Mounting west coast tow mirrors

ISPKI

Welding/metallurgical engineer/Metalsmith
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Posts
1,068
Reaction score
645
Location
Granby CT
Hey all, not necessarily IDI related. My buddy gave me a set of what he called "west coast tow mirrors" and I would like to mount them to my new super duty. Anyone know exactly how these are supposed to mount up? I think the two individual arms bolt to the top of the door and the bracket bolts underneath the window.
 

catbird7

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Posts
1,598
Reaction score
1,347
Location
PA
Make sure you through bolt the bottom half, use stainless fasteners, and put a reinforcement piece of steel on the interior side of your door skin. They catch a lot of wind.
 

Cubey

Van dweller
Joined
Oct 18, 2017
Posts
4,066
Reaction score
1,580
Location
USA
Make sure you through bolt the bottom half, use stainless fasteners, and put a reinforcement piece of steel on the interior side of your door skin. They catch a lot of wind.

Yep, the 3 point mirrors on my RV were installed without a piece inside the door, just drilled through the door with a large sheet metal bolt to hold it. The hole has bored itself out some over the years and the screw doesn't stay in very well. I need to do something about the RH mirror's lower arm mount.
 

franklin2

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Posts
5,160
Reaction score
1,384
Location
Va
Those mirrors look big rig cool, but they create terrible blind spots when you are scanning left and right at a intersection.
 

ISPKI

Welding/metallurgical engineer/Metalsmith
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Posts
1,068
Reaction score
645
Location
Granby CT
Those mirrors look big rig cool, but they create terrible blind spots when you are scanning left and right at a intersection.

Yeah I need them to see around the loads that I'm hauling tho. Nearly flattened a car as I was back up once because.i couldn't see them.

Reinforcement bar inside the door, should be easy enough to do for the bottom bar. Do ya all feel weld in nuts for the top arms would be a good idea? I have weld nuts specifically for the purpose.
 

Farmer Rock

just a fella' without a 10mm socket
Joined
Oct 27, 2020
Posts
1,423
Reaction score
1,313
Location
Glen Rock,PA
Yeah I need them to see around the loads that I'm hauling tho. Nearly flattened a car as I was back up once because.i couldn't see them.

Reinforcement bar inside the door, should be easy enough to do for the bottom bar. Do ya all feel weld in nuts for the top arms would be a good idea? I have weld nuts specifically for the purpose.
I don't see why that won't work, but since you can't really use lock washers, just make sure you use lock tight to keep the bolts in there.



Rock
 

ISPKI

Welding/metallurgical engineer/Metalsmith
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Posts
1,068
Reaction score
645
Location
Granby CT
I don't see why that won't work, but since you can't really use lock washers, just make sure you use lock tight to keep the bolts in there.



Rock

Good idea. What I had been looking at are rubber bonded sealing washers. They are a hardened washer on top with bonded Buna-N rubber underneath. Should seal the mounting hole without scuffing the paint and I would estimate the compression of the rubber should keep it from loosening from vibration, although some medium or low strength loctite would be good insurance.
 

The_Josh_Bear

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2016
Posts
1,916
Reaction score
1,498
Location
Western WA
I have some mirror brackets off of a uhaul I scored. I love them since they allow me to see where I need to. I am constantly surprised at the crap people tow with stock mirrors. Clearly they don't back around corners with the trailer and merge on hopes and dreams.

Anywho what I hate about them should be fixed by the advice of @catbird7. I should go back and reinforce the bottom bracket on the inside. I used stainless hardware all the way, all through-bolts for me. Dunno why you can't use lock washers... they fit fine inside the door. But blue threadlocker FTW! I'm fairly certain I only used lock washers and they haven't rattled loose yet. But the blue stuff is one of those things I wish I'd known about in me 20's!

The reason I switched to west coast mirrors was because I tow my trailer a lot, sometimes camper and trailer. See avatar.
And for many jobs I have to back that trailer up a ways and around corners, besides that merging something 45 feet long on the freeway is much easier when you have real mirrors.
The blind-spot issue is real but my day job is a commercial driver so it's all normal to me. So if you're not used to it yet, get ready to move around in your seat to see past the mirrors! :D
The thing that gets me the most is the pedestrians. They are fully covered so easily, it's a pain. Then of course they act like you are horrible for what you can't even see.

BTW Amazon has heated straight mirrors and 7" convex for a good price, I finally installed them last fall and it's so nice! I'm in a very rainy and moist climate so the heat makes them evaporate the rain off even when driving in it. Plus if you rain-x them you'll wonder why you haven't done that all your life. :Thumbs Up
 

snicklas

6.0 and Loving It!!
Staff member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Posts
6,164
Reaction score
2,342
Location
Greenfield, Indiana
Pictures???


I agree, I have been wondering if they are:

True West Coast Mirrors -

You must be registered for see images attach


Ford Factory Tow Mirrors -

You must be registered for see images attach


Because they mount differently.

I will say with the SuperDuty Trucks (99+) I do miss the vent window, but the factory tow mirrors are really nice. They slide in and out for towing and non towing positions, and you don't have to adjust them when you move them....

You must be registered for see images attach


Even the ones that I have on both my F-150 are nice.... not he tow mirrors, but still have a nice filed of view.

You must be registered for see images attach
 

The_Josh_Bear

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2016
Posts
1,916
Reaction score
1,498
Location
Western WA
Last edited:

bilbo

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Posts
201
Reaction score
117
Location
North Dakota
I like the heated mirrors. Do you know if there are any available for the standard non-tow type mirrors? The ones that mount only to the door on an aluminum bracket. My searches haven't turned anything up at this point. If nothing else, I might try drilling a hole in the back of a spare one I have and putting a light bulb in there. May be enough heat to burn off some frost.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
91,217
Posts
1,128,471
Members
24,043
Latest member
tottripp
Top