Bunk LedgerBest trucker dash cams (2026)
A truck windshield is taller and more upright than a car's, the cab gets hotter than a glovebox, and a fleet safety department may already have a rule about cameras. Buy for those three facts. Resolution is the fourth fact, not the first.
What matters in this cab
A lithium battery inside a dash cam is a known way for a camera to swell in a closed summer cab. Both models below are listed with a supercapacitor instead of a user-facing battery pack. That is the spec to look for if you only remember one line.
Parking mode is a second purchase. It needs constant power: a hardwire kit, an OBD cable, or a battery pack, depending on the brand. Hardwiring a company truck is often forbidden. If you cannot install the power kit, you do not have parking mode, no matter what the box art says. You have a camera that runs when the key is on.
An inward, cabin-facing camera is a policy question before it is a product question. Ask the carrier before you buy a three-channel unit. This page does not recommend one.
Mount high, out of your sight line, and out of the wiper arc if you can still see the lane. Clean the glass with alcohol, not with silicone dressing, or the adhesive lets go in July. Leave room for a blackout curtain. The camera wins the argument for the top center of the glass.
Two published options
On a phone, this table moves sideways. The first column stays put.
| Model | Image | Power memory | Parking mode | Size | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 | 1080p, up to 30 fps, 140° diagonal, Clarity HDR | Supercapacitor. No built-in GPS speed stamp unless synced to another Garmin | Parking Guard needs the constant-power cable, sold separately | 3.13 × 5.33 × 2.91 cm, 32.1 g | Drivers who want a screen, a cabin camera, or GPS speed burned into the file by this unit alone |
| Thinkware U3000 | Front 4K at 30 fps or 2K at 60 fps. Rear camera 2K at 30 fps. Front listed at 152° diagonal | Supercapacitor. Built-in GPS. 12/24 V input | Radar parking needs a hardwire kit or OBD cable. Thinkware says professional install is recommended | 69.8 × 98.1 × 55.5 mm, 133 g | A company truck you cannot hardwire, and anyone who thinks radar parking replaces watching the lot |
Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2
Garmin's specifications list 1080p, a 140° diagonal lens, up to 30 frames per second, voice control, a supercapacitor rather than a battery, and a body about the size of a key fob: 3.13 × 5.33 × 2.91 cm and 32.1 g. The operating range on the spec page is −20°C to 60°C (−4°F to 140°F). It needs a microSD card, at least 8 GB, Class 10 or faster. The card is not in the box.
There is no screen. You aim it with the phone app, which is awkward once and then stays out of your eyes. Saved clips can upload to Garmin's Vault when the camera is on Wi-Fi. Garmin's manual says the free Vault hold is 24 hours and that longer storage is a paid plan. Do not count on the cloud as your only copy. Pull files you care about onto a phone or a laptop.
GPS speed and location are listed as "no" on this camera unless it is synced with a separate GPS-equipped Garmin. If you wanted the speed stamped on the picture, this is the wrong single camera.
Incident detection, per the owner's manual, saves video around a sensor trip, on the order of 15 seconds before and after by default. That is a loop, not an infinite archive. The card overwrites unsaved video.
Specifications: Garmin Mini 2.
Thinkware U3000
Thinkware lists the U3000 at 4K (3840 × 2160) at 30 fps or 2K (2560 × 1440) at 60 fps on the front, a Sony STARVIS 2 sensor, a 152° front view, built-in GPS, built-in front and rear radar, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a supercapacitor. Input power is listed as DC 12/24 V, which covers a normal US truck's 12 V system without a special converter. Operating temperature is −10°C to 60°C (14°F to 140°F). The body is 69.8 × 98.1 × 55.5 mm and 133 g. Cards up to 256 GB UHS-I are listed.
4K looks better and fills a card faster. Thinkware's own brochure prints rough recording times by card size and bitrate. A 64 GB card at 4K is on the order of a couple of hours of loop, not a week. Buy the card size for the loop you want, and format it in the camera.
Parking modes, including the radar wake, are listed as requiring a hardwire cable or an OBD-II cable. Thinkware marks professional installation as recommended. Radar parking is a low-power wake when something moves in a set range. It is not a guarantee that a person, a shopping cart, or a hit will be captured. Thinkware's own radar notes say detection has limits, including metal film on the glass. Read those limits before you skip walking around the truck.
The rear camera makes this a two-piece install and a wire down the cab. On a long tractor that wire is a project. On a company truck it may be a prohibited project.
Product page: Thinkware U3000.
Pick from the install you are allowed to do
- If the carrier bans cameras, stop. The best spec sheet does not outrank a safety policy.
- If you want small, forward-only, and you will live without parking mode, the Mini 2's published size and supercapacitor match that job. Confirm it is still the current Garmin mini before you order.
- If you want 4K, GPS on the file, and you are allowed to hardwire, the U3000 is the spec-heavy option. Budget a card and an install, not just the camera.
- Skip any model whose listing will not say whether the power storage is a supercapacitor or a lithium cell, if the truck sits in the sun.
Along the way
Conclusion
Buy the camera for the heat of a parked cab and for the power it needs when the key is off. Confirm the Garmin Mini 2 is still the current model before you order one.
FAQ
Does the Mini 2 have built-in GPS speed?
Not unless it is synced to a phone. The camera itself is a small 1080p unit with a supercapacitor and no screen.
Can parking mode run from the lighter socket after you shut down?
Only if that socket stays live, which many do not. Thinkware's parking setup is a hardwire or OBD job. Ask before you install it on a company truck.
Related guides
Best truck inverters
A socket inverter and a 1,500 W pure sine do different jobs. What each can run, what a starting battery cannot, and what a company…
Read more
Best 12V coffee makers
What a 12V coffee maker can do from a lighter socket, why a glass carafe is a poor cab companion, and when you actually need…
Read more
CB radios for highway trucks
A full-size Cobra 29 LX versus a compact Uniden PRO505XL. Both are 4-watt, 40-channel CB sets. The antenna and the mount matter more than the…
Read more