Packaging and Accessories

Before checking out the Vantrue Nexus 5, I did need to get everything opened up and you might think there would just be the front and back cameras and a few samples but there is more than that in the Nexus 5’s box alone. On top of that Vantrue has a few different accessories for most of their dash cams. They sell lens filters, MicroSD cards, and wireless remotes which looking back I regret not also getting. But they also have a few different options to help you wire things up if you don’t want to just have the dash cam plugged into your cigarette lighter. When doing that in most cars it will turn the camera off when you park the car so you will lose all of the parking mode protections. I have the Voltage Display OBD Cable, and the Voltage Display Hardwire Kit that we will check out here as well.

First up though is the packaging for the Nexus 5 itself and Vantrue has kept the packaging extremely simple here. The top/front of the box is all white and has just a picture of the Nexus 5 along with the rear camera and that is it. It isn’t until you turn the box around that you even see the Vantrue brand name or the model name which are still small on the back. The back of the box shows the Nexus 5 front camera installed alongside of a rearview mirror and someone holding their phone up showing the live view from the app. They have QR codes for the contact page on their website and a link to the Vantrue Facebook page as well. Up top, they do have a lot of the main features all listed out and that’s about all you will find on the outside of the box.

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When you open the box up they have orange trim on the inside and then right on top is a paper covering everything that shows you which plug the rear camera plugs into and which plug the power cable plugs into. Apparently, people getting those mixed up is an issue. They are both USB Type-C so it can happen but I’m glad Vantrue went this route rather than making either connection proprietary. Under that paper, you will find both the front and rear cameras wrapped up in soft plastic bags and sitting in a foam tray to keep them safe. Then on the left is a box with a hole on the top to help pull it out and a drawing showing that you will find the mount and power cable inside. You will need to pull the foam tray out as well. Up under that is a second box which has a hole in the top like the other box and a line drawing of the rear camera cable on it.

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There is a full quick user guide included to help with the installation and further use and you also get two bright yellow and red protected by Vantrue stickers in English and German. You also get a small microfiber rag, two adhesion promoter wipes, and two tempered glass sheets that look just like a phone screen protector. These aren’t for the screen, you use them during the installation.

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For cables, there are a few. You have a long thick Type-C cable with straight plugs on both ends. This is the cable that goes to the rear camera. It also comes with Velcro straps that can be reused to wrap up extra cable length. You also have a Type-C to Type-A cable, this cable is a lot shorter and it is only used for your initial setup or if you plug the Nexus 5 in inside later. This powers it up and I will say now from experience that a standard Type-C charging cable will not power the Nexus 5, you will need this cable. Then you get a long but slightly thinner cable that plugs into your power plug or cigarette lighter and has a 90-degree plug on the other end. For mounting you have an extra 3m double-sided sticky tape for both the front and rear cameras in case you need a re-do. You have the front mount which has the double-sided sticky tape already installed, and an orange trim tool to help route your cables around. The power plug does have a Type-A USB connection on it, so you can still pass through the power to charge a phone if you go in this direction. It also has a light to let you know it is powered up.

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The front camera mount has a USB Type-C plug on the side that passes power through up to the camera. The mount itself has double-sided sticky tapes to your windshield but the camera has a magnetic mount to make it easy to remove. The rear camera also comes with a warning around it to make sure you install it facing the correct direction and the main camera has a sticker covering the screen with instructions on how the buttons work.

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As I mentioned at the start, I also got both of the hard wire kits in to check both options out. I’m not new to hard-wiring things into cars, but this is going into my wife's car which is newer as well. I didn’t want to cut up any wiring and risk having any potential issues long term. Both of the kits have the same box design which is the opposite of the camera which was all white. These are black and have simple white line drawings of the in-line voltage controller on the front along with a basic “Hardware Kit for Dash Cam” to not be too specific. Then on the sides, they just use a sticker to designate the modal number on each.

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When you open the up they have a thank you for choosing Vantrue across the front edge. Then you will see that the OBD plug is significantly simple with just the cable wrapped up. But on the right you have the cable wrapped up as well and then a bundle of additional wires for the Voltage Display Hardwire Kit.

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The OBD Type-C hardware kit has a user guide to help you with the installation and setup. Then you have the cable itself. This cable is long with way more than enough length to reach anywhere you might have your camera mounted. This gives you flexibility in how you route the cable later. One end has an OBD plug on it then not far from that is a box and then at the end a right-angled Type-C connection just like the cable that comes with the camera. The box inline is interesting though. Both hardwire kits have this and it is important. Because you are hard-wiring, the camera will get power all of the time. This box keeps an eye on your voltage and has a readout. You then have a switch on the side that will turn the camera power off depending on the voltage. It has three settings and works with both 12-volt and 24-volt. The reason for this is if you park for a long time, especially with a lot of noise or motion, the camera can drain a battery. It makes sure to leave enough power to not damage the battery and leave you room to start the car. This also has a double-sided tape mount on the bottom as well. The OBD plug end plugs into your OBDII port which all 1996 and newer cars would have and pulls voltage from there. It doesn’t pass through like some designs, so you will need to unplug it if you ever plug in a scanner, but this is a great simple option.

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The second hardware kit has the same main cable setup with a right-angled Type-C connection on one end and the voltage safety box in line. Where things change here though, where the other kit had the OBD plug, this has three smaller wires. Black for ground which has a C-shaped fork connection that you slide under a screw. Then two bullet connections, one is a yellow cable which is an accessory on power, and a red cable for always on power. You then get two different bags with car fuse taps and the female bullet connections on each. This lets you pick what fuse type you have and you can remove a fuse in your car and plug the tap in and put your car's fuse into the tap as well. This cuts in and provides power and from the fuse block, you can find both always-on and accessory power quickly. Each tap does have a 5 amp fuse already installed for the dash cam to keep that safe as well.

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