Tow Mode camera 2022 vs 2023

[Jimmy07]

I don’t know, I’m not getting it. There is absolutely nothing I see there that would lead a regular consumer to believe that if they don’t order the tow mode camera option, it will be available to buy separately to add later.
We ram enthusiasts have the luxury (burden) of knowing that anything can be added later and made to work, so we get all mad when parts aren’t currently available to buy. Hell, I’ve been waiting for 6 months for the 23 mirrors, and 23 passenger door module to become available to buy so I can finally get these mirrors retrofitted on my truck. Everything is either discontinued (eventually going to be assigned a new part when become available again), backordered no ETA, or available to order for off road vehicles only (warranty claims that the vehicle is out of service).

 

[pr3dict]

So let me ask you this. The tow mode camera is an accessory (in my mind). So is the Mopar 5th wheel mount.

If I order the 5thbwheel prep but don't order the Mopar 5th wheel mount. Should I expect that I can't have a 5th wheel mount added to my truck later?

Id think not, all the mounting points for a 5thbwheel and gooseneck are there.

So is the plug for the tow mode camera... If I was a regular consumer and walked over to a truck and saw a connector for a camera sitting on the bumper of my truck, I'm expecting that I can plug something Into it at some point.

The opposite is true for something like fog lights. If I don't have fog lights, the button isn't there for it, the place for the fog lights is filled with some filler plate. I'm thinking that's not something I can add later.

See the difference and similarities?

 

[Jimmy07]

The difference is that there’s nothing telling you that that a particular package that you are paying for preps the truck with tow mode camera wiring, you just have the bonus of them providing the wiring regardless and that’s one less thing you have to do if the tow mode kit becomes available to buy. Just like some 2022 trucks came prepped for trailer surround view without ordering that option, but the trailer surround view kit is currently unavailable to buy. I mean, I guess we can file class action lawsuits against them all day long…

 

[pr3dict]

The difference is that there’s nothing telling you that that a particular package that you are paying for preps the truck with tow mode camera wiring, you just have the bonus of them providing the wiring regardless and that’s one less thing you

That's not true though! The DRVM advertising shows that the truck should be usable with a camera. It's not like they didnt ADVERTISE it. If they never mentioned it anywhere, then sure, I'd completely agree that we have no expectation that anything should work with that.

To that point the manufacturer I work for and many others have connectors and ports for "future use" but they don't advertise what that would or could be until it materializes for the fact that we can be sued if we never actually come out with that future use piece, and I don't want to go down that rabbit hole because there is case law for that as well for other companies that discontinue a product before a promised "future" feature comes out...

But back to the DRVM - Again this all is rectified with them saying its backordered or unavailable at this time. Instead, they are going dark and saying that the product is "discontinued" the part number they released saying was the kit is "discontinued" - That means its not coming back. It doesn't mean its backordered or will be available later. The word literally means, no longer available or produced. A reasonable consumer would take that as they'll never be able to use that feature of the DRVM. That feature led them to buy the truck... False advertising... Lawsuit.

Stop using the word discontinued and make a statement or something about when it will be back even if its "on or about xxxx date" <--- legal language that we use so we don't have to be specific and this becomes a moot argument other then bad customer service lol.

 

[phatboy64]

I am not sure if this was covered in the last few pages of this thread but, in Dec 2022 the MFG issues a notification to all dealers stating that the Tow Mode Camera was not going to be available for MY23 trucks and any orders with that option needed to be modified. I know this because I was one of the folks who got that notification. This topic was also covered on this forum in detail back in Dec. So unless your truck was built, shipped and you took delivery before that notification and you had the Tow Mode Camera as an option then the mfg is covered. They sent a notification that it would not be available. Now if your dealer didn’t tell you about that notification than that is a different story that you would need to take up with your dealer.

 

[CortexM0]

Thank you. It's not an ideal solution, but it's the best I've been able to come up with so far.

I'm getting ready to go on a much longer trip. I'll soon be able to report how well it works over several thousand miles.

I promised to follow up, and I now have a little over 3,000 miles on my hacked together relocation of the 3rd brake light camera into a 2022 tow-mode camera housing. (See my previous posts:https://hdrams.com/forum/index.php?threads/tow-mode-camera-2022-vs-2023.13887/post-262608, and https://hdrams.com/forum/index.php?threads/tow-mode-camera-2022-vs-2023.13887/post-265197). I'm happy to report that so far the operation has been great. The image quality is excellent, and there hasn't been a single dropout. Having that behind the trailer view really makes pulling the camper so much easier.

