RV Dash Cam – 8 Reasons Why You Need One

Dash cams have flooded the market in recent years as they have come to be an essential part of road trip planning. One of these cameras can be purchased for an affordable price and easily mounted in any vehicle providing you with plenty of safety measures that can help you in many different situations.

Whether you want to spend $30 or $200, a dash cam can help to give a constant “eyeball” that’s watching and recording everything that happens as you drive. This can be a comforting feeling knowing that no matter what happens, you will have it on video. While some people may see this as a privacy intrusion, it can help to make your life easier should something happen.

It’s one of those items that is easy to add to your vehicle so why wouldn’t you? Especially if you are going to be traveling on long trips. Typically, RVers are driving long distances to get to locations so it only makes sense to make sure that the journey is recorded for both fun and safety.

Let’s look at a few reasons why you should consider adding one of these to your RV.

1) Prove What Happened In An Accident

It’s not always possible to know who’s telling the truth in an accident if no one saw it other than you and the other party involved. It can be their word against yours unless the person at fault is clearly obvious. It would be nice to have video footage that you can look back on and know exactly what happened. This can prove to your insurance what happened.

Let’s say you are traveling down the road minding your own business and out of the blue, an irresponsible driver cuts you off or even hits you, causing a wreck. If you did not have a dash cam, it would be your word against the other persons, assuming the other person didn’t do a hit and run.

Having video footage of someone driving recklessly and causing a wreck will go a long way towards proving your innocence. My dad always told me when I was growing up that you don’t have to worry about yourself when your driving because you know what you are going to do. Instead, you need to pay close attention to others because you never know what someone else is going to do.

Since you never know what others are going to do and how they are going to respond, it’s a good idea to have events recorded so that you can easily send the video footage to your insurance company and they would know exactly what happened. Not only that, but this video footage could also go to the police and the assailant could hopefully be apprehended and punished.

Just when the jerk thinks they got away with it, the video footage allows the authorities to be able to catch the criminal. This camera would have helped you to prove exactly what happened so that you would not have to worry about proving you’re not at fault. This can help to avoid increases in insurance premiums due to at-fault wrecks.

Of course, it could work against you too if you are the reckless one. Having a camera recording at all times will likely make you a better driver so you won’t have to worry so much about this. We’ll discuss this a little more below.

2) Protect Yourself From Bad People

Speaking of hit and runs, bad people are just a part of life. It’s possible that you will run into these types of people on your journey. It may not be a hit and run but it could be a number of unfortunate events that could happen. Perhaps it’s an angry pedestrian or someone with road rage who is having a bad day.

Someone could run into you, sideswipe you or you might even have an angry pedestrian throw something at your RV. If something like this were to happen, you will again be able to show your insurance company as well as the authorities so that they can track down the person so that they can be properly dealt with.

3) Record Your Trip

Oh, the places you will go in your RV! An RV is designed to take you on once-in-a-lifetime trips that make life worth living. On these trips, it isn’t always possible to pull out a camera and record magical moments when they present themselves. Not everyone is a vlogger and wants to carry a camera around 24/7. It’s nice to have something that is constantly recording so that you don’t miss anything. As soon as you round the corner and see that amazing sunset view, you have it on camera.

As long as you have a high-quality dash cam that records HDR footage, you will have great video that can be used as part of your video memories. Show friends and family your amazing trip or even upload it to YouTube for all the world to see. You can rest easy knowing that whatever amazing views you see out your windshield, your camera is seeing it too. The only difference is, it’s recording it so you will be able to save that footage for later.

4) Record Odd Events

Since your dash cam will be recording constantly as you are driving, you may be able to record some strange events that might happen. This could be anything from UFO sightings, plane crashes, wrecks, fights, or any other event that is out of the ordinary. These types of events happen quickly and you probably won’t have your camera on you when they do happen. Unless you are lucky, you won’t get to record something like this.

However, if you have a dash cam, no need to worry. If you caught it with your eyes, your dash cam caught it as well. Even if you didn’t see it with your eyes, the dash cam did. It’s always on the job so it’ll catch all kinds of events that might go unnoticed when you aren’t even paying attention.

These odd events will make their way onto a digital record and you’ll have it to share with others. You’ll be able to tell others about the UFO you saw on your trip while driving through the desert. Of course, they won’t believe you but you can whip out your memory card and they can see for themselves.

5) Be A Witness To Other People’s Accidents

Not everyone will have a dash cam so there may be cases where the person in front of you gets hit by another car, causing a wreck. If you have a camera recording, you can easily record all of these events and then provide the footage to the other person.

Consider it the job of a watchful and helpful citizen helping others in need. We know that the RV community is a fine group of people who are always looking out for others. Having a dash cam gives you a set of extra eyes to be able to see and prove other things that are happening around you. It could help someone in need by giving them valuable proof of what happened during an accident or other event.

