Whether you are pulling heavy payloads or want the extra cabin space, you’ve chosen Ford to help you accomplish those goals. And no matter what the task is, you want to stay safe from bad drivers or other uncontrollable factors.
- Dual Dash Cam at 4K/1080p at 30 FPS
- Advanced Parking Mode allows you to connect to your dash cam via cloud
- Built-in GPS
That’s why looking into the best dash cam for the Ford EcoSport or the Ford Ranger is the smart action to protect your investment and your loved ones.
Car accidents can be expensive and involving insurance or law enforcement can create a big headache. Having dash cams designed to make reviewing and distributing footage is essential to resolve disputes quickly.
Ford Dash Cam Installation and Fitting
Ford vehicles are pretty standard when it comes to installing dash cams, but we want to show you step-by-step instructions to clear up any questions.
Front Placement
If I were to stereotype all Ford EcoSport and Ford Ranger driver’s, I would guess that these car owner’s tend to be involved outdoors. This means traveling in rough terrain, in extreme weather conditions or even off-roading are all options on the table.
This is the reason why we don’t recommend suction cup mounts. Have suction mounts improved over the recent years? Yes. But we still find more success in using the 3M tape that is provided with every dash cam.
If you constantly move or replace the device then using the tape isn’t the best option.
In terms of placement, we recommend in front of the rear view mirror in some fashion. In both vehicle types, there is ample room on the windshield for optimal placement.
Rear Placement
If you decide to opt for a dual channel setup, then you’ll have the decision on where you would mount the rear dash cam.
We prefer the top middle of the rear windshield. We’ll go over how to properly cable manage in the next section.
Cable Management
After you’ve mounted your front dash cam in your Ford Ranger or EcoSport, you’ll want to run the wire towards either the driver’s or passenger’s side via the top headliner. You should be able to feed the cable through using your fingers.
Once you reach the A-pillar, you’ll need a trim tool or you can use a flat screwdriver covered by a towel to feed the cable through the side airbag panel to make your way over to the rubber seal near your car door.
From this rubber stripping you can hide the dash cam cable all the way down to the floorboard. Now it depends on where you will powering your dash camera. You will want to go through the panels underneath the steering wheel or through the glove compartment to reach the center console cigarette adapter.
Alternatively, you can hardwire your dash cam and tap into the car’s fuse box and power source.
Hard Wire
Deciding to utilize your car’s battery is a great way to utilize your dash cam’s parking mode. This will help you monitor your vehicle when the car is off and you are away. It is a 24/7 car surveillance system.
The first step is identify the location of your vehicle’s fuse box. For the Ford Ranger, the fuse box is either on the passenger side floor or to left of the steering wheel, underneath the instrument panel.
You will also want to decide what type of fuse you’d like to tap into, a constantly on fuse, or one that is only powered on when the car is on. For parking mode, you’ll want to use the first. Use a volt-meter to determine which fuse is which or refer to your car manual.
If your dash cam didn’t come with a hardwiring kit, you’ll need to pick one up; most dash cams have their own proprietary hardwire kit, but you can also pick up a generic one as well.
BlackVue DR900S-2CH
This front and rear channel dash cam features a front camera outputting 4K resolution at 30 FPS and the rear camera with FULL HD 1080p. The BlackVue DR900S-2CH is the most complete system for a Ford Ranger or Ford EcoSport. This is because the BlackVue is one of the most advanced dash cams on the market.
This package comes standard with loop recording, built-in WiFi and included GPS for location data. The ultra wide angle view of the front lens is at 162 degrees with the rear coming in at 139 degrees.
The BlackVue comes with the Power Magic Pro hardwiring kit which allows you to power your dash cam with your Ford vehicle. The kit has safety features to not excessively drain the battery. This kit allows you to utilize the dash cam’s advanced parking mode which includes cloud capability!
Pros
- Advanced Parking Mode
- Remotely View from anywhere
- Includes hardwiring kit
Cons
- No screen
- Requires WiFi Hotspot
AUKEY Dual Dash Cam HD 1080P
For a less expensive option, the AUKEY Dual Dash Cam is a great front and rear setup. They both film at a crisp 1080P resolution with the front camera accompanied by a 170 degree wide angle lens and the rear with a 152 degree angle.
This rear camera works well with the Ford Ranger especially since the windshield is not slanted and is vertical. The AUKEY has no problem adjusting to be able to view your cabin and the road behind it.
