Reversing sensors, are they worth it?

[596]

I was in a specialist vehicle audio shop looking at getting a superb music system installed in my motorhome and saw that they also sold reversing sensors, I have wing mirrors and twin rear cameras but as I am running out of presents to buy her wondered if these would be an extra layer of security, two would be black and two would be painted to match the bodywork.

So any expeinces with these on a motorhome appreciated, we have them on all our cars so I guess why not, it’s another toy ?

 

[tacr2man]

Somethings worth is more a personal value judgement , if you already have reverse camera , its more a question of how much retail therapy you need .

 

[596]

Somethings worth is more a personal value judgement , if you already have reverse camera , its more a question of how much retail therapy you need .

My reverse camera is pointless, they put a big bloody bike rack on the back so you see bugger all, OK I paid for the rack and extra cycle holder but didn’t ask them to fit it, I was going to keep it in my shed to save it getting dirty and just put it on if we needed it. I am having a tow bar fitted to put my Thule easy load carrier rack which has the bike rack option fitted, I prefer the bikes on this than blocking the view out of the rear window, also you can open the rear window with the bike rack fitted but can’t close it again, you need to unscrew the pistons

I tried to take it off yesterday but the weather was crap, may I will take it off tomorrow, no idea if the tow bar rack will interfere with the reversing sensors but can ask them in the shop ?

 

[Kannon Fodda]

I don't have sensors on my PVC, only a reversing camera.

On my car I have a rear camera and front / side / rear sensors. I had sensors on the previous car. Manouvering the car in tight spaces is easy.

Working out if I'm going to nudge something in the van is a pain in the bodywork. Reverse camera on the car has nice lines on the screen giving me distance perception. Nothing on the van's screen.

But, if I mount the bike on a towbar rack on the car, the sensors go mad and are useless, same would happen on a van. And on the car, when it gets warmer than 25deg the sensors start giving false you're going to hit something beeps.

I really miss the absence of sensors on the PVC, and do regard them as an almost essential accessory.

 

[596]

I don't have sensors on my PVC, only a reversing camera.

On my car I have a rear camera and front / side / rear sensors. I had sensors on the previous car. Manouvering the car in tight spaces is easy.

Working out if I'm going to nudge something in the van is a pain in the bodywork. Reverse camera on the car has nice lines on the screen giving me distance perception. Nothing on the van's screen.

But, if I mount the bike on a towbar rack on the car, the sensors go mad and are useless, same would happen on a van. And on the car, when it gets warmer than 25deg the sensors start giving false you're going to hit something beeps.

I really miss the absence of sensors on the PVC, and do regard them as an almost essential accessory.

I see it as another pair of eyes, just concerned about the tow bar bike rack issue, maybe I could have an on/off switch so if I have the rack on turn them off ?

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[Baileysbus]

Lost without them on the car these days so why not on the MH while you’re at it.

 

[sallylillian]

Don't ponce around with puny sensors get a real system.
Dometic CAM 360 BirdView camera/monitor system
Saves you having to learn how to use mirrors!

 

[Grianan]

I would definitely have reversing sensors if they worked with the bike rack ...

 

[buttons]

Reversing sensors could have saved JJ some turmoil.

 

[Figaro]

Why not ? Your clearly on a roll and very smitten with your purchase so you may as well go for every toy you can fit on it, otherwise you may get feelings of inadequacy when on you pitch on South of France.
Do you have hab air conditioning ? That could be a necessity now.
Have you given your motorhome a name ?
We could have a thread dedicated to choosing a name ?
I'm sure funsters could come up with some suitable suggestions

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[gus-lopez]

Sensors that beep & show the distance. Only have to watch the display for the distance reducing then.
I do have a reversing camera & a rear view camera to fit when I get home.

 

[gus-lopez]

Reversing sensors could have saved JJ some turmoil.

I think he was going forwards.

 

[Landy Andy]

Have both camera and sensors on mine. I don’t really use or rely on the sensors to be honest. If they do make a noise, I just check monitor of camera. So for me camera is better than sensors, and I wouldn’t fit sensors

 

[Garratt]

The best reversing system is having your partner get out of the MH and guide you into the space. If I was looking to spend money on a large coachbuilt destined for summer in the South of France, I’d be looking at hab aircon as someone else has already mentioned.

 

[596]

Have both camera and sensors on mine. I don’t really use or rely on the sensors to be honest. If they do make a noise, I just check monitor of camera. So for me camera is better than sensors, and I wouldn’t fit sensors

What I am worried about is low bollards or other low objects, even a child that could have walked behind the van on a site, I have no issues with front and side view its just even with two cameras at the rear I have blind spots because of the bldy bike rack, what is the actual point of a camera and bike rack, the other option is to have another camera fitted lower but its finding out if that means another screen, I don't want the interior of my van looking like some 70's motorhome with big ugly screens everywhere, or just get rid of the bike rack I didn't want fitted anyway that would solve the problem In any case how do you lift an electric bike up onto that stupid rack?

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[Rosemary1]

Have the on the car but not the motorhome - to be honest tend to disregard them and rely on the cameras mirrors (although thinking about it they did same me from a low lying large rock ones although the scream nearly stopped my heart at the time)

Would think that they would be useful on the motorhome so why not.