 

[Damonb]

I tried to order a new CHMSL camera (68506525AA), but I couldn't find any available anywhere. So my next step was to remove my existing camera from my CHMSL. Removing it was easy. 5 screws and one fakra connector. The difficult part was the sealing against water intrusion. There is a ring on the body of the camera that pushes against a gasket. So I 3D printed a model to fill in for the camera. Since I couldn't rely on a waterproof seal in between layers of the 3d print, I made the model slightly shorter and glued a laser cut acrylic circle to the front. Below is a picture of the 3d print next to the camera. Here it was still a little too thick, so I sanded down the acrylic to get it within a few thousandths. And another picture with the 3d print mounted in the CHMSL.

View attachment 57033View attachment 57037

To verify I had a watertight seal, I filled the camera hole with water and let it set for an hour. No visible signs of moisture were noted past the gasket. So I remounted this assembly back on the truck.

@CortexM0 do you have the 3d print file you'd be willing to send?

 

[CortexM0]

@CortexM0 do you have the 3d print file you'd be willing to send?

Sorry for the slow response. I don't know how to attach non-media files, so I uploaded to printables.
https://www.printables.com/model/696205-2023-ram-2500-dummy-drvm-chmsl-camera

 

[Damonb]

Sorry for the slow response. I don't know how to attach non-media files, so I uploaded to printables.
https://www.printables.com/model/696205-2023-ram-2500-dummy-drvm-chmsl-camera

Thank man, do you also have the trailer side adapter? Nice work @CortexM0

 

[CortexM0]

Thank man, do you also have the trailer side adapter? Nice work @CortexM0

Here's a link to the trailer side adapter.
https://www.printables.com/model/697059-2023-ram-2500-camera-adapter


Interestingly, I finally got ahold of a 2023 wired tow-mode camera and it appears that RAM didn't redesign the trailer camera housing. Instead they made their own version of this same adapter. The camera snaps into this adapter, and it has mounting locations that match that of the 2022 camera.

 

[Damonb]

Here's a link to the trailer side adapter.
https://www.printables.com/model/697059-2023-ram-2500-camera-adapter
View attachment 67174

Interestingly, I finally got ahold of a 2023 wired tow-mode camera and it appears that RAM didn't redesign the trailer camera housing. Instead they made their own version of this same adapter. The camera snaps into this adapter, and it has mounting locations that match that of the 2022 camera.
View attachment 67168View attachment 67169View attachment 67172View attachment 67171

Very interesting, did you find what camera they are using, is it actually the same one but the missing repeater is causing the issues? If not, Can you try new cam without repeater? That would make the whole thing work without needing the repeater and cables.

 

[CortexM0]

Very interesting, did you find what camera they are using, is it actually the same one but the missing repeater is causing the issues? If not, Can you try new cam without repeater? That would make the whole thing work without needing the repeater and cables.

This is a very long answer, and contains much more detail than you probably want. But now that I have an OEM wired tow-mode camera system (and a spare), I likely won't be looking into this any further. So I wanted to document what I've found so far, both for my future self and anyone else who may be interested.


With the 2023 rear view mirror, Ram switched to Magna's ClearView system. https://www.aftermarketnews.com/magnas-clearview-vision-system-comes-to-market-on-ram-truck/
(I believe for previous years they used a system made by Gentex.)

The Magna ClearView system has a processor module under the driver's seat. Here's a couple of pictures of the PCB inside that module.



The key thing here is each video input feeds into a DS90UB954 dual channel deserializer. One deserializer for the left side camera, one for the right side camera, and one deserializer that connects to both the CHMSL camera and also the trailer camera input. Here's a closer look at where the CHMSL and Trailer inputs feed into the DS90UB954 deserializer.


There is no major electrical difference here between the CHMSL input and the Trailer input. There is a slight difference in the filtering for the power injection, but as far was the video signal itself... both video inputs are capacitively coupled directly into two different inputs on the same DS90UB954 deserializer. There is no hardware difference here that would prevent a camera that works on one input from working on the other. So the limitation must be in software.

Before going much further, I probably need to provide a little background information on how these camera systems typically work and what sort of data is actually being passed down that coax. The camera sensor itself will typically have some type of parallel interface. (MIPI is fairly common.) This parallel sensor data is passed to a serializer which combines the parallel sensor data into one serial output. From here it goes through the coax to a deserializer. This breaks the serial data back apart into parallel data that looks very similar to what the camera sensor initially put out.

However, in addition to the video data stream, there are two other very important electrical signals passing down the coax. One of those is electrical power. The power injection on the coax allows the cameras to operate without any additional wiring, beyond the coax itself. The other signal is a back channel control signal. This allows the processor to pass configuration data for the serializer through the deserializer. So power, video data, and configuration control all over one coax cable.


For our trucks, it looks like they are using i2c for configuration and control of the deserializer (and ultimately the serializer using the back control channel). So next I started down the path of tapping into the i2c bus that the GW5410 uses to control the deserializer. If anyone else is crazy enough to try this, here is a picture of where the connections are made. (I was working under a microscope to make these connections...)


