Forget backup camera, how about a pull-up camera

If you lie down and look up under my front bumper it is completely striped from brushing those things. I have gotten resigned to it. You could mount a pair of curb feelers sticking straight down on the bumper (do they still make those things?) or a camera. I looked into raising the front of the car and it apparently can't be done. Now I just live with it.

 

I bet you say that to all the girls.

But seriously, there are accessory cameras for exactly this purpose. Any stereo shop can install them for you. With a DPDT relay and a momentary pushbutton wired in, you'd be able to hold a button to check front clearance anytime, then release the button to go back to default view or rear view if you happen to be in reverse gear.

 

Lol, and think of how ironic it would be if you accidentally broke your camera because your drove it into the curb... And even if you could position it so it wouldn't get damaged, I'd bet the camera lens would be ruined after a few thousand miles at freeway speeds.

Anyone got part number and price on redoing the front undercarriage? The amount of times I've fixed mine with more and more short-length dry wall screws is starting to get ridiculous.

Though I do appreciate the way the scraping of the front of the car gets people's attention. ;-) the older you get the more invisble in this culture... So I need all the help I can get!

 

A method that could work, would be to fit a camera to the front from a little FPV quadcopter. Plug it in to the USB port or flick a switch, when parking up. A cellphone App or a 5.8GHz small screen would show the image.

Decent cameras are around $25: https://www.gearbest.com/fpv-system/pp_593286.html
(I use the 275T a lot on a palm sized drone and own 5 different types, which is why I linked to it. There are loads, from about $18 upwards)

You can plug one of these dongle things in to your cellphone to view the concrete in front, for $27: How to: Use your smartphone as a 5.8GHz FPV monitor! - rcDroneArena
Who knows, you may be a flyer and have a pair of goggles you could take the screen out of.

So, for about $50 it's a solution. If the camera does get smashed up then it's $25 to replace it

 

I have not heard this. I look at the space when I pull in and know where the front of my car stops. Just stay a foot clear.

The 2020 Subaru Outback has a forward facing camera, so you can see obstacles directly in front of the vehicle.

 

Then I guess everyone should give up on those silly autonomous car cameras

Mike

 

You can see the front of the car? I’m over 6 ft tall and can’t see past the windshield.

 

I can't see it, but I know where it is relative to my head.

 

Ask any body shop...ALL cars have scrapes under the front. You just need to learn your "new to you" vehicle's limits to help reduce those events.

 

I've never had curb rash, either. Every car, pristine wheels.

 

Correction...almost all cars.

 

I grew up with a dad who was like that... Always insisted on two parking spaces in the most remote corner of the parking lot... You must make your family miserable being so uptight? Trust me, I've seen that scene close up, it's not a pretty sight...

 

I take one parking space only, sometimes in the most remote corner, but frequently up close at the end of a row.

Not at all, I just learned how to drive properly and keep my car off curbs. I park as quickly as anybody.

Parallel parking - my Dad made me learn how to do that in a car with no power steering and a manual transmission. I get in the first try every time.

 

Most cameras close to the ground and up front for driving assist functions are radar based, not visual based...

 

I had a 2015 Leaf with a camera up front right on the hatch for the charging port

Mike