Dash Cam as a Security Device

[Pete 1962]

Dashcam for a caravan in storage.

 

I've just put my caravan in a gold standard storage yard and I'm on the end of a row. As I have a solar panel I wondered on installing a dashcam in parking mode that would detect movement and record a couple of minutes. I'm worried someone might clip the corner. I can see it could be used elsewhere too. Anyone had a similar idea or experience? Thanks

Edited September 29, 2020 by Pete 1962
Adding information

[Guest]

Can you not ask to move your spot ? Seems a bit OTT riging  cameras in storage, in any case if it’s a good site there should already be a camera covering it 

[Jezzerb]

Good idea, they actually have an on board battery or our next base has and it has parking mode so it activates on movement or impact.you may not need a battery at all? But not sure how long it lasts.

[DACS]

built-in batteries in dashcam, including Nextbase, are small rechargeables and will not last for more than a few days in parking mode without an external 12v supply.   You need to be aware that parking mode does not start recording until movement is detected so it will not capture any impact but cay capture the culprit moving away.

[Jezzerb]

Yes may or may not be enough, depends on how much movemt goes on but if the caravan has solar I would think if the camera were attached to the battery via a fused direct link it would cope, dependent of course on solar panel output.

[Jay]

On 30/09/2020 at 08:11, Jezzerb said:

Good idea, they actually have an on board battery or our next base has and it has parking mode so it activates on movement or impact.you may not need a battery at all? But not sure how long it lasts.

Onboard battery won't last longer than a day.

My 422GW is flat if ignition is not turned on every couple of days 
Found that out during lockdown when my car wasn't started for over a week 

[Jezzerb]

Surely quite simple to rig up with a solar panel and 12v though. If you have a solar panel on the van even less hassle.Great idea I think!

[Wildwood]

Possibly the one problem might be that if you do not visit it very frequently the camera might record over the accident but it is certainly an idea.

[DACS]

1 hour ago, Wildwood said:

Possibly the one problem might be that if you do not visit it very frequently the camera might record over the accident but it is certainly an idea.

Nextbase dashcams automatically lock recordings associated with an impact and this includes all recording in parking mode.  This means that the recording will not get overwritten so you need to manually delete them or reformat the memory card periodically.  If the dashcam is only being used in parking mode then it should not record very much, probably a few minutes for every impact.  A card can usually store a few hours of recording depending on its capacity.