The AUKEY comes with a supercapacitor which makes it less susceptible to extreme temperatures you may encounter. It can handle temperatures upwards of 167 degrees. Driving in the hot weather is the worst if your dash camera keeps overheating and fails to record.
This setup only offers an adhesive mount which we prefer over a suction cup mount. We haven’t had any issues with the adhesive mount in varying road conditions.
Last to note that this does not have WiFi or built-in GPS, even though you can purchase a separate antenna for that functionality.
Pros
- Wide angle lens 170 degrees
- Supercapacitor battery is great for hot weather
- Dual 1080p Full HD
Cons
- Optional GPS
Vantrue N4
This next dash cam manufacturer is known for their high quality products and longevity in the market. The Vantrue N4 3-channel front, cabin and rear cameras are a perfect solution for someone who wants a full view of their vehicle.
We find this to be better suited for Ford EcoSport owners because they are more likely to utilize the cabin camera, but depending on your driving situation, it can be used in trucks as well.
It films in 1440p+1080p+1080p and can simultaneously record on a SD card capable of up to 256GB.
The cabin camera is great if you have a lot of unfamiliar passengers in your vehicle. As the sun sets and there’s less light, the cabin camera switches on invisible infrared lights that will illuminate the cabin for great night vision. Even in near pitch black conditions, the N4 will be able to capture anything happening in the car.
The front camera comes with a large F/1.4 aperture which does a good job at night time provided you car’s headlights is decent. The rear camera is unfortunately not that good. You will be able to tell what happens in the rear, but not to the detail as the other cameras.
Pros
- Great night vision lens
- Infrared Cabin Camera
- Great customer service
Cons
- Rear camera is lacking
VAVA 2K Dual Dash Cam
If you don’t want to mess with hardwiring your dash cam, then the VAVA Dual Dash Cam is your answer. This has a built-in 320mAh battery that has just enough power to be able to record a few minutes when the car is off.
This is perfect for overnight parking or while doing errands because you’ll want to capture any incidents when away from your car. And if you don’t want to be messing with your car’s fuse box, then the VAVA makes it a lot simpler.
While the VAVA doesn’t come with a rear view camera, it does come with a infrared cabin camera. Sometimes, this is better for Ford Rangers as the cabin camera does provide some rear coverage due to the short cabin length.
This comes with both built-in WiFi and GPS, allowing you to easily review footage with your phone and if need be, refer to route or location data. This makes it extremely helpful when reviewing parking mode clips the morning after overnight parking.
Pros
- Internal battery allows you to record without hardwiring
- Built-in GPS/WiFi
- Infrared cabin camera for night vision
Cons
- Ugly design
Dash Cam Features You Need
Rugged
For Ford Ranger or Ford EcoSport owners, a dash cam that has longevity is a necessity. There are several aspects that make up a design of a rugged dash cam ranging from external to internal components.
It starts with the mount. Suction cups have gotten better over the years, but a lot of dash cam manufacturers often take the cheap road here. Unless you are repositioning the device a lot, stick with the included 3M adhesive. It will help in the long run if you ever traverse rough terrain.
Humidity and high temperatures don’t bode well with many dash cams. Overheating, melting components are common place for poorly designed dash cams. If you live in one of these environments, look for dash cams that come with a supercapacitor battery. This type of battery isn’t built to power your device, but it is heat resistant and will operate in extreme temperature.
Crash Detection
We hate to think about a situation where we are involved in an accident, but it happens when we least expect it. A dash cam should be able to recognize a crash, and act accordingly to preserve the footage.
Nowadays most dash cams come with G-Sensor technology which can detect any sudden collisions or vibrations within the car. One can utilize this feature while actively driving, but also while the car is parked overnight.
Once the camera detects an incident, it will save the footage in a separate folder that won’t be overwritten from loop recording. All events are stored here making it easier to review as well.
One issue we run across often is that the sensor is too sensitive and will falsely record braking, bumps or rough driving. Higher quality dash cams have the option to change the sensor’s sensitivity from Low to High.
WiFi
Being able to connect your dash cam to your smartphone is useful and sometimes even crucial. If you get into an accident, without built-in WiFi, you may have to rely on the dash cam screen, if it has one.
Dash cam screens are hard to view on a tiny screen and stuck to the windshield whereas a smartphone is easier to manipulate and more portable.
Every dash cam that supports WiFi will supply the owner with a smartphone app you can download. Connect to the dash cam’s WiFi network and use this app in order to review, download or share footage. It’s really helpful to immediately show law enforcement how the event unfolded, clearing you of any wrongdoing.