Giving the best of both worlds of reversing aids. A sharkfin review camera in combination with a mirror monitor and bumper mounted reversing sensors. A reversing alarm completes the kit to warn pedestrians of reverse manoeuvres.
Handsfree are installing a dual reversing aid system into NHS VW Crafter minibuses. The minibuses are coach built with a tail lift access lift at the rear of the vehicle and many of the usual factory cable routes were sealed during the coach build. This proved challenging during the installation process as running the various cables from front to back was difficult.
The solution required the installation of a sharkfin rear view camera which was fitted above the rear door. This enables the driver to have a clear view of the rear of the vehicle down to and including the step plate of the tail lift. The internal rear view mirror was removed and a mirror monitor for the shark fin camera was added.
Key Challenges
- Retro fit into a coach built minibus
- Find a sensor kit to work with a step plate lift
Solution
Dual reversing aid system with sharkfin review camera and bumper mounted sensor.
A bumper mounted sensor kit was also installed to give an audible and visible dash mounted warning. The audible warning tones beep progressively quicker as the vehicle nears the object it is reversing to. The dash mount indicator shows the distance and also a pattern indicating which part of the rear of the vehicle is closest to the object.
Lastly, an audible warning speaker was fitted underneath the rear of the vehicle so when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear a spoken message is sounded. This is also linked to the side lights so when the vehicle is reversing at night and the side or main lights are on the speaker will not sound. All in all the installation would have been much easier if it was installed during the coach building stage and this is the recommendation for future installations.
