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DaHose's avatar
DaHose
Explorer
Sep 23, 2013

Super Cheap and effective mirror extenders

When I bought my RV the mirror's had been butchered and someone added a "home made" side mirror extension that consisted of a piece of aluminum u-channel.



The aluminum u-channel flopping around on the mounts is a crappy extender, but I didn't want to spend on a new set of extended mirrors since mine are still intact. I decided to make my own extenders.

The supplies I needed were as follows.

3/8 X 1 1/2" bolt
3/8 X 4" bolt
3/8" threaded rod coupler
3/8" metal (X12) and nylon (X8) washers
3/4" steel plain tube

Once I removed all the******that was on there, I cut two small pieces of the 3/4" tube as long as the previous extenders (3-1/4").



Then I pounded the threaded rod coupler down into the tube.



Once the extender was ready, it was just a matter of bolting everything on. At the base I put on a metal/nylon/metal washer stack on the short bolt and then passed it up through the holes. On top, I put another stack of washers and threaded on the base. On the mirror side, I grabbed the bolt and slipped on metal/nylon washers, then the mirror, then another stack of washers. After that I just threaded the long bolt through the coupler inside the pipe and threaded the whole thing onto the end of the original mirror support arm.






The original arm is solid stainless steel, so I have no fear about the extra leverage of putting the mirror further out. It looks great, works great took on hour to do and cost less than $20 in parts. I might paint the metal tubing silver just so it doesn't stand out or rust.

Hope this gives others ideas of how to extend their mirrors.

Jose
Class C

9 Replies

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  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Oct 03, 2013
    Took me till tonight to figure out how flickR had "improved" sharing of pix. I've changed the attachment to the mirror arm since. I was able to get the screw out of the mirror and arm, so I enlarged the hole in my DIY bracket then twisted it to attach 90* from before. That way I got rid of the rusty bracket.




    These were cheap 5" plastic-backed mirrors with mild steel hardware, about $6 apiece at Advance Auto Parts. As I mentioned earlier, the unencumbered flat mirror along with the large wide-angle addition provide a very good rear view.

    Since then I've added a truck turn signal lamp on both sides. The "lollipop" with Amber and Red faces.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Sep 24, 2013
    There are round blind spot mirrors like the big trucks use. Every truck stop has an assortment, along with assorted arms to mount them. I was in a hurry and got cheap plastic-backed ones at the auto parts and made the arms out of DIY aluminum. Twisted to go under the mirror head mounting bolt (4" one in this case) and provide a hole for the stud on the add-on mirror. I've got a photo if I can figure out how to share it now that flickR has been "improved."

    This is an image of a big 8-1/2" one, but you can see how a store bought or home made arm/bracket could connect it to the mounting bolt for the existing flat mirror.
    I was jealous of those fancy Velvac RV mirrors but now that I hear about the failures and cost of repairs, I like my rental truck kind a lot more. And, with the large, separate, convex mirrors added, I actually have a better field of view.
  • Mich_F's avatar
    Mich_F
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2013
    The one that fell off today was on a 6 month old motor home. I guess we can't expect stuff to last very long anymore. :(
    I've had those convex mirrors on numerous vehicles, but never had one fall off before.
  • rwgeiser's avatar
    rwgeiser
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2013
    Years ago 4" crome extenders like what you made were available at NAPA. I still have them installed on my 85 Dodge truck, on which I used to haul a cab over camper.
  • DaHose's avatar
    DaHose
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2013
    It's surprising just how useful those little stick on jobbies are! With those crappy extenders, the convex mirrors were all I could really use. :P

    I imagine you should be able to find a replacement at a local auto parts place. Get one back on there before you give someone a friendly nudge.;)

    Jose
  • Mich_F's avatar
    Mich_F
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2013
    I had that same style mirror and mount(minus the aluminum U channel :B) on a 1995 Four Winds 21A that I had bought new.
    Today driving home from the keys, I lost one of those little convex stick on mirrors, off my passenger side mirror. It made for an interesting ride home,being alone, and not being able to see what was coming up on the right side.
  • DaHose's avatar
    DaHose
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2013
    No holes in the upper frame j-d. Looks like these mirrors were OEM. I do need to remove the mount bolts and deal with some rust on the door, though.

    I do appreciate the SS construction on these path1. The hose washer is a neat solution. I'll keep that in mind.

    Jose
  • path1's avatar
    path1
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2013
    if they vibrate around on you, I found regular garden hose washers work good to tighten them up. Little bit big but one end of washer fits in enough to damper vibration.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Sep 23, 2013
    Nice looking upgrade, Jose. Surprised yours came with that type mirror mount. Ours had a Junior West Coast type. Are there holes in the upper window frame where something else came off? It seems yours might have been mounts meant for a van (not a wider RV/box body, then somebody went to extend them with that channel.

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