Buy a brand-new 79 Series dual-cab today and you will drive it off the lot without a single reversing aid fitted from the factory. No camera, no sensors, no mirror display. For a vehicle that regularly tows trailers, backs into tight worksites, and sits in suburban driveways with kids around, that is a significant gap, and it has been the reality for the entire 2007-to-current generation of the 70 Series range.
New vehicles sold in Australia increasingly include reversing aids as standard, which makes the omission on the 70 Series feel increasingly dated. The good news is that the aftermarket has caught up, and a well-chosen reverse camera retrofit is cleaner and more capable than anything Toyota was offering in this class even a few years ago.
At a Glance
- The 70 Series (2007 to current) has never shipped with a factory reverse camera on cab-chassis and ute models.
- Blind-spot depth behind a 79 Series tray is a well-known safety problem on worksites and in tight spaces.
- Two main retrofit paths exist: standalone mirror/screen kits, or a camera integrated into an aftermarket headunit.
- Integrated headunit installs are generally the cleanest, with the image appearing on the main screen complete with guidelines.
- Camera wiring connects to the reverse light circuit so the feed triggers automatically whenever reverse gear is selected.
Why the 70 Series Never Got a Factory Camera
The 70 Series is a working vehicle designed around a platform that predates modern reversing-camera technology becoming mainstream. Toyota has made steady updates to safety and convenience features across successive facelift cycles, but the cab-chassis body style, with its separate tray, creates mounting and wiring complexity that the factory has never resolved with an integrated solution. The result is that every 70 Series owner, regardless of whether they are running a troop carrier, a wagon, or a 79 Series ute, has been left to solve the problem themselves.
On a 79 Series dual-cab with a full-length tray fitted, the blind zone extends a considerable distance behind the vehicle. Backing a loaded ute toward a fence, reversing a trailer into a tight spot, or simply checking for children in a driveway are all scenarios where the absence of a camera creates real risk. It is not a comfort feature on this vehicle. It is a safety one.
Option One: Standalone Mirror and Screen Kits
The most straightforward retrofit is a dedicated reverse camera paired with a small monitor, often integrated into a replacement rear-view mirror. These kits are self-contained, relatively simple to install, and work independently of whatever head unit is already in the vehicle. They are a sensible choice if you want to keep the factory dash completely untouched.
The trade-off is that you end up with an additional screen in the cabin, wiring that needs to be neatly managed across a long run from the rear of the vehicle to the mirror, and a display that is usually smaller and lower resolution than a dedicated aftermarket screen. For a working ute that already has a busy dash, it is another thing to manage.
Option Two: Camera Integrated Into an Aftermarket Headunit
The cleaner approach, and the one most installers recommend for a permanent daily-driver setup, is to run the reverse camera into an aftermarket headunit so the image appears on the main screen. There is no secondary display, no duplicate wiring runs, and the reversing guidelines are rendered on a large, bright screen that is already in your eyeline. When you drop into reverse, the camera feed appears automatically. When you come out of reverse, the screen returns to whatever it was showing before.
Camera placement on a 79 Series is typically above the rear number plate or mounted to the tray headboard, both of which give a usable view of the area immediately behind the vehicle and the towball. Wiring runs forward along the chassis to the headunit, with a trigger wire tapped into the reverse light circuit so activation is completely automatic.
The PVS 9-inch MK4 headunit is built specifically for the 70 Series dual-airbag plastic dash (2008 to 2026) and includes a reverse camera in the box at no extra cost. The unit is priced at $2,099 and carries a 36-month warranty, which is considerably longer than the industry standard for this category. An OBD2 engine-data dongle is also included, allowing live vehicle diagnostics to be displayed through the head unit. If you are already looking at a headunit upgrade for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which we covered separately in our wireless CarPlay guide for the 70 Series, bundling the camera into the same install is the most cost-effective and tidy outcome.
Installation Considerations for the 79 Series
The long body of the 79 Series means a longer cable run than most passenger vehicles, so using a quality shielded cable is worth the small additional cost to avoid interference on the image. A competent auto electrician or car audio specialist can complete the full install, including camera mounting, cable run, and headunit fitting, in a day. If you are mounting to a steel tray, stainless hardware is recommended to avoid rust tracking down onto the number plate area over time.
Camera height and angle matter more on a high-riding ute than on a passenger car. Positioned correctly above the number plate, a wide-angle camera will show the towball, the immediate ground behind the vehicle, and enough context on either side to make backing into tight spots genuinely manageable. It will not eliminate every blind zone, but it addresses the most dangerous one: the area directly behind the vehicle that the mirrors simply cannot reach.
The Practical Case for Retrofitting
Worksites increasingly expect vehicles to meet minimum safety standards, and a reverse camera is a reasonable baseline on a vehicle the size of a 79 Series. Beyond the worksite, the everyday case for a retrofit is straightforward: tighter urban parking, reversing with a trailer, and the simple confidence of knowing what is behind you before you move. The 70 Series is a vehicle people keep for a decade or more. A well-installed reverse camera pays for itself in peace of mind many times over across that kind of ownership period.
