Ford F-Series Truck Tailgate Camera Relocation (SYNC 3 Camera)

I have a 2019 Ford F350, but believe this will work on other F-Series trucks and other model years. This works with the SYNC 3 Camera System, but it's possible it might apply to other systems as well (that's up to you to determine).

My main use for the truck is to carry a slide-in Truck Camper. While it's not necessary, I choose to remove the tailgate when the camper is on (why carry the extra weight around and risk damaging it?). Removing the tailgate requires disconnecting the rear camera (which is located in the tailgate). When this camera is missing, you no longer have a rear-facing backup camera, and your 360 degree view no longer has the piece behind you. Camerasource.com, and maybe some other places, have a wildly overpriced kit to move your camera to another location. This is essentially the same thing - but my version is less than a tenth the price.

What you will need to buy, in addition to printing this model:

1. Fakra F Female to Fakra F Female Coax Extension Cable. I found one on eBay for about $10. I recommend the 1 meter length, based on where I mounted my camera, but if you have another location you want to mount it, you might have to pick a different length. The cable I bought came from China (not my first choice), and takes a couple weeks arrive, but it works fine.
2. Screws. This model requires assembly with screws - I designed it with #6x3/4" flat head screws (stainless steel). I used 6 of them, plus two larger screws (doesn't matter what size) to mount the camera to the bumper.

What you need to do:

1. Remove your tailgate, and remove the camera from the tailgate. I won't cover that process here - but you can google it. In case you want to put your tailgate back on (without the camera), I've included a model for a camera blank - essentially, it just fills the hole in your tailgate that the old camera came out of, so it doesn't look like a hole. Optional if you want to do that (I did). I also left the old wiring inside the tailgate, and taped over the old connector to keep it clean, in case the camera ever goes back into the tailgate.
2. Print the camera housing (2 parts - a top and bottom piece, that screws together after the camera is inserted). Test fit your camera into the housing - make sure it fits (if it doesn't, sorry, this was based on my camera).
3. Decide where you want to move the camera to. Based on that, you need to order the right length of cable. If mounting above the license plate, the 1 meter version will do fine. If you want to move the camera to the back of a truck camper - that will need a longer cable. I chose not to do this, because one day, I'll forget to unplug this before dismounting the camper, and I'll be sorry.
4. Assemble the camera housing and decide how you want to mount it. My design is based on my bumper and the license plate frame I have. I know not everyone has the same license plate frame as me, but that's not critical. The bumper on my truck has a plastic cover - this screws to that, or clamps to the license plate frame, or both (which is what I did). NOTES: I used an aluminum back plate to clamp the camera to my license plate frame - it seemed the best way, since my goal was to have this stick out from the back of the truck as little as possible, and printing a backplate would have required more room. Included in the set of files here is a drill template to drill holes in the backplate. The backplate is only needed if you want to clamp to a license plate frame - I decided that it would be better, structurally, to do this than just rely on the two holes on either side of the housing - but you are welcome to just use the side holes if you want. My concern is if someone steps on this camera, it could break the housing at the screw points - but that's just me (I'm an engineer, so I often overdesign). For grins, I built a "No Step" message on top of the housing - and then I dabbed some white paint to make it stand out a bit more. A better way would have been to use white filament layers between 0.6mm and 1.2mm off the build plate, but my printer was acting up, and the filament color change was not working on my Kobra S1. I decided to give up on that and just use paint.
5. Route the wire. I debated if I wanted to drill more holes through the plastic top of the bumper, and decided to go for it. In reality, you can just run the wire over the back of the bumper if you don't want another hole. Up to you.
6. Plug it in, and you're done.

Files attached: Top and Bottom of camera housing. These print in the orientation shown and require no supports. Camera Blank. This is just a dummy camera you can use to fill the old hole the camera came out of in your tailgate. It does not require supports either. Drill Template. This just helps make sure you drill your holes in the right place if you use a metal backer plate. The 3 holes are NOT all aligned, so make sure you're holding the template correctly when you drill the holes. You will also need to countersink the screw holes in the backer plate. I recommend you use aluminum or stainless steel for the backer plate. Camera and Cord Blank. If you don't like my design, or it doesn't work for you, this is just a model of the camera and cord - might be useful to you if want to design something different. One item to note here is that not all Fakra F connectors are the same length - if your connector is longer than mine, it might not fit in the housing, so you would have to adjust the model accordingly.

Hope this helps someone out there. I've been thinking about this project for a few years, and finally got a Round Tuit once I realized that the extension cables were so cheap on eBay.

Category: Accessory