I haven't spent too much time decoding this i2c data. There's quite a bit of it to sort through. I think my next step would be to write a utility to assist with decoding this data stream. However, before I started on that I managed to find somebody (after a year of searching) who sold me a couple of camera systems.

This finally brings me around to looking at what's actually in the tow mode camera system. The part number of the trailer camera is 68506532AA. This is a different part number from the other three cameras used (P.N. 68506525AA). I have not tried plugging the trailer camera in directly (without the repeater) yet.

The repeater itself is very well sealed and the PCB potted. I didn't see any way to open it up without completely destroying it. I did eventually get to the PCB, but the enclosure was completely destroyed in the process.


On the repeater we have another DS90UB954 deserializer matched to a DS90UB953 serializer.


And since I did completely destroy the enclosure, I designed and 3d print a replacement. (Design here: https://www.printables.com/model/698394-2023-ram-2500-tow-mode-camera-repeater-enclosure). I did have to replace the fakra connectors as the shrouds for the existing connectors were built into the enclosure.

 

[ramman1505]

This is a very long answer, and contains much more detail than you probably want. But now that I have an OEM wired tow-mode camera system (and a spare), I likely won't be looking into this any further. So I wanted to document what I've found so far, both for my future self and anyone else who may be interested.


With the 2023 rear view mirror, Ram switched to Magna's ClearView system. https://www.aftermarketnews.com/magnas-clearview-vision-system-comes-to-market-on-ram-truck/
(I believe for previous years they used a system made by Gentex.)

The Magna ClearView system has a processor module under the driver's seat. Here's a couple of pictures of the PCB inside that module.
View attachment 67194
View attachment 67195

The key thing here is each video input feeds into a DS90UB954 dual channel deserializer. One deserializer for the left side camera, one for the right side camera, and one deserializer that connects to both the CHMSL camera and also the trailer camera input. Here's a closer look at where the CHMSL and Trailer inputs feed into the DS90UB954 deserializer.
View attachment 67196

There is no major electrical difference here between the CHMSL input and the Trailer input. There is a slight difference in the filtering for the power injection, but as far was the video signal itself... both video inputs are capacitively coupled directly into two different inputs on the same DS90UB954 deserializer. There is no hardware difference here that would prevent a camera that works on one input from working on the other. So the limitation must be in software.

Before going much further, I probably need to provide a little background information on how these camera systems typically work and what sort of data is actually being passed down that coax. The camera sensor itself will typically have some type of parallel interface. (MIPI is fairly common.) This parallel sensor data is passed to a serializer which combines the parallel sensor data into one serial output. From here it goes through the coax to a deserializer. This breaks the serial data back apart into parallel data that looks very similar to what the camera sensor initially put out.

However, in addition to the video data stream, there are two other very important electrical signals passing down the coax. One of those is electrical power. The power injection on the coax allows the cameras to operate without any additional wiring, beyond the coax itself. The other signal is a back channel control signal. This allows the processor to pass configuration data for the serializer through the deserializer. So power, video data, and configuration control all over one coax cable.
View attachment 67200

For our trucks, it looks like they are using i2c for configuration and control of the deserializer (and ultimately the serializer using the back control channel). So next I started down the path of tapping into the i2c bus that the GW5410 uses to control the deserializer. If anyone else is crazy enough to try this, here is a picture of where the connections are made. (I was working under a microscope to make these connections...)
View attachment 67197

I haven't spent too much time decoding this i2c data. There's quite a bit of it to sort through. I think my next step would be to write a utility to assist with decoding this data stream. However, before I started on that I managed to find somebody (after a year of searching) who sold me a couple of camera systems.

This finally brings me around to looking at what's actually in the tow mode camera system. The part number of the trailer camera is 68506532AA. This is a different part number from the other three cameras used (P.N. 68506525AA). I have not tried plugging the trailer camera in directly (without the repeater) yet.

The repeater itself is very well sealed and the PCB potted. I didn't see any way to open it up without completely destroying it. I did eventually get to the PCB, but the enclosure was completely destroyed in the process.
View attachment 67226View attachment 67227

On the repeater we have another DS90UB954 deserializer matched to a DS90UB953 serializer.
View attachment 67228

And since I did completely destroy the enclosure, I designed and 3d print a replacement. (Design here: https://www.printables.com/model/698394-2023-ram-2500-tow-mode-camera-repeater-enclosure). I did have to replace the fakra connectors as the shrouds for the existing connectors were built into the enclosure.

View attachment 67230

Sorry to dig up an old thread but excellent detailed writeup! Thanks for your work on this.

