Does birds eye view still work with mirrors folded?

[RexRemus]

I guess this is a few questions in one - mostly centered around if birds eye view is usable as a parking assist in a garage scenario.

So... first off - is it? And how accurate/reliable does it seem to be? I'm gonna need to put things within about 3-4 inches in every direction to fit an R1S in my garage.

Next - If it is usable in a garage/tight spaces does it still work if the mirrors are folded? I almost certainly will need them to be folded to fit into my garage and I know there are some cameras on the mirrors but I don't know if they remain fixed when the mirrors fold or if they end up rotating with the mirrors and hence possibly making birds eye view not available.

I'm worried about the repeatability of parking this thing becoming a real nuisance without some kind of aid(s) in place (I'm probably going to tape out or paint some lines of where it needs to be and reference those from the birds eye view) and while I have my own concerns about personal annoyance, I'm more worried about my 16yr-old who got his licence just a month or so ago knowing he WILL want to drive it and I don't want him scraping off a mirror or smashing into shelving with the front end. So ANY assistance the vehicle can offer will be highly valued.

Has anyone tested this? Or can anyone try it and confirm how accurate they find it to be when in a tight space and if folding the mirrors messes with it at all? Thank you!

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[atebit]

IMHO it still kinda works with mirrors folded, at least for me. But it’s better when they’re unfolded.

 

[COdogman]

I have a very tight garage at my apartment and I have to be very accurate getting my Tacoma in and out each time. I bought one of these little parking gadgets and it makes the whole process much better. I like it because it can be mounted on the side wall if necessary and you can configure the laser multiple ways. I use it to keep me aligned in the center of the garage and also when to stop so I don’t bump the wall.

That being said, I would not trust any 16 year old to do it even once

 

[RexRemus]

I have a very tight garage at my apartment and I have to be very accurate getting my Tacoma in and out each time. I bought one of these little parking gadgets and it makes the whole process much better. I like it because it can be mounted on the side wall if necessary and you can configure the laser multiple ways. I use it to keep me aligned in the center of the garage and also when to stop so I don’t bump the wall.

That being said, I would not trust any 16 year old to do it even once

Yeah, that's a major concern, it's going to be snug - it WILL fit, but like, it's going to be a process every damn time. Can you share the device you are using?

 

[RexRemus]

IMHO it still kinda works with mirrors folded, at least for me. But it’s better when they’re unfolded.

So it DOES change? Curious if you can grab an image with them unfolded and then folded just to get an idea of what is different. Thanks for testing it out

 

[COdogman]

Yeah, that's a major concern, it's going to be snug - it WILL fit, but like, it's going to be a process every damn time. Can you share the device you are using?

I definitely stop and focus before I go in each time so I don’t make any dumb mistakes. It does get easier over time though.

I have the link in my post above, but in case you aren’t seeing it, just do a search on Amazon for “Goodchief Universal Garage Laser Line Parking Assist”.

 

[Andystroh]

I can check tomorrow but I’m pretty certain the regions the mirror cameras cover get messed up when the mirrors are folded, it will still turn on but you can’t see part of the view.
I haven’t hit anything, but sometimes objects move when they change which camera sees them and it drops my confidence… I haven’t had 360 before though so I can’t say how it compares.

 

[TheRiviAnswer]

How will you get out with only 3-4 inches on each side?

 

[thehodge]

Grandad hung a wine cork by a thread from his garage ceiling.

When he was in the right place, just short of hitting the stuff he couldn't see,
that cork hit the windshield right in front of him & he stopped.

You'd have a problem if you had a lot of wind in your garage...

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

They still work but the image does change. Here’s unfolded and folded in the same spot.

 

[RexRemus]

I definitely stop and focus before I go in each time so I don’t make any dumb mistakes. It does get easier over time though.

I have the link in my post above, but in case you aren’t seeing it, just do a search on Amazon for “Goodchief Universal Garage Laser Line Parking Assist”.

Yeah for whatever reason it didn't come through, ad blocker probably. I found it though, looks useful for this situation - thanks!

 

[RexRemus]

How will you get out with only 3-4 inches on each side?

Haha fair question. There is room once you're "in" though literally only on the driver's side. Every other spot - front to rear, and passenger side to wall (shelving really) is gonna be within a few inches of clearance so as long as I can be consistent with the vehicle placement, it's all good. But it needs to be very consistent and very repeatable in the initial entry and where I stop (for front to rear)

 

[RexRemus]

Grandad hung a wine cork by a thread from his garage ceiling.

When he was in the right place, just short of hitting the stuff he couldn't see,
that cork hit the windshield right in front of him & he stopped.

You'd have a problem if you had a lot of wind in your garage...

Yeah this is the traditional way of knowing when you were far enough "in" - but I need to be just right side to side as well. Hence why I was thinking I could do "landing strips" on the floor and use bird's eye to track them and make sure I was aligned.

The laser system mentioned is basically the modern take on the hanging a cork or tennis ball but it can be used to give you a side to side alignment confirmation as well. I'm definitely considering that at this point

 

[RexRemus]

They still work but the image does change. Here’s unfolded and folded in the same spot.

Wow, well, first off this makes me wish they had found a way to keep the cameras on the mirror mounts vs the mirrors themselves but at least it still "works". I suppose as long as you knew what it looked like and it stayed consistent it would still be usable - if a little odd. But based on earlier remarks about slight shifting of objects when moving from one camera zone to another, I'm probably just going to lean toward the laser system, maybe 2 of them to have more reference points, and try to make that work.

Thank you for testing this out, it's honestly pretty interesting to see how the image is altered as my intuition told me it would have angled things the opposite direction

 

[EVTrukHog]

I fit my R1T through an 8' wide utility garage door opening... it is tight, but can navigate it without having to fold the side mirrors. Rather than bird's eye view, I've found it more helpful to toggle back and forth between front view and rear view cameras... this gives you a forward and rearward view down the quarter panels on each side to ensure the truck body is clearing the garage door jambs.

I think it's simpler to use a rumble strip on the floor to let you know you're far enough into the garage to clear the tailgate from the garage door. The R1T is pretty nimble navigating tight spaces and the cameras make it easy to see what you're doing.

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