These days backup cameras are very popular, especially with large trucks and SUVs. In addition to making reversing much safer, rear cameras on large vehicles can also make it much easier to connect a trailer. In most cases, the license plate frame is a great place to mount a backup camera. Many folks have custom license plate frames that they like, so this technique allows you to perform a simple custom camera installation on your favorite plastic license plate frame. We decided to mount the Alpine HCE-C105 backup camera in an Alpine license plate frame on this '08 Toyota Tundra. Follow along as we show you how it's done.
 This Alpine backup camera...  This Alpine backup camera includes a bracket, and this is what it looks like installed. While it's functional and secure, the cosmetics can be greatly improved with a little labor. |  The beauty of this technique...  The beauty of this technique is that it allows you to flush-mount a backup camera into any custom plastic license plate frame. This Alpine version is an excellent example. |  The first step is to grind...  The first step is to grind down the top edge of the plate frame to remove the paint and ready it for bonding with additional plastic pieces. A 2-inch die grinder using a coarse 24-grit grinding disc works great for this. |
 This particular plate frame...  This particular plate frame has a very thin top edge, so we cut a small piece of 1/8-inch ABS plastic to thicken it. This makes the top edge slightly wider than the camera so that it can be easily mounted. |  Glue the ABS piece to the...  Glue the ABS piece to the bottom edge of the plate frame using superglue. |  Spray the glue seam with accelerator...  Spray the glue seam with accelerator to quickly cure it and fill the gap between the two pieces. |
 Drill a 1/2-inch hole in the...  Drill a 1/2-inch hole in the top edge of the plate frame, being sure to center the hole. This will allow the camera's connector cable to pass through cleanly. |  Using the tapped holes on...  Using the tapped holes on the back surface, the camera was bolted to the plate frame. The plate frame was then temporarily mounted on the truck to check the angle of the camera. |  The most important factor...  The most important factor when mounting a backup camera is the angle. In this case, we need to be able to see the towing hitch ball in the bottom of the screen to make it easy to connect to a trailer. It's also important to eliminate blind spots. |
 The plate frame mounting holes...  The plate frame mounting holes were counter-sunk to allow the use of a flat-head stainless steel bolt. |  The flushed Allen-head bolts...  The flushed Allen-head bolts look much cleaner than the stock bolts and are also more theft-resistant. |  Now we remove the plate frame...  Now we remove the plate frame to finish flushing in the backup camera. A small piece of thin cardboard was cut at the desired angle to integrate the camera cleanly into the plate frame. |