Mirror replacement

[Brownleaf]

This morning my heavy velvac right mirror broke off where the unit cements to a little 3' stub leaving a 4" pipe protruding down. Sorry still no good with pictures.As heavy as that unit is I can envision great difficulty trying to cement it or a new one back on. Are there much lighter units available ( this is a 04 minnie class C. Perhaps that would not be cement but a weld. I had to cut the wire so I could prevent it just dangling. Wondering what sort of money I will be getting into? Doug in Durham

[Grit_dog]

Thought this was about a mirror? :h

[Brownleaf]

Dale, these old motorhomes are not built like regular houses and I worry about any stress on the body such as those rear spare tires. On a previous Chieftain, I just had the awning removed thinking of the weight drag on my long trips out in the windy west. My two trips out west and back were so perfect that I know it is the passion of our enjoyment of them that makes all the work worthwhile. Doug

[Scottiemom]

Brownleaf wrote:
Dale, what's next-breaking down? Doug

Not planning on anything Doug. The mirror was a casualty of a construction sign mounted on a large spring on a Jersey wall. A wind gust caused it to slam into my mirror arm. I was lucky that it quickly bounced back and I was passed it before it could hit me again. LOL

The spare tire mount was likely an accident waiting to happen. It just pulled off the back of the motorhome wall where it was mounted. After 17 years, apparently the caulk was not doing its job and allowed some water intrusion, but we were luckly that it did not affect the entire wall, just the bolts through the plate. The awning, well. . . awnings wear out and the fabric delams. While in Elkhart this spring I had new sway bars and bushings put on.

And we all know decals fade and crack. With all new ones on now, MinnieMee looks new!

So far, nothing else has shown up. Soon I will take her in for an oil change and have my mechanic check some stuff. I am going to have the radiator flushed and new fluid put in. It seems to want to run warmer in these hot temps, especially when I have to sit waiting on wrecks to clear. My friend says it's nothing to worry about, but it's been 10 years since it was last done. So I'm having it done just for piece of mind.

Gonna get her ready for hurricane season. I know that has already started, but she is road worthy if I have to bug out.

Hope all are doing well!

Dale

[Brownleaf]

Dale, what's next-breaking down? Doug

[Scottiemom]

Brownleaf wrote:
On closer look, it was just the swing arm with the mirror that broke off clean leaving the support on the rv and the stud remaining. I guess it was just a clean break at the weld. Also I did find all the part stuff underneath. Future project. Do you remember, Scottiemom what the labor was on that? Mine may be different with a break off and me cutting the wire. Doug

Well, I had a couple other things for my guy to fix. He works out of his home and I didn't get an itemized receipt. He had to remove the door panel and unbolt the old one, then put the new one in place. I don't think it was 30 minutes and if I was braver, I might have attempted it. I know if my DH was still alive, he would have done it himself. It came with good instructions and pictures on the process. But I had a spare tire remounted on the motorhome and an awning repair, so I didn't get an individual price on the mirror replacement. I could have ordered just the mirror itself which was broken, but I ordered the entire arm. It wasn't that much more expensive and it looks great now.

Dale

[IAMICHABOD]

The most common reason is water intrusion.The water comes in and sits in the washer that holds the spring on the pot metal shaft corroding it until it breaks under the pressure of the spring.

The fix is to replace the whole assembly,If they are Velvac mirrors the part # for them is on the bottom of them,this will help in get the right parts.

This company will help you out,they have a lot of Velvac Mirrors and parts,look around on their site you might find something that would work for you.

Pacific RV Mirrors.



Right Mirror:



If you are handy you can replace the mirror yourself,I have replaced mine it wasn't very hard to do.

This Link posted by CloudDriver will walk you thru the repair.

[Grit_dog]

If you're budget limited, learn how to remove the door panel from your door.
Once you do that, the mirror is a couple bolts or screws and an electric plug. Replacing a door mounted rearview mirror is about a 2 out of 10 for difficulty.
Put a new mirror assembly on.

[Brownleaf]

On closer look, it was just the swing arm with the mirror that broke off clean leaving the support on the rv and the stud remaining. I guess it was just a clean break at the weld. Also I did find all the part stuff underneath. Future project. Do you remember, Scottiemom what the labor was on that? Mine may be different with a break off and me cutting the wire. Doug

[Scottiemom]

Velvac is still in business and you can order from them or Amazon, etc. I had to replace the driver's side mirror. I ordered the entire assembly for $184 and had an RV repairman put it on. Mine did not have power, which made it a tad easier. My mirror had a part number on a label underneath the mirror itself. I was surprise it was still there and visible, being the coach is a 2004. You may be able to talk with Velvac about a replacement that would not be as heavy, but I replace with the exact same item.

Dale

[wa8yxm]

if the support broke... First find out if the part that broke can be removed and replaced (possible but not always obvious) as I recall on my Velmac the "Stub" you site was part of the head, not part of the arm.. Might be reparable (or not)

You can then replace the head.. Assorted RV junkyards should have one may even have the right color.