only other hard wired connections are for the front camera trigger signal. The camera kit I purchased came with a very long RCA video cable that also had an extra wire ran inside of it that was perfect for this front camera trigger. The in cab end gets wired to the green trigger on the video switch module. The under hood end gets tapped into the 12v power source for the camera, in my case the Switch Pro 9100 again.
The rest is simple plug and play of the RCA connectors, using male to male and female to female adapters where needed. If I ever wanted to remove this mod for some reason, I could simply plug the two added in RCA connectors together to revert to factory backup camera input only. There’s also a third input for another device if I ever so desire. Tape all RCA connectors so they don’t come loose, ziptie loose and extra length wires together.
Front Camera Selection and Setup
Initially I purchased a cheaper $10 camera to see if I could actually get this wiring to work. Once I had a proof of concept, the cheap camera’s internal wiring came loose while trying to mount it and it stopped working. Returned and lesson learned.
I then chose this higher quality wide angle camera. It has a mounting bracket that can easily be flipped to mount it upright. It came with all of the RCA cable and power cables needed to install completely. Even came with an interior panel removal tool, zip ties, and electrical tape!
To utilize it as a front camera, cut both small wire loops. This will flip the image to display correct left/right orientation for front view, and remove the backup guidelines. It has a very wide angle showing in front of both front tires from this mounting location. The video quality is better than the factory backup camera!
