Door mirror opinion/option (1 Viewer)

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Do these mirrors look too massive? I used the "Little Hoss Mirror Kit" form ebay and elsewhere.

These are tractor mirrors. I was inspired by LostMarbles, unfortunately I could not find a source for Britax mirror components in the US, we only have carseats. Britax had some arms and heads that would be better suited.

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1023142020a.jpg


The early door mirrors and arms really kind of suck. I have been using cheap chrome rectangular mirrors from Checkers/Oreilys for years now. A simple nudge from a person in the parking lot can shatter them. Not to mention the ravaging they take in thick brush and trees. The cheap heads bend and the factory arms do not fold. I've wanted a better alternative for years, that also set out a bit further for better visibility. The passenger mirror has always been pretty much useless.

These arms have detents, the next detent sets it in quite a bit at the end of the arm, it would work, but this position gives me nice visibility of the entire rear of the truck and way back. They are wide angle mirrors. They will fold in to the door if needed or you could fold them way out, like a mobile home mover.

I had to make a plate to bolt them to that also bolts to the front two bolts of the door hinge. One hinge bolt is holding the mirror, the second is now hidden with a recessed head bolt under the mirror bracket, and then I tapped a hole in the plate to secure the bottom of the mirror bracket. I only got the passenger side one on last night to test it. The mirror arm has a little wiggle, it is pretty long. I noticed a little vibration this morning coming to work, but way better than what I had. The cheapo ones I'm using vibrate so bad at highway speed that they are pretty useless.

So what do you all think, to heavy, wide, funny looking. I'm a little torn, seems a tad heavy on there, they also seem to stick way out, but in reality the mirror head is only 2 inches further out now, then my prior setup. I'm worried people will bang them in parking lots, but the should give and be stronger.

Let me know.
 
They don't look too much different than later-model stock mirrors, whick is OK. The arms are a bit long. I'd be tempted to cut 3-5 inches out of the middle of the arms and weld them back together. That's just me, though.
 
I think they are standing wider out then a Ford Super Duty F350 Dually


:cheers:
 
They are about 11 inches out from the wing window upright, that has to be less then 8-10 inches from the rear body because of the angle of the doors.

Of course, everyone wants big ass full size truck mirror envy, they are like hitch balls. My new F250 at work has massive mirrors, combined with the unnecessarily tall bulbous hood, I can't see a thing when off roading in it, which is often through mine-land reclamation and grass over the hood. I rely on the side view, more than out front, looking for rills in the grass. The large mirrors preclude that now.

Placement is actually pretty good right behind the wing window when it comes to length. any shorter or tighter in and they are closer to the glass as it pivots out. I'm not sure if the arms are steel or aluminum, perhaps steel, have to get out a magnet. The base is aluminum.

That's what I was saying above, Britax has some arms that are probably an inch or two shorter, I just couldn't find an outlet for the specific parts.
 
I would probably cut down the arm some and weld it back together. But I like things looking close to factory. You could do some really clean welding, grinding and never see the weld. I cut 18" off a 12" flatbed when I was building up a truck bed and nobody ever knew it happened. I had an F450, removed the box body and installed a flat bed with scissor lift. Back of the body would hit the trailer in tight turns, so something had to be done.
 
I think the mirror head looks fine but agree that the arm looks too long. It looks better in the second picture than the first and. I would make a plate that utilizes all three door bolts and move the pivot back at the same time to allow a shorter arm but the same angle.
 
They are about 11 inches out from the wing window upright, that has to be less then 8-10 inches from the rear body because of the angle of the doors.

Of course, everyone wants big ass full size truck mirror envy, they are