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A motorhome breaks most of the assumptions a normal dash cam is built on. A rear cable that easily spans a sedan comes up short in a 35-foot Class A. The windshield is huge and nearly upright. The camera sits in a parked rig for weeks in the sun, and parking mode has to live with battery disconnect switches. If you tow a travel trailer, the dash cam in your truck cannot see behind the trailer at all.
The picks below are chosen for those problems, with the rear cable length, extension options, heat rating and remote-monitoring requirements for each.
Quick picks
- Best overall for most motorhomes: VIOFO A229 Plus (2K + 2K)
- Best for storage-lot and campsite monitoring: BlackVue Elite 9 (4K + 2K)
- Best 4K for big Class A windshields: VIOFO A229 Pro (4K + 2K)
- Best three-channel with a waterproof rear camera: Vantrue N4 Pro S
- Best budget 4K: 70mai A810S (4K + 1080p)
- Best for tow vehicles and RVs with a backup camera: Thinkware Q200 (front only)
| Camera | Rear cable in the box | Longer cable from the maker | Rated operating temp | Remote access option | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIOFO A229 Plus | 6 m (19.7 ft) | 8 m and 10 m | -4°F to 149°F | None | about $190 |
| BlackVue Elite 9 | 6 m (19.7 ft) coax | 10 m | -4°F to 149°F | LTE module or hotspot | about $500 |
| VIOFO A229 Pro | 6 m (19.7 ft) | 8 m and 10 m | -4°F to 149°F | None | about $280 |
| Vantrue N4 Pro S | About 20 ft | Not confirmed | Not published | Optional LTE module | about $300 |
| 70mai A810S | Not published | Not confirmed | 14°F to 140°F | Optional 4G kit | about $170 |
| Thinkware Q200 | Front only | n/a | 14°F to 140°F | None listed | about $120 |
Prices checked on Amazon on October 21, 2026. Prices change often, so confirm on the retailer page before buying.
How we chose
We have not tested these cameras in an RV. The picks are based on manufacturer spec sheets, retailer spec tables, and long-form owner and reviewer reports on DashCamTalk. We weighted what matters more in an RV than in a car: rear cable length and official longer cables, parking-mode power, rated operating temperature and remote-monitoring requirements. Where a spec could not be confirmed, the table says so.
Class A vs Class C vs travel trailer
Class A motorhomes
Class A coaches average about 33 feet and run up to about 45. Three things change:
- Mount position. Many coaches have no rearview mirror to hide the camera behind, and some have a two-piece windshield with a center divider. Mount high, just right of center or beside the divider, and inside the wiper sweep. Check that the lens tilts far enough for near-vertical glass; some owners use a dash pad mount instead.
- Distance from the driver. You cannot reach the screen on a deep dash, so voice control (both VIOFOs, the Vantrue and the 70mai) or the phone app matters more.
- Glare. A large windshield reflects a large dashboard. A circular polarizing (CPL) filter cuts those reflections. The A229 Pro includes one; on the others it is an add-on.
Many Class A coaches also have no rear window because the bedroom or bath sits against the back wall. That pushes you toward a waterproof exterior rear camera and a long cable.
Class C and Class B motorhomes
Class C rigs typically run from the high 20s to low 30s in feet; Class B vans are about 17 to 23 feet. The cab is a normal van or truck cab, so mounting works like a car. Van-based cabs can have curtain airbags in the pillars and headliner: route cables behind the airbag, never across its deployment path. Our dash cam installation guide covers trim and routing.
Travel trailers and fifth wheels
The rear camera of a dash cam in your tow vehicle sees the front of the trailer and nothing else, and there is no practical way to run its cable across the hitch. Use two systems instead: a front dash cam in the truck (the front-only Q200 is the low-cost option) and a dedicated camera at the back of the trailer. Many trailers ship prewired for a wireless backup camera (Furrion Vision S is a common prewire) powered from the running-light circuit. Most of these only display video, so check whether the monitor records before you rely on it. See our backup camera guide.
Rear cable length: measure the route, not the rig
Most two-channel dash cams ship with a 6 m (19.7 ft) rear cable. In an RV the cable climbs to the ceiling, runs the length of the coach through cabinets or trim, and drops down the rear wall. Run a tape or string along your actual route before you buy.
- Class B and short Class C: 6 m may reach.
- Most Class C and Class A: plan on 10 m (32.8 ft). VIOFO and BlackVue both sell one for their picks below.
- Class A around 40 ft and up: 10 m can come up short. VIOFO’s own store sells an A229 Plus-W version with a waterproof rear camera and 8 m, 10 m or 15 m cable options.
Buy the maker’s longer cable rather than chaining extensions. VIOFO’s listing says its A229 rear cable cannot be extended with other USB cables, and DashCamTalk owners report many generic USB-C cables fail. BlackboxMyCar advises against splicing or extending BlackVue coax. Seal any exterior penetration with RV-rated sealant.
