Parking Sensors and Cameras on a Rear Cargo Box

Parking sensors have become something we all rely on. It’s natural to wonder what happens to them when you put a rear cargo box like the IXTAbox.

The Parking Sensors:

There are two situations when it comes to the parking sensors, and it depends on which box you buy:

When the box is plugged into the 13-pin socket

An IXTAbox Pro connects to the car with the standard 13-pin plug. On the Pro, that plug runs the integrated LED brake lights, indicators and position lights, which come on with your car's own position lights. It’s simple, plug and play!

Then what matters most is whether your car treats the 13-pin connector as a trailer connection, which, in most cases, it does. Many cars treat what is in that socket as a trailer and change their behaviour accordingly. Volvo says so in its own manual: "When reversing with a trailer connected to the car's electrical system, parking assistance backward is deactivated automatically." Tesla does something similar. Connecting a trailer's electrical connection while parked engages Trailer Mode, and Tesla notes that "rear parking sensor functionality may not be available" while it is on.

When the box is not plugged in:

Many rear cargo boxes do not have the option to be plugged in (including the IXTAbox Classic Line). With them, the sensors do exactly what they are built to do and report a large object sitting behind the bumper continuously. However, most cars have a button on the console or a menu item on the screen for turning the sensors ON or OFF, which shuts the beeping down.

The camera:

With the sensors down, the work falls onto the camera. Whether the box shows up in your reversing camera depends on where the camera sits on your car, so it is worth checking. The higher the camera, the better is the view! Most of our customer cars have the camera higher on the car, so it helps in reversing, but for the parking spot lines, mirrors are your best friend!

Either way, you are parking a longer car. Sensors or not, there is an old skill worth having back - parking without sensors! The car is a bit longer, and the added length does make it slightly more difficult, but since the box is on the tow bar and has nothing underneath, kerbs are never a problem, just the added length. Anyone who has driven with a towbar-mounted bike rack already knows the feeling.

If you want to work out how the box will sit on your car before you order, the measuring guide takes about five minutes. Both lines are here: IXTAbox Pro and Classic.