6) Keep Your Eyes On Your RV When Parked

The majority of dash cams are also on the job even when you are not driving. They provide eyes on your vehicle and surrounding area when you are in the vehicle or not. This could come in handy when you are in parking lots and other places where other cars and people could accidentally run into your vehicle. Even a shopping cart on the loose can run into your vehicle and cause damage.

Dash cams are able to begin recording when a vibration is detected or through the use of other technologies. If someone were to ram your car or back into it, the camera will start to record so that you can see what happened. You’ll have this footage as proof which can be extra helpful if the person isn’t cooperative or has done a hit and run.

7) Makes You A Better Driver

When you know that your every move is being recorded, it makes sense that you are going to be a more cautious driver. Having a camera that is recording all the time as you drive will make you more aware to obey the rules. You’ll be more apt to drive the speed limit, stop completely at stop signs, not run red lights, or do anything else that could get you into trouble.

If something were to happen, you wouldn’t want to be found in violation of some law. This will be in the back of your mind as you drive and will cause you to slow it down and be cautious. This will result in fewer chances for something bad to happen such as wrecks or speeding tickets.

8) Because Why Not?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out in the world who aren’t honest and you may run into situations that you wish you had been able to record on camera. For people who travel in RVs, a lot of time is spent on the road and it’s common to see lots of things happening when you are driving as far as people do in RVs. A trip across the country will definitely yield your share of interesting happenings, most of which you won’t ever care to see again. However, it will be that one time that something unique happens out your front windshield that will make it worth having a dash cam.

Having a dash cam is a no-brainer for those who drive a lot. When you are driving your home around, you want all the protection that you can get. Lots of valuable items may be in your vehicle since your entire life is situated inside, especially if you are a full-timer.

Best RV Dash Camera On The Market

There are lots of different dash cams on the market with each having their own unique set of features. While most of the standard features can be found in nearly any of them, the quality is often noticed between cheaper an more expensive models. Pricing is often a good indication of the type of product you might end up with. You can find cheap ones that work fine but might not give you the best features or video quality on the market. If you aren’t concerned with this, you might want to consider having a cheaper dash cam in your vehicle.

It’s difficult to say what the best dash cam is because this will depend on what you want it for and how much you want to spend. Not all dash cams are the same and some offer features that others don’t. You’ll need to determine the features that you are looking for before you can make the best decision for yourself.

Cheap Dash Cam

Personally, I settled for a cheaper model for my camper van. The model I use is the Papago GoSafe 230. It’s a great dash cam to have in the glove box and you can just mount it via a suction cup to the windshield when you are ready to hit the road. It isn’t going to win any awards but it has always done a good job at recording usable video footage when I have been out and about.

Fortunately, I have never had to use any of the video footage for any kind of insurance purposes. For the most part, my travels have been incident-free but it’s nice to know that there is a recording eyeball looking out my windshield at all times.

Luxury Dash Cam

The luxury dash cam I would consider would be the Garmin Dash Cam 66W. This dash cam is small but packs a punch when it comes to features. It’s a Garmin so it does have GPS built-in. Any incident that happens, will have the coordinates logged so you can prove exactly where it took place.

Other features of this camera include driver alerts like lane departure and forward collision. It is also voice-activated so it makes it easy to stop and start recording as needed by just saying “OK, Garmin.”

Mirror Dash Cam

A mirror dash cam is a great solution for those who want to make sure that they are legal at all times. It’s for those who don’t want to clutter up their windshield with stuff mounted to it. Some states do not allow items to be mounted to your windshield so having a camera that fits over your rearview mirror is a good way to stay legal no matter where you are.

These come in different types and some have a basic mirror while some have a screen instead. It’s a personal choice as to the type of features you want. They are easily adjustable and fit most standard rearview mirrors. Just measure yours and compare it to the model you are considering before purchasing to make sure.

This mirror cam is a great, feature-packed choice.

Other Things To Consider

Laws

As mentioned above, there are laws in some states that prohibit items from being mounted to your windshield other than your rearview mirror. It’s always good to stay legal when you are traveling so make sure to understand where you are traveling to and know the laws before you go. If you are going through a state that does not allow items to be mounted to your windshield, you’ll want to use a different type of camera such as the mirror cams that were discussed above.

These will ensure that you are riding legally in any state that you go through. In other countries, you’ll have to check with where you are located for laws and restrictions on how you can properly mount these cameras.

In the USA, you can check current laws about mounting items to windshields here.

Summary

Having a dash cam in your RV just makes good sense. Whether it’s your RV or personal vehicle, a dash cam can be a great witness to wrecks, crimes, and other oddities that you may encounter out on the road. With the prices of electronics like these being at a minimum, it just makes sense to have one at all times in your RV.

Once you have one, it can be moved from vehicle to vehicle so it doesn’t have to remain only in your RV. It’s a good idea to use something like this in your vehicle no matter where you go or what you are in. You can easily move it to your personal vehicle if you are heading out on a family trip.

Whatever type you decide on, I would suggest having one on hand at all times. You never know what could happen out on the road, especially on those long drives.