I've seen those cameras on larger Class A RV's but they always have mirrors as well. Might be worth taking a trip to a dealer or an RV show to see how well they work.
I've seen those cameras on larger Class A RV's but they always have mirrors as well. Might be worth taking a trip to a dealer or an RV show to see how well they work.
It may not even be legal to not have mirrors, regardless of whether you have cameras or not. Some state automotive laws don't exactly keep up with technology.
Also, what happens if one of the cameras breaks or a wire comes loose or something?
I'd personally figure out a mirror setup, regardless, with a camera only for direct-behind wide-angle.
In reply to irish44j:
It will definitely have side mirrors. The camera is going to be more to cover areas the mirrors miss.
The passenger side mirror I used on the way back from WI was pitiful and left a monstrous blind spot. My son was my side view for the entire trip. The original mirror was even worse. Not to mention both of them were mounted behind the driver making them hard to see.
The driver's side was better, but even it wasn't great. You really had to be careful making lane changes in either direction.
The problem is, I'm not sure what I can mount that would be better. The windshield of the bus is close to two feet narrower than the main body. Anything mounted in front of the windshield will have to hang off the side of the bus 2 feet to be able to see down the side of the bus. The drivers side avoids this problem by mounting the mirror in the drivers side window. Unfortunately the passenger side window is the middle of the door, so every time the door is open and shut the mirror gets adjusted automatically.
I'm still studying the problem. I'm trying to avoid mounting a mass of mirrors that detract from the looks of the bus and at the same time have adequate coverage. The camera system, in addition to more traditional mirrors, seems like a nice compromise, but I've never seen one in person. More digging will have to be done.
Thanks for the pointers and suggestions everyone. I do appreciate it.
Toyman in the future.
It may also help top have little LED turn signals midway down the side of the bus. Gives someone hiding there a chance of seeing your intentions and speeding up or slowing down. I always appreciate those of big rigs etc.
How about fender mounted mirrors? I know they aren't sexy, but may give you far better view.
Mad_Ratel wrote: Toyman in the future.
More in line with the vintage of the bus.
Our bus's right side mirrors stick out and ahead of the right side door post so we look out the windshield at them. Once the stairway fills with people looking out the door at anything is impossible anyway. With a flat and a convex mirror we can see pretty much the whole right side of a 60 foot bus.
How's it going?
In reply to Petrolburner:
Slowly.
The temperatures around here have been above 95 degrees every day, for the past month. That's above my motivation temperature.
We also had a family reunion I was partially responsible for, that sucked up several weekends.
The parts are piling up and there will be a flurry of activity in the not too distant future.
Finally!!!
It was in the 70s this morning when I walked outside at 7am. Hallelujah!! The sun was coming up and for once, no one had scheduled my weekend. SanFord was looking particularly forlorned and lonely. It's been over a month since progress was made. Time to work on the paint, at least until the temps started to rise.
Not a lot done, but forward progress was made. I got the cracks and crevices on the drivers side filled and a first coat on the bottom. By then the temperature was already crossing into the 90s.
So I moved inside and gave the entire interior a good cleaning. It had a thick layer of dust and sand on every surface, left over from sandblasting. All of that is cleaned up.
I'm not sure I like the way the line is falling out on the hood. I'm going to have to stare at it for a while. I'm also starting to think the red line on the other side is too wide. If That line comes down the hood, it's going to look strange. We'll see.
More to come. Hopefully with some consistency.
In reply to Toyman01:
I think the hood should only have 1 color it looks like you can get away with that but i am not sure.
EDIT here are some examples that are at least 2 tone.both seem to have the stripes higher up than yours as well.
In reply to MrChaos:
My original plan was for the fenders to be painted the lower dark color, and the hood to be painted the lighter color. I'm thinking that would look strange with the dividing line on the back of the bus being higher than the front.
I'm going to have to stand out there and stare at it for a while. I may also paint the other side the way you suggest and see which one looks better.
In reply to Toyman01:
that whole really straight/square body lines to the really curved front lines really plays havoc on paint/design layout.
That's the thing. You need to curve the lines on the hood. Arc them downwards near the front, almost like a beak and see what it looks like. Play up the shape of the bus. Nobody says your red line needs to stay the same either, think about tapering it to a point.
I usually do a lot of masking tape mock ups when I'm doing something like this. It's a lot easier to modify than paint.
Have you been searching F-100 pictures for ideas?
Good idea Woody
In reply to Woody:
I've looked at 1000s of them.
I'll have to do like Keith suggested and play with the painters tape for a few days.
flat black hood because #racebus
I posted the last update as the board was crashing and it disappeared. Lets try again.
And we had another 70 degree morning. 
Much happened at the Shop of Toys.
Most of the morning was dedicated to the Jet Boat. It needed some improvements. Then we moved on to SanFord.
The passenger side is painted, less the red stripe. Big shout out to my daughter, she did a lot of it.
I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with the front. That will probably be tomorrow's project unless I disappear in the Jet Boat for the day.
Next up was a little fiddling with the side-view camera system. I stuck the camera in a piece of scrap aluminum so I could stick it on the bus with a magnet.
This is close.
The monitors will end up somewhere around here...maybe. They might end up below the bottom of the windshield, or above the top of it.
I think I'm going to like this system. The coverage and the view, with the 7" monitors, is awesome.
More to come, and with the cool weather, it progress should happen faster.
SanFord got a little more loving today. It now has actual, working, tail, brake, and plate lights.
No work on it today, but I did prove it still runs and drives.
I wanted to turn it around and get the last of the blasting sand out from under it. That necessitated a lap around the neighborhood. The number of double takes was hilarious. Plus a couple of thumbs up and lots of waves.
The old engine still runs pretty good.
I am sorry, but every time I check in on this project, this is the immage I see in my head:
I spotted this and thought of Sanford
We are finally getting on top of the storm damage out at my parents place. The weather is cooling off, and I actually went out and did a little on SanFord this afternoon.
Side vents for the refrigerator and water heater installed, sealed and mostly painted. I still need to do the red stripe, but I'm going to be changing to a different paint. I'm not liking the color of what I used previously.
Next up is a question.
These spots need a temporary repair. Something that will last a year or two and slow down the progression. I don't want to get into extensive body work at this time. What is the easiest semi-permanent fix. Something that doesn't require a grinder and welder.
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