Just on a gamble, I bought a VR3 wireless backup camera from wal-mart for $111.00, and installed it today.
I figured if I didnt like it, I could always return it.
The installation was pretty straight forward. I mounted the camera to the license plate, routed the wire behind the bumper and up to the taillight. I spliced it into the reverse lights so that it only comes on when in reverse. It comes with shims to aim it, which took some experimenting. The in-cab mounting was simply velcro and cigarette lighter power for now, as the kit also comes with a hard wire option.

So far, here's my impression:

Pros: It works. The picture quality is definitely good enough to see my ball, and hook up to trailers by myself. Installation took about 15 minutes.

Cons: It is somewhat prone to interference. When I had it in the garage, the screen flickered pretty bad, but when I got it outside, it worked just fine. The monitor is kinda big, and hard to find a decent place to mount (it came with a pedestal mount, but it was too big and in the way (IMO)). The power cord sticks out too far from the side, doesnt look like a very clean install. Takes about 2-3 seconds for image to stabilize, making it somewhat impractical for hurried use. The field of view is a little small. Chinese construction.

All in all, for the price, I think it was worth it, as it works perfectly for the reason I bought it... hooking up trailers.

As a side note, when I was driving through my neighborhood, I picked up a couple of wireless security cameras along the way

If anyone is interested, I'll keep this updated as I use it more.

Here's the pics in my gallery, sorry for the poor quality, as I only had a camera phone with me...
https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?num=12550

 

I was looking at those too at Sprawl Mart---was thinking about asking Santa for one---glad to here your review. Still might ask for one for Christmas...

TSC

 

So the camera is spliced into the backup lights---where di you slpice the wires?

 

Just looking at that yesterday.

can you take another pic and show the field of view? I will use it for hooking up the trailer and also be nice to have in a parking lot, or around the kids.

Thanks for the review.

 

I just removed the tail light, then removed some of the wrapping from the reverse light wires, then used the supplied scotch-locks to splice them.

Update: I was hauling a trailer this weekend, and used the camera on a few occasions as I had to drop off the trailer, then pick it up again. The display flickers an awful lot, and picks up moisture inside the lens. It is still adequate for the last few feet of backing up to the hitch, but leaves a lot to be desired for every day use. I wasnt able to get any more pics of the field of view, but I can say that if you are worried about seeing kids and obstacles behind you before you back up, I dont think this would be a very good product. I'm going to guess that the FOV is about 90 degrees or so side to side, leaving alot of blind area to the left and right. Not to mention the fact that the flickering/ interference would be a real hassle to deal with every time you back up. It still works for the reason I got it, which is the about once a week I have to hook up to one of my trailers by myself. Also, it is definitely not a night camera. I have aftermarket backup lights, which makes it fine, but with the stock lights, it would be all but useless at night.

 

Thanks for the update. Maybe I should add the Ford backup sensors instead.

Thanks again.

 

Call roadmaster, they replaced my unit with one that can be hard wired for free. It works great now. I was shocked that they did this, no charge except for my sending the old unit back to them. Plus the new camera is adjustable with a flic of the finger. Good customer service. I called the tech support line. hope they do the same for the rest of you.