Anyone have a recommendation for replacing the mirrors on my 1976 21'? I was thinking a truck type mirror.

Kim

Last year I decided to replace the OEM west coast mirrors on my 24 footer.....Just got fed-up with the vibration, shaking and viewing the traffic behind me as a blur.......

Finally decided on bus style mirrors....The top 2/3 are standard mirror, bottom 1/3 is convex, both manually adjustable....mounting arm is fixed. No bells & whistles, I think they were the least expensive available from Ramco Engineering.......

Weren't cheap, but I do LUV them.....made a big difference in situational awareness...the convex portions cover both adjacent lanes, almost to the front wheel well....Quality & customer service was impressive...Go to:

http://www.ramco-eng.com/Products.html

ADDENDUM: Having a coach of modest value, I chose not to break-the-bank, and went with their model 1102M.....Looked like the most bang for buck...The head is adjustable via allen screws locking a ball mount into a socket, and the individual mirrors can also be manually adjusted within the head - both regular & convex.

I mounted them slightly different for enhanced viewing...mounting plate for driver's side went far enough forward to touch the back edge of the rounded nose panel....Pax side about 6-8" further back so front window frame didn't block any of the view. Great field of vision......

Caveat: On this model, arm extensions & mounting plate are one integral piece - no hinge assembly. If you should catch a mirror on something, there's no hinge to fold back the arm...You're gonna break something and/or the mirror & its mounting plate will just rip away from the coach sidewall

Options include swing arms, SS housing, heat, remote control, integral turn signals, etc etc.
But before I spend a grand each for mirrors, I figure I'll just make more use of my turn signals & horn and let people get out of MY way...In DC area, that's SOP anyway

When I hit the side of our office building in my case it was the mounting plate that failed. When I went to get a new one the fellow said the plates are the designed weak link; assuming the mounting is robust.

The new plate cost me $15.00 shipping included.

I should have ordered two, now that I do not have a spare sure as heck I'll whack another mirror one day. As I am sure you all know if you have a spare with you (in the garage "somewhere" doesn't count) the equiptment failure gods will see this and the part in question will never need replacement.

I have the same manual adjustment mirrors. The field of view is large and both mirror are big enough I can clearly see the image. The electric mirrors as I recall worked out to something like ---OH I forget ---- but it was enough more that I passed on even getting just one electric mirror on the right side.
Timothy

Following Lee's advice I checked Ramco and was advised the 1102M is discontinued and they have less than 10 sets left. Also, parts will not be available for this unit. The 9000 series is very simular, but is aluminum, and costs about 80 bucks more. [260 vs340 or thereabouts]. I'm going to continue looking for a deal or some real luck, as my mirrors function OK but look like $#!+.

quote:

Originally posted by Lee:
Last year I decided to replace the OEM west coast mirrors on my 24 footer.....Just got fed-up with the vibration, shaking and viewing the traffic behind me as a blur.......

Finally decided on bus style mirrors....The top 2/3 are standard mirror, bottom 1/3 is convex, both manually adjustable....mounting arm is fixed. No bells & whistles, I think they were the least expensive available from Ramco Engineering.......

I did the same thing on a previous MH. Liked them a lot.

My Barth came with flat glass bus type mirrors with no convex. As cheap quick fix, I bought squarish convex stick ons from Camping world, planning to upgrade when time and money allowed.

It turns out that they are plenty good enough, and I will not be upgrading. I tend to stay in the right lane and change lanes rarely, so mirrors are not as big a deal as on a vehicle driven more aggressively. The need for convex just isn't all that pressing, and is not worth the money to me.

On a new purchase, I don't know how much you would save by buying flat glass, so the economy might not be a big deal. But in my case, to get a flat/convex glass mirror, it would involve a complete new purchase.

Some of this would depend on how much you change lanes, too. I find that I use the mirror the most when pulling out of the gas station. And that is the flat part. Oh, yeah, the most I use the convex part is to check the step is up before driving away.

Search 'RV Mirror' on eBay. Several available there.

Mike

Thamks all for some great ideas

kim

I put on a set of late model (2000 or so) ford truck mirrors, sometimes referred to as elephant ears. They were given to me, so I'm not sure how much a wrecker would charge but they worked well and were fairly easy to adapt.

Thanks, I will look at those. Your set up is very similar to mine. Do the 'Elephant Ears' allow you to see around the support bar for the awning?

Also, do you have a problem with the door banging against that bar? Mine does, I have been using a bungee, but I am looking into fabricating a 8-9" support bracket which attaches to the door from the MH.

Ah, Nanaimo BC. What a great place.

Kim

Kim,
The awning support doesn't block the view. The Ford mirror sits far enough out. The convex mirror is a little hard to see because of its size so I kept the large round one and mounted it just below. I used the original Barth mirror uprights and welded large circular disks to the upright in the corresponding locations of the two Ford outrigger arms. The Ford mirror has a triangular shaped, pot metal bracket that attaches it to the truck door. I removed these from the mirrors so all I was left with is the mirror and the two arms.
Yes, the door hits the awning post, not the greatest, but I was just happy to squeeze the 18' awning onto the old rig. Happy Barthing.