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$50 and 2 hours, Big improvements.

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Old 01-06-2011, 08:40 PM
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Default $50 and 2 hours, Big improvements.

The day I bought my suburban I started putting in the aftermarket radio. Being a "93 most of you know that the aftermarket radio makes the stock radio become an eye sore on the dash. My thought was from the beginning to put a screen there and preferably if it didn't do anything else, it would be for a backup camera. Not having lots of money to spend on extra stuff for me with Christmas I wasn't in a big hurry but I came across a VR3 wireless system listed for $65. Retail is $90 or so and I offered them $50 shipped to the door. Well it arrived today.
Each $hit old radio.

Now if I can find a cheap rear bumper!

This weekend I will get a solid piece of black or gray plastic to cover the entire radio so none of the button holes can be seen.


Down the road I would like to find a bigger screen that would take up nearly the entire spot but this does the job for now. The view is about 3 feet behind the truck you can see the ground and 10-15 feet away from the garage door i could still see about 5 feet high. It certainly cover anything you can't see in the side mirrors and will make backing under a trailer a guaranteed one shot deal.
Old 01-06-2011, 09:25 PM
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That's sweet!! Do the back up camera's take any special type of wires? That may be a dumb question but I've never messed with one.
Old 01-06-2011, 09:33 PM
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This is wireless. The only wires I had to hook up were. Power for the camera that I took from the left backup light. Power for the monitor that I tied into the neutral safety switch so it only turns on in reverse. If it were a wired camera then I would need to run a signal wire up the side of the truck to connect the camera and monitor but like I said this one is wireless.
Old 01-06-2011, 10:08 PM
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Oh I got ya. That's not bad at all. That sure would be nice hooking up a trailer, especially by yourself.
Old 01-06-2011, 10:09 PM
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VR3 is some really cheap stuff man, but hey if you like it that's cool. Does it work alright?
Old 01-07-2011, 11:21 AM
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Yes. It works well. Occationaly you get a tiny bit of static but very little. I know it is low end but retail it would have been near $100, and a 7 inch like I really want is $150 on up. It gets the job done for now and I should be able to get my money back out of it in the next year when I upgrade.
Old 01-09-2011, 10:22 PM
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I made a small step in a forward direction. I was playing with different tools to cut the holes and as always happens, and I am getting near the end, I found the tool for each job. I am going to probably start fresh with a new piece but may be able to salvage this one. The outer edges need trimmed and that isn't' a big deal at all. The issue is getting the screen hole to look right with straight edges. The plan is to get it trimmed and a perfect fit with the textured paint then get matching dash paint to paint this and the radio adapter.

It isn't perfect but heading in the right direction.
The camera angle is absolutely perfect too. The ball starts at the bottom of the screen so hooking up is a breeze. I am also very amazed at the picture quality of the unit because VR3 is fairly low end. But the picture quality is GREAT! and only occasionally I get a little bit of interference but event when it happens it is only for a moment and you have a clear screen again.
Old 01-17-2011, 07:17 PM
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After looking at it around the screen has a relief that has a slight arch on all 4 sides. Making a perfect square for the screen to show through wouldn't look right because of the lines not being straight. I wanted to see how this looked and I am content with it. I need to clean the tape residue off the screen front and get it painted to match. I am also no going to go with the textured paint because smooth will look better because the heater controls and other panels are smooth on the other side.
Old 01-17-2011, 09:56 PM
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looks good
Old 07-20-2011, 07:12 PM
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hahahaahahahahaha wow!!! i missed this one!!!! that's sweet!!!!


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