I plan on putting a topper on my 2023. It came wired to the bumper for the tow camera. I see that you have suggested in the past to simply add camera 68506525AA to the rear of the topper and plug it into the module under the drivers seat into the CHMSL connector utilizing fakra connectors and coax. My question to you is, since my truck came wired to the bumper, is there anyway i can unplug the trailer cable from the back of the bumper port, plug camera 68506525AA into that cable and simply swap the CHMSL and Trailer connections at the module? I understand there is an inline repeater in the trailer harness. From reading your prior posts im not hopeful.

If I do run a cable from the module to the camera on the topper, what connections will i need on each end?

Its a damn shame you can't buy camera 68506532AA which is the one inside the new 2023+ tow camera housing. If this were the case I'm sure I would be able to utilize my existing trailer coax harness.

 

[CortexM0]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but excellent detailed writeup! Thanks for your work on this.

I plan on putting a topper on my 2023. It came wired to the bumper for the tow camera. I see that you have suggested in the past to simply add camera 68506525AA to the rear of the topper and plug it into the module under the drivers seat into the CHMSL connector utilizing fakra connectors and coax. My question to you is, since my truck came wired to the bumper, is there anyway i can unplug the trailer cable from the back of the bumper port, plug camera 68506525AA into that cable and simply swap the CHMSL and Trailer connections at the module? I understand there is an inline repeater in the trailer harness. From reading your prior posts im not hopeful.

If I do run a cable from the module to the camera on the topper, what connections will i need on each end?

Its a damn shame you can't buy camera 68506532AA which is the one inside the new 2023+ tow camera housing. If this were the case I'm sure I would be able to utilize my existing trailer coax harness.

If you switch the connections under the driver's seat, it should be possible to utilize the truck's trailer harness. I put several thousands miles on a setup like this over the past summer. In my case I used a short fakra extension (with the blue/universal fakra connections) to connect the truck's trailer cable to the CHMSL input. Then I used a 57 ft coax cable (from a 2022 tow-mode camera) to run from the truck's rear bumper to the camera mounted on the back of my camper.

So it sounds like what you're wanting to do should work. But I can't tell you what cables you'll need. It's my understanding the connector on the bumper is proprietary, but there are a few fakra connectors on the harness running back to the bumper. I don't know where they are located, or if they're male or female...

 

[ramman1505]

If you switch the connections under the driver's seat, it should be possible to utilize the truck's trailer harness. I put several thousands miles on a setup like this over the past summer. In my case I used a short fakra extension (with the blue/universal fakra connections) to connect the truck's trailer cable to the CHMSL input. Then I used a 57 ft coax cable (from a 2022 tow-mode camera) to run from the truck's rear bumper to the camera mounted on the back of my camper.

So it sounds like what you're wanting to do should work. But I can't tell you what cables you'll need. It's my understanding the connector on the bumper is proprietary, but there are a few fakra connectors on the harness running back to the bumper. I don't know where they are located, or if they're male or female...

Thank you. Quick question regarding the short extension you used. Are you saying the trailer cable is not long enough to reach the CHMSL input on the module under the seat? I'm confused as to why you needed the short extension.

 

[CortexM0]

Thank you. Quick question regarding the short extension you used. Are you saying the trailer cable is not long enough to reach the CHMSL input on the module under the seat? I'm confused as to why you needed the short extension.

Different colors of Fakra connectors have slightly different clocking, so that only like color connectors can be joined together. The CHMSL and trailer connectors are of different colors and cannot be directly swapped. The "water blue" fakra connector (used on the extension) is universal and can be connected to any color fakra connector. So in this case, the extension wasn't for length, but was to adapt between the two different connectors used.

 

[ramman1505]

Different colors of Fakra connectors have slightly different clocking, so that only like color connectors can be joined together. The CHMSL and trailer connectors are of different colors and cannot be directly swapped. The "water blue" fakra connector (used on the extension) is universal and can be connected to any color fakra connector. So in this case, the extension wasn't for length, but was to adapt between the two different connectors used.

View attachment 68992

Perfect! Thank you

 

[CortexM0]

...Can you try new cam without repeater? That would make the whole thing work without needing the repeater and cables.

I finally got around to pulling my camper out of storage and installing the new camera system. The new camera does not appear to work without the repeater.

 

[CortexM0]

For those that already have the older 2022 camera system installed on your trailer, it may be possible to switch to the newer (2023+) camera system without having to change out the cable on the trailer. The new camera uses the same connectors and can even mount in the same housing. So that's easy to change out. At that point, you just need the repeater connected inline. I was able to use a short fakra extension and mount the repeater next to the module under the driver's seat.

I put about 700 miles on this setup in the past week, and everything appears to be working great.

Edit: Forgot to add the most expensive detail ...switching to a 2023+ truck...

 

[CortexM0]

Based off what I'd read, I was expecting the camera to just pan down when put in reverse. Instead the entire view is zoomed out. Don't gain much horizontally, but the vertical is squashed to show more of what's above and below your normal field of view. Pics below...

In drive:


In reverse: