Garmin Dashcam Mini 3 Tips and Tricks

🚐 Dashcam Diaries: Getting Videos Off the Garmin Mini 3 (and Making Them Shine)

Let me paint you a picture.

You’re cruising along in Vanilla, your pride and joy. Staffordshire’s back roads are stretching out ahead. Trees sway. A pheasant contemplates crossing. The dashcam blinks knowingly—it’s got it all on record. But now you want to get those glorious clips onto your PC, trim out the boring bits, and maybe turn that pheasant into a slow-motion legend.

Well, my friend, you’re in the right place.

🧰 Step 1: Get Your Footage Off the Garmin Mini 3

Option A: USB Cable to PC (The Plug-and-Play Classic)

What You Need:

• USB-C to USB-A cable

• Your PC

• The willpower to avoid all the other files on your desktop

Steps:

1. Power down the dash cam.

2. Plug it into your PC using the USB cable.

3. It should pop up as a removable drive.

4. Open the folder (likely called Garmin) → go to:

DCIM > 100__GDR

4. 
   

5. Drag and drop your video files onto your desktop like the digital truffle pig you are.

🎬 The files will be .MP4 format and named things like GX010123.mp4. Useful, but not sexy. More on that later.

Option B: SD Card Reader (The Speed Demon’s Method)

If you’re in a rush or you’ve got hours of road trip gold:

What You Need:

• Your Garmin’s microSD card

• A card reader (or a laptop with one built in)

Steps:

1. Pop out the SD card (tip: it lives on the side of the cam—fiddly, but doable).

2. Insert it into the reader.

3. Open File Explorer → find your drive.

4. Navigate to:

DCIM > 100__GDR

4. 
   

5. Copy the files like a seasoned road-trip archivist.

🗂️ Step 2: Organise Like a Boss

If you’re like me, and your desktop is 80% screenshots and 20% panic, do this:

Create folders:

Garmin Dashcam Footage

│

├── Raw Files

├── Edited Clips

├── Best Moments

├── YouTube Exports

└── Blog Clips

Rename the files as you go:

GX010124.mp4 ➡️ 2025-06-10_ThePotholeChronicles.mp4

GX010125.mp4 ➡️ 2025-06-10_SunsetOverMilfordBends.mp4

Trust me—it’ll save you from muttering at midnight, “Was GX010149 the one where the squirrel waved, or…?”

✂️ Step 3: Edit Like Spielberg (If He Had a Campervan)

🎞 CapCut – The Road Tripper’s Best Friend

You already know it, love it, and use it. Here’s how to work your dash cam magic:

1. Open CapCut → New Project.

2. Import your clips.

3. Trim the boring bits (farewell, 6 minutes of red traffic lights).

4. Add:

   
   

   • Text overlays like “Crossing Cannock Chase – June 2025”

   • Background music (royalty-free or a moody bit of Underworld?)

   • Slow motion on dramatic moments, like squirrels committing to risky crossings.

5. 
   

Export in glorious 1080p or 4K, depending on your footage quality.

🧰 Or Use iMovie / Windows Photos App

If you want something simpler:

• Trim, fade, and export

• Add a caption like: “Vanilla Rolls Again – June 2025”

Done. Dusted. Ready to publish.

📤 Step 4: Publish Your Clips

📹 For YouTube:

• Upload your masterpiece with a title like:

  
  

  “Stafford to Cannock Chase in 3 Minutes – Dashcam Chill”

• Add tags like:

#VanLife #Dashcam #GarminMini3 #RoadTripVibes #VanillaTheCamper

🖥️ For Your Wix Blog:

1. Embed your YouTube video in your blog post:

   
   

   • In Wix Editor → Add → Embed Code → paste YouTube’s embed HTML.

2. 
   

3. Or upload directly to your Wix VideoBox.

Top tip: Add a little intro to the blog post. Something like:

“Recorded entirely from the windscreen of Vanilla, this clip captures the moody skies and gentle twists of Staffordshire’s backroads. No squirrels were harmed in the making of this footage—though one did look annoyed.”

🖼️ Step 5: Thumbnail & Branding

Want your videos to stand out?

• Use Canva to create a bold thumbnail.

• Title?

  
  

  “The Pothole Ultimatum – A Vanilla Short Film”

Add a logo with:

🎬 “John’s Drones Presents…”

Followed by a drone sound and a subtle flash of your campervan silhouette.

Want me to help create a CapCut template or that intro? Just say the word, maestro.

🚀 Bonus Tip: Back It Up, Baby

Dash cams overwrite footage. Don’t lose that golden moment when someone tried to overtake you on a roundabout in a Fiat Panda. Back it up to:

• Google Drive

• iCloud

• External hard drive

• Or a secret USB shaped like a baguette (your call)

🧼 In Summary:

Task

Tool/Method

Get videos off Mini 3

USB cable or SD card reader

Organise clips

Folder structure + rename files

Edit videos

CapCut or iMovie

Publish online

YouTube or Wix

Stand out

Canva thumbnails + branded intros

📣 Final Thoughts:

Your dash cam isn’t just a silent witness—it’s a storyteller. With a bit of editing, a dash of humour, and a dollop of road trip nostalgia, you’ve got content that belongs on blogs, YouTube, and possibly Netflix if they’re desperate enough.

So go on. Plug in. Download. Edit. Publish. Show the world what Vanilla sees.

Let me know if you’d like:

• Thumbnail designs

• A “Vanilla On Tour” video intro

• A printable workflow cheat