I have a 2004 F150 I rarely use. I'd like to put a cheap backup camera in. It has an 8ft bed with camper top and can be a pain to backup to the boat with it.

I've seen some of these cheap double din radios by Dual, Boss, random brands on Amazon etc. I'm sure just about anything would be an upgrade as the truck just has a base model AM/FM radio.

Anyone have any good experience with a cheap unit? Need a rear cam input.

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Posted by Fat Batman

Gotham City, NJ

Member since Oct 2019

1555 posts

Posted on 2/2/21 at 3:17 pm to GoAwayImBaitn

I got one of the generic unbranded Android head units from China and it's fricking awesome. Search, "10.1 Android car stereo" on AliExpress and they should pop up. They have 7 and 9-inch variants as well. They start at like $50 and go up to around $100 depending on the Android version, RAM, and memory. I got the 10.1 with the highest spec around a year ago and it was just over $100. If you play your cards right, you can get one that comes with a camera for free. You can get them on Amazon/eBay/etc, but they are more expensive. The only downside for me ordering from China was that mine took around 2 months, maybe longer to come in. I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't fast. I also chose the free shipping option which was something like "we'll tape it to a sea turtle and hope a good samaritan in the US finds it and brings it to the post office for final delivery". I wasn't in a hurry though and honestly at the onset, not knowing anything about the unit, I was prepared to lose $100 if it was a piece of shite or didn't make it to me.

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Posted by southern686

Narnia

Member since Nov 2015

972 posts

Posted on 2/2/21 at 3:41 pm to GoAwayImBaitn

Everyone will have a different opinion but I will share mine. Also keep in mind this is my experience from 4 or so years ago and times may have changed.

Personally, I have not had good experiences with cheaper brand double din head units. I have always found these to have really crap UIs, a pain to navigate, slow response, have issue with lagging and even sometimes freezing. This was a pain to deal with while driving.
For lower end double din units, Pioneer has always been my go to. To me, they always offered the best product in this category for the cost.
For higher end, Kenwood was always my go to.

I have ran a couple lower end Pioneer double din HUs and they were fantastic for the money and lasted years. For a 200ish dollar unit, they impressed me. At the lower end cost- you get a simple, easy navigable UI that does not lag and is responsive. Sure it will be missing some of the fancy bells and whistles all the 600+ dollar units come with but that is not what you're (or I was) going for. I'd maybe look into the Pioneer DMH-220EX. Amazon has it listed for $200 and it does have support for a back up camera input.

quote:
F150 I rarely use. I'd like to put a cheap backup camera in.

Then again, they also make some wifi cameras that will link straight to your smart phone and some that come with a screen that you can mount anywhere. This would save you the time, cost, etc. associated with replacing the HU in the truck.

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Posted by Unobtanium

Baton Rouge

Member since Nov 2009

1822 posts

Posted on 2/2/21 at 6:17 pm to GoAwayImBaitn

If you want a head unit upgrade with a camera input, try Crutchfield's for ideas. You can always buy elsewhere.

May not apply to a 2004 model, but OEM's use the radio for door chimes and other warning sounds and aftermarket units don't always duplicate these functions well.

If all you want is a camera, you can buy a wireless camera that links to your phone, or install a camera in the tailgate (tailgate handle or the Ford oval) and connect to an inexpensive monitor like this: Amazon. This will be hardwired so prepare to crawl under your truck with a handful of TyRaps.