Rear View/Reversing Aids.

Our Autoquest had a rear window with a decent view through the central rear view mirror, though much higher up than a car of course. Together with the door mirrors there was plenty of visibility for normal driving, especially with a Fresnel Lens fitted to the window. For reversing we started out with the basic method of passenger acting as banksman. We later bought a pair of three band walkie talkie sets. One could be left in receive mode on the dash so that the driver could hear instructions from the passenger outside the van. As it turned out we used the radios very little.

The Burstner also has a rear window and the view through the mirror isn't bad though not as good as the Autoquest. Still fine for normal driving though, in combination with the door mirrors, but not all that easy to tell exactly how close vehicles were. The van also had a reversing camera (which worked only when the vehicle was in reverse gear) already fitted when we bought it. It was a wireless model with the camera just above the number plate and the monitor strapped to the sun visor and powered from a plug inserted in the console power socket. The camera was OK but, though quite expensive, was not one we would have chosen for ourselves. The picture did tend to break up a bit on bumpy surfaces, probably due to vibration of the wireless transmitter.

After 18 months of owning the Burstner we decided to change the camera and went to Dave Newell for a Camos Tilt Camera with the monitor mounted on the right hand side of the dash so that it is alongside the door mirror. The view is superb and gives a much clearer indication of how close following vehicles are. The camera automatically tilts to show where the rear of the van is when reversing. Not cheap but we think it was well worth it - and far better than the other one.

The monitor (which is removable for security) is mounted at the right hand side of the dash, as shown in the photo, where the driver can see the view it gives as well as that shown by the door mirror. 		Rear view monitor

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Last updated: 26 May 2016