Tailgate down camera mirror DIY 3D print -- solves problem of not having rearview camera when tailgate is down

[Poporbit]

Like most trucks, if you have a big load, you can't use your rearview mirror. This has never bothered me because I have two side mirrors that show what's behind me. Same thing with panel vans and box trucks (you can never use a rear view mirror because there is no rear window).

This load blocked the rearview mirror but left the rear camera unobstructed.

This load blocked the rearview mirror and the rearview camera. A camera on the rear of the roof would have been blocked too.

I've been using pickups to haul various loads my entire life and ALL PICKUP TRUCKS ARE LIKE THIS!

Sorry for shouting, but the amount of ignorance I've seen posted about seeing behind you is shocking to me. I guess we have a lot of people brand new to pickups here, but they need to realize this is nothing new and people have been driving perfectly safely for decades without a rearview mirror. The side view mirrors are more than adequate (just as they have always been).

If anything, the Cybertrucks driving dynamics when fully loaded make a rear view mirror even less necessary than ever. In the under-powered and under-suspended trucks I drove in my youth, we would often be going slow enough that traffic would build up behind us. But guess what? Even in that situation the side mirrors worked fine.

I can't understand all the people with rear view mirror fetishes. It's concerning. It makes me not want to be on the road with other motorists. Do people not understand safe driving and how to maintain awareness of what's going on around your vehicle?

BTW, I'm not removing my rearview mirror, it's most useful for viewing back seat passengers and it's never obstructed my views forward or too the side. I wouldn't cry if it were not there, but I'm not going to remove it, even though it's dead simple to do so.

Your right of course. I'm so used to Tesla wrapping you in absolute visual surround security that I slid a sign into the truck bed with the tail gate down and tonneau still up and backed into a car behind me. All the time watching the cameras and side mirrors and never saw that car. Even after the truck abruptly stopped from the impact.

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[HaulingAss]

Your right of course. I'm so used to Tesla wrapping you in absolute visual surround security that I slid a sign into the truck bed with the tail gate down and tonneau still up and backed into a car behind me. All the time watching the cameras and side mirrors and never saw that car. Even after the truck abruptly stopped from the impact.

Live and learn.

I'll put the lesson into plain English:

When backing up, don't assume there is nothing there just because you can't see anything. Consequences are real. Always check your surroundings before getting in and maintain awareness of potential things moving into your blind spot before moving. Driving requires the operator to remain logical and assume full control. If you forget that, bad things can happen. You will probably get away with it 99 times before it bites you, so don't let those 99 successful times fool you into thinking you are doing it correctly.

A rear backup camera is not infallible. There are numerous incidents of backup cameras freezing, leaving the driver with a false impression that nothing is there, even after a person has moved behind the vehicle.

I'm far from Mr. Safety, I'm closer to being the most reckless I can possibly be, and never having it come back to bite me. Take pride, not in being overly cautious, but in having the adequate controls in place to get away with it every time (even if you slightly misjudge, because we are all human). Some people are not good at this, and should just be "Mr. Safety". Know which category you fall into. If in doubt, be Mr. Safety. It will serve you well.

 

[Little Mule]

Just want FSD to work

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