I occasionally patrol the internet. I wonder how everyone else is doing things out there…
Lately it’s been dash recorders.
The hand-held switch, GPS antenna, front and rear cameras, and main unit—they’re incomparably more work than an ETC.
The instructions say to stick it with the included double-sided tape… even the manufacturer says so.
Is it enough if the part just mounts and works?
What about the maintenance and labor involved afterward?
There are plenty of things where it’s better not to know if you don’t already. ♪
Factory-installed parts are well made.
They only fit where they’re designed to fit. No special thought or skill required.
Even with factory parts, there’s often a lot of labor involved in service work.
Anyone with a little experience removing and installing parts will understand.
The labor involved in installing aftermarket parts has been on the rise lately.
What exactly makes it such a pain?
To some extent it’s unavoidable, but first of all there are way more parts.
Bracket to bracket with bolts, nuts, lock washers, and washers—installing a single part ends up requiring double or more of what I just listed.
Unbelievable wiring practices.
Grabbing 12V power from an easy-to-reach spot with an electrical tap, getting ground from a convenient M6 bolt, three connections like that—it’s a mess.
Battery connections that drive you crazy.
Five connections to ground, three to the battery, two to the fuse, and so on.
It looks like a nightmare at first glance. Somehow it doesn’t catch fire and works fine—it’s amazing how it all holds together.
Shim hell.
Pull it out and “flutter flutter”—how many shims? How many pieces? And before that, are these numbers even correct?
If you’re going to use shims, you need to label them with a P-touch label so the next person who touches it knows what they’re dealing with.
If the setup is stock, there’s a manual and parts list. But once it’s been modified, nobody but the owner knows…
If nobody else is going to touch it, that’s fine, but the owner probably doesn’t remember either.
Careless double-sided tape mounting.
Double-sided tape and cable ties are incredibly efficient and attractive during installation.
But when you think about removing and reinstalling parts later… it’s not so great.
Picture this: an ETC unit stuck to the electrical panel with double-sided tape, and you need to remove it for a repaint or service work. It’s a nightmare.
Parts held with cable ties, carelessly positioned, and when you try to remove and reinstall them, they hit something, and you have to reposition and retie everything properly or you’ll have problems.
If I really started listing everything, it would hit home for anyone doing this work, so I’ll stop here.
Why don’t people do proper installations?
Because it’s “easy,” “doing it right takes too much time,” or “as long as it works and functions, that’s good enough.”
But if you don’t install aftermarket parts with removal in mind, you’ll inevitably cause trouble for yourself and everyone else down the line. “Thinking about removal” is absolutely critical.
Once you start thinking that way, the wire lengths, routing, and bracket design become endless puzzles.
Now let’s get back to the dash recorder.
The other day I was carefully looking up installation instructions online, and…
Seriously?
Camera fixed with double-sided tape… on a surface that’s not even flat… facing the wrong way… the wide angle catches the vehicle body… the hand-held switch glued to the switch box…
This is how it’s done. The world really is like this.
In a way, when you’re dealing with the general public, you have to do it this way.
It’s not about whether this is good or bad—”more labor equals more time,” and “more time equals more money.” As efficiency improves, things naturally get smoother.
Where does your passion for your vehicle lie?
Even thinking about it for a moment can shift your perspective dramatically. The depth of values runs deeper than the ocean itself.