 

[Pikeman]

I have sensors and they are very handy, but as stated, nothing beats a banksman/women at the back giving signals. Sue has become good at giving appropriate signals over the years and of course sensors and cameras will not take note of low branches.

 

[carolyn]

If you can find magic ones that you can adjust so that they still work when the bike rack is on and fully loaded then that would be very useful indeed as that would be when I’d really like them. Had them on the last van but they spent most of the time switched off due to the bike rack so didn’t bother on the new van. We have a reversing camera.

 

[596]

The best reversing system is having your partner get out of the MH and guide you into the space. If I was looking to spend money on a large coachbuilt destined for summer in the South of France, I’d be looking at hab aircon as someone else has already mentioned.

See here re air con

I'm just so COOL, everybody wants to be with me...........

I am just so cool in France and have been for 9yrs, I use the air con system shown below and it is very popular with others as a lot of people like to escape the heat and come in my van to chill, how do you keep cool? Fixed or mobile air con? I have cab air con in my motorhome but I also had...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[eddie]

Sensors are really great on cars on the road or in normal driving situations.

They are woefully inaccurate on multi faceted surfaces such as grass and gravel, both of which are common on campsites, which is why they all have a caveat that they cannot be relied upon and the driver should check first making them pretty pointless on a camper. They also will probably detect the read cycle carrier.

My new car has seven cameras, it also has forward, side and rear radar, as well as ultra sonic sensors front, back and all corners which is all great as I adore technology, but, not everything is suitable for motorhomes

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[buttons]

I think he was going forwards.

My car has them on the front back and sides my van front and back. Sensors are not restricted to the rear.....

 

[596]

I have sensors and they are very handy, but as stated, nothing beats a banksman/women at the back giving signals. Sue has become good at giving appropriate signals over the years and of course sensors and cameras will not take note of low branches.

My wife flies out so I park up on my own, we do have a comms system on the boat that we could use called 'marriage savers', they are used and popular on motorbikes as well, Harley Davidson have some branded in their name, these ones are great for boats so the crew can communicate when out of site on the bow or stern, they clip behind your head and over your ears, you forget they are there and are voice activated so no buttons to press A bit overkill for a small motorhome but its there if we need it, they are only £150 each on Amazon so a bargain compared to a divorce

I forgot to add it links to my phone via bluetooth so I can make and receive calls or listen to music while wearing them

Amazon product ASIN B014URBX18
BROKEN LINK

 

[Chipster]

2 sets on ours, one set across the top, one set across the bottom. Good for low level branches and sorts.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Mine has reversing sensors. They detected an obstacle I couldn't see in my mirrors while doing a blind side reverse turn so well worth the extra cost.

 

[596]

Mine has reversing sensors. They detected an obstacle I couldn't see in my mirrors while doing a blind side reverse turn so well worth the extra cost.

They are only around £300 fitted, it wouldn't take that much of a bump on the motorhome to have a bill for that! I really need to wait until my tow bar is fitted next week I think then put the rack on and get them to work out the best place to fit them so I get maximum coverage When I have bikes on the rack that might cause blind spots as well, maybe best just to ditch the stupid and ugly bike rack on the back, it wasn't cheap especially with the extra bike adapter but must be worth a few quid to someone, I only got it in case the grand kids wanted to take bikes

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[GROMIT69]

I bought a set of reversing sensors of e bay £41 comes complete with hole saw and very easy to follow instructions, turned out to be the same set as the garage offered to fit for £200 plus vat , I know they have labour and overheads , but I fitted them myself in under 2hours including 2 cups of tea , just saying sometimes it's nicer to do things yourself.

 

[Podney]

Yes.

 

[596]

I bought a set of reversing sensors of e bay £41 comes complete with hole saw and very easy to follow instructions, turned out to be the same set as the garage offered to fit for £200 plus vat , I know they have labour and overheads , but I fitted them myself in under 2hours including 2 cups of tea , just saying sometimes it's nicer to do things yourself.

How did you get yours painted or are you lucky and all black areas where you put them? Mine would be a mixture of black and white, you need the right paint or otherwise it peels off over time.

 

[596]

I bought a set of reversing sensors of e bay £41 comes complete with hole saw and very easy to follow instructions, turned out to be the same set as the garage offered to fit for £200 plus vat , I know they have labour and overheads , but I fitted them myself in under 2hours including 2 cups of tea , just saying sometimes it's nicer to do things yourself.

I do some things myself but you need to spend money to keep the world going round, if we all stopped paying people for doing things a large part of the country would come to a standstill, I look on it as kind of charity, helping others make a living, you can't take it with you

 

[gus-lopez]

They are only around £300 fitted, it wouldn't take that much of a bump on the motorhome to have a bill for that! I really need to wait until my tow bar is fitted next week I think then put the rack on and get them to work out the best place to fit them so I get maximum coverage When I have bikes on the rack that might cause blind spots as well, maybe best just to ditch the stupid and ugly bike rack on the back, it wasn't cheap especially with the extra bike adapter but must be worth a few quid to someone, I only got it in case the grand kids wanted to take bikes

They'd really need fitting on the part farthest out.i.e the rack.
As to 2 sets ,mine has 4 sensors I fitted equi distance apart .each has a coverage of 0,9m in all directions.so basically picks up everything including grass, kerbs,side walls when reversing. Dunlop boxed 20€ . I found them so good on the MH I bought another set to fit on this van which I did some weeks ago.

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