The best dash cams for RVs
1. VIOFO A229 Plus: best overall for most motorhomes
The A229 Plus uses Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 sensors front and rear, both recording 2560 x 1440 at 30 fps with HDR, according to VIOFO. The RV advantage is cabling: the 2CH kit includes a 6 m USB-C rear cable, and VIOFO sells 8 m (26.2 ft) and 10 m replacements for the A229 Plus and Pro. That makes it the least expensive pick here with a clear path to a Class A-length run.
- Supercapacitor; rated -4°F to 149°F (-20°C to 65°C)
- GPS in the mount, 5GHz Wi-Fi, voice control, 2.4-inch screen
- Parking modes: buffered event detection, time-lapse and low bitrate, via the HK4 hardwire kit (12–24V input, four cutoff settings) or VIOFO’s BP100 battery pack
- microSD up to 512GB; 18-month warranty with registration
Skip it if you want phone alerts while the RV is in storage. The A229 series has no cloud or LTE option; its Wi-Fi only reaches a phone nearby.
Longer run? See VIOFO’s A229 rear cables on Amazon.
2. BlackVue Elite 9: best for storage-lot and campsite monitoring
The Elite 9 pairs a 4K STARVIS 2 IMX678 front camera with a 2K IMX675 rear, both 30 fps with HDR. It is the only pick built around cloud access: with BlackVue’s optional CM100GLTE module and a nano SIM, or a hotspot that stays online, BlackVue Cloud gives you remote live view, impact alerts and remote playback. A free plan covers limited features; paid plans add more.
- Motion Detection parking: 10-second pre-trigger buffer; BlackVue Australia lists 2CH draw at 4.32W (about 360mA at 12V)
- Power Saving parking: under 1mA standby, records after an impact with no pre-buffer, and no cloud in this mode
- 12–24V, 3-wire hardwiring cable included, 1–48 hour parking timer, adjustable voltage cutoff
- microSD up to 1TB; 6 m coax rear cable, with an official 10 m CC6G-10 cable sold separately
Skip it if you will not pay for the LTE module and data plan; without them it is an expensive Wi-Fi camera. It also has no screen, so aiming and playback happen in the app. See Elite 9 vs Thinkware U3000 for a flagship comparison.
For a Class A run: BlackVue 10 m coax cable on Amazon.
3. VIOFO A229 Pro: best 4K for big Class A windshields
The A229 Pro shares the Plus’s body, parking modes, 6 m rear cable and 8 m and 10 m cable options, but uses a 4K STARVIS 2 IMX678 front sensor with a 2K IMX675 rear. A front CPL filter is in the box, which helps on a big Class A windshield. It is rated -4°F to 149°F and takes microSD up to 512GB.
Skip it if recording time per card matters more than front detail: 4K fills cards much faster (see the SD section). Our A229 Pro review has more.
4. Vantrue N4 Pro S: best three-channel with a waterproof rear camera
The N4 Pro S records 4K front (STARVIS 2 IMX678), a 1080p cabin view with four infrared LEDs, and a 2.5K (1440p) rear camera rated IP67. The waterproof rear can mount outside a coach with no rear window, and the cabin camera covers the cockpit and entry door. It uses a supercapacitor and has a 3.19-inch screen, GPS, 5GHz Wi-Fi, voice control, microSD up to 1TB, and an optional LT01 LTE module. Parking mode needs a hardwire kit.
Skip it if you drive a long Class C or a Class A. A DashCamTalk reviewer’s box list puts the rear cable at about 20 ft, and we could not confirm an official longer cable from Vantrue. It suits camper vans and short Class C rigs. Vantrue does not publish an operating temperature on the listings we reviewed.
5. 70mai A810S: best budget 4K
The A810S records 4K front on a STARVIS 2 IMX678 and 1080p rear on an IMX662, both with HDR, per DashCamTalk’s spec table. It replaces the older A810’s battery with a supercapacitor, adds buffered parking mode, and has Wi-Fi 6, GPS, voice control and a 3-inch screen. It works with 70mai’s UP04 and UP05 4G parking kits for remote alerts.
Skip it if your RV sits in hot sun or needs a long rear cable. Its listed range is 14°F to 140°F, narrower than the VIOFO and BlackVue picks. 70mai does not publish this rear camera’s cable length; its older RC12 rear camera ships with 5.5 m (18 ft). Confirm length and extension options with 70mai before buying for anything bigger than a van.
6. Thinkware Q200: best for tow vehicles and RVs with a backup camera
The Q200 is a 2K (1440p, 30 fps) front camera with a 125° view, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and ADAS alerts: forward collision warning above about 25 mph, lane departure above about 31 mph, and front vehicle departure. It runs on 12–24V with a supercapacitor and takes microSD up to 256GB. GPS needs Thinkware’s external antenna, so check whether your listing includes it. Parking modes are Motion and Impact Detection, Time Lapse and Energy Saving, via a hardwiring cable. The Q200 has no radar sensor; BlackboxMyCar’s listing says so directly.
It earns a spot because a rear dash cam in a tow vehicle only films the trailer. Skip it if you want parking protection for the RV itself: a front-only camera misses the sides and rear, and its 140°F ceiling is the lowest here. More in our Q200 review.
Parking mode power: chassis battery, house battery or battery pack
Every pick needs a constant 12V source for parking mode. Dash-area sockets usually switch off with the ignition, but some RV sockets run off the house battery and stay live, so check yours.
- Hardwire to the chassis fuse panel. Constant power from a fuse that stays live with the key off, ACC from an ignition-switched fuse, and the kit’s low-voltage cutoff set to leave starting power. Many motorhomes have a chassis battery disconnect switch; with it off, parking mode stops. Draw also adds up: at the Elite 9’s listed 360mA, a camera uses roughly 8.6 amp-hours a day. See does a dash cam drain your battery.
- Wire to the house battery. A house bank is usually larger and often solar-charged, but you still need an ACC signal from the chassis. Hardwire kit cutoffs are designed around lead-acid batteries; a lithium bank holds a flat voltage until nearly empty, so a voltage cutoff gives little warning. Use an RV electrician if 12V wiring is new to you.
- Add a dash cam battery pack. It charges while you drive and runs the camera when parked, leaving both RV batteries alone. VIOFO’s BP100 is a 98Wh LiFePO4 pack rated for about 32 hours on a 3W camera, but it only charges between 32°F and 122°F. BlackVue’s equivalent is the B-130A.
Shop dash cam battery packs or a hardwire kit with low-voltage cutoff on Amazon, and see our best parking mode dash cams.
Heat: what the spec sheets say
All six picks use supercapacitors instead of lithium batteries, the right choice for an RV dash. The VIOFOs and the Elite 9 are rated to 149°F (BlackVue Australia lists the Elite 9 to 158°F); the Q200 and A810S stop at 140°F. A parked windshield gets hotter than the cab: in a DashCamTalk heat check, the A810S’s microSD slot area reached about 180°F on the surface. Use a high-endurance or industrial-grade card, park nose-away from the afternoon sun, and note that an interior reflective shade can trap the camera against the hot glass.
Watching a parked RV: Wi-Fi vs LTE
Dash cam Wi-Fi is a direct link to a nearby phone. It sends no alerts when you are away. For a storage lot or a campsite you leave during the day, the camera has to be online:
- BlackVue Elite 9: CM100GLTE module with a nano SIM, or a hotspot such as an RV cellular router that stays powered. One DashCamTalk tester could not get the hotspot method working and used the LTE module.
- Vantrue N4 Pro S: optional LT01 LTE module.
- 70mai A810S: UP04 or UP05 4G parking kits.
- VIOFO A229 Plus/Pro: no cloud option. The Q200’s specs list none either.
Remote access works only while the camera is powered and connected, and BlackVue disables cloud features in Power Saving mode. Round-the-clock alerts therefore mean a constant draw, which points to a battery pack or a solar-charged house bank for long storage.
SD cards for long trips
Loop recording overwrites the oldest footage, so card size sets how far back you can go. Rough math from listed bitrates:
- A229 Plus (about 29 + 24 Mbps): about 24GB per hour, roughly 21 hours on 512GB
- A229 Pro (about 57 + 25 Mbps): about 37GB per hour, roughly 14 hours on 512GB
- Elite 9 at maximum H.265 bitrates (60 + 25 Mbps): about 38GB per hour, roughly 26 hours on 1TB
Two long driving days can fill a 4K camera’s card. Save important clips to your phone the same day and carry a spare. Our dash cam SD card guide lists cards built for heat and constant writes.
Where dedicated RV backup cameras fit
An RV backup system is built for viewing: a monitor, often a wireless link, sometimes side cameras. Most do not record. A dash cam records, but its rear view is meant for evidence, not maneuvering. Motorhome owners can keep the factory backup camera and add a dash cam; trailer owners need both.
FAQ
How long a rear cable does a Class A motorhome need?
Measure the route from the windshield, along the ceiling, to the rear camera. For most Class A coaches that exceeds the standard 6 m (19.7 ft), so plan on 10 m (32.8 ft), and check that 10 m reaches on coaches around 40 ft or longer.
Can the dash cam in my truck record behind my travel trailer?
No. Its rear camera sees the front of the trailer. Use a front dash cam in the truck and a separate camera on the back of the trailer.
Will parking mode drain my RV batteries?
It can over several days. A hardwire kit’s low-voltage cutoff protects the chassis battery and a parking timer limits run time. For long stays, a dedicated battery pack keeps both RV batteries out of it.
Can I check my RV dash cam remotely?
Only with a cloud-capable camera and a data connection, such as the Elite 9 with its LTE module or a powered hotspot. The camera also needs power the whole time.
Is a dash cam legal on an RV windshield?
Generally yes, but windshield mounting rules vary by state, and some limit where on the glass a device can go. See our dash cam laws by state.
Verdict
For most motorhomes, the VIOFO A229 Plus is the best fit: two 2K STARVIS 2 channels, a 149°F rating and official 8 m and 10 m rear cables for about $190. If you want alerts while the rig sits in storage or at a campsite, the BlackVue Elite 9 is built for it, provided you budget for the LTE module and the power. Choose the A229 Pro for 4K and an included CPL filter on a Class A, and the Vantrue N4 Pro S for a waterproof rear camera on a van or short Class C. If you tow, put a front camera such as the Thinkware Q200 in the truck and a separate camera on the trailer.
