HOW TO: Make a Camera Mount for your Vehicle

mblouir

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I've been wanting to make a camera mount for a while, now. I've also had people asking me for more exhaust videos, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone.


Note: I found this design method online, so I am not taking credit for it at all. Just passing it along...



Materials:
- Piece of material (stock aluminum, steel, wood, whatever) approximately 18" long
- (2) 1/4"x20 U-bolts
- (2) Small plates that usually come with U-bolts
- (4) 1/4"x20 nuts
- (2) 1/4"x20 bolt (length variable)
- Washers (if necessary)
- Some type of camera mount (I am using my tripod mount. Reason this is suggested is to prevent you threading a bolt too far into the camera. Trust me, it's not a pleasant sound when you thread through the body and into the lens. RIP, old point-and-shoot.)
Total Cost: About $10 if purchasing everything new.

Tools:
- Some type of saw (hacksaw, bandsaw, etc) if you need to cut the stock material
- Drill
- Drill bit (I used 9/32")
- Wrench to tighten nuts

Steps:
Pictures should be self-explanatory, but I'll throw these in for good measure.
- Put your material up next to the headrest bars in your vehicle (mounting location). Use a marker to spot where the U-bolts should go. This should be simple enough. Also make a small mark on top of the material where you want the camera/camcorder to be located.
- If necessary, cut the material to desired length. Drill your holes and test-fit the U-bolts to make sure they go through smoothly.
- If everything fits well, take it out to your vehicle and install it. I started out with it in the backseat. Ended up moving it to the front seat since my test runs were at night. Easier to get an idea of what's where while watching.






Camera Mount Assembled:

Built.jpg

Built_1.jpg

Built_2.jpg

Built_3.jpg





Camera Mount Installed:
This is in the back seat---like I mentioned, I moved it to the front seat. Sorry for the poor quality on this one.

Installed.jpg






Video Tests:
Note: These are long videos, but you get a good idea of just how sturdy this thing is. I hit some pretty rough spots in the road and it pretty much just bounced with the truck. No excessive wobbling at all. I'm very impressed with the durability.



[YT]UL0VH3aWeVw[/YT]
[YT]JNOaYGh7e1o[/YT]


Will post daylight videos in the morning. With it being night, the camera chose to expose the video based on the radio, so everything else is underexposed.




Daylight Video 1: To the Dog Park
Got tired of waiting on the second video to upload, so here's the first.
[YT]-r0Uj80KcNM[/YT]
 
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dirtyoldman

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That's awesome Matt :thumbs: I'm gonna try to make one tomorrow,all I need are the clamps :thumbs:
 

mblouir

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New videos are uploading, and they are longer so it will be a few hours before I post them. I recorded the drives both to and from the dog park. I almost like the back view better---you can see out of the front of the vehicle.

I still have to try the front seat with the headrest raised. That may give more visibility. Overall, though, it works very well.


Question: can you guys hear the audio or did YT already disable it?
 

Carolinaboy

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I can hear it Matt!

Cool setup I need to do some more exhaust videos that'll be a cool way to do it!
 

OPGMC

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Is the noise Im hearing in the first vid washers shaking or the whole thing wobbling against the headrest posts?
 

mblouir

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Glad you guys like it. I'm hoping the videos I have uploading now don't fail. It's easier to tell what's going on in the daylight.

Again, they're long videos (longer than the first ones), but they were just my way of testing it. I don't expect anyone to watch the whole thing. :lol: I'll see if I can point out some good parts when I get a few minutes. One good part in the 2nd video is about 2:30 in. Lady asking for my shake. I don't think so.



Kevin,
I believe it's the washers. There is little to no play in regards to how it attaches to the headrest posts. That's something I need to figure out.
 

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