AUTO·VOX 5" Solar Wireless Backup Camera with Extra Camera, Dual View Split Screen, 1080P HD Monitor, 2 Cameras 1 Monitor Kit, 5000mAh Battery, IP69K Waterproof for Truck Trailer SUV

Why it's worth it

This is a solar-charged camera that clamps to your license plate and beams 1080p video to a 5-inch monitor on your dash. Nothing splices into your reverse lights, nothing threads through the cabin, and that's why it works for almost any vehicle.

You can have this mounted before your coffee gets cold. AUTO-VOX claims a two-minute install, and the parts list backs that up: a screwdriver or the included adhesive, the license plate screws, and a monitor that sits on the dash. There's no drilling and no tapping into the reverse light circuit. If the phrase "route the cable through the door seal" makes you close the tab, this is your camera.

The picture is good enough to identify what's back there, not just notice it. The camera feeds a 5-inch 1080p monitor, which is a real step up from the coarse screens built into cheap mirror kits. Published reviews of this class of camera consistently point to screen size and resolution as the difference between seeing a shape and seeing a bicycle. At night the image stays usable rather than turning into a gray smear.

From our review of 5 parking sensors and reversing aids, by Ben Carter, Tech Editor

What we like

• +You can have this mounted before your coffee gets cold
• +The picture is good enough to identify what's back there, not just notice it
• +The battery is the part that makes wireless practical
• +It shrugs off weather that kills cheaper cameras

What to know

• –Solar means sunlight, and winter isn't generous with it
• –The monitor has to live somewhere on your dash
• –The screen sleeps, so it isn't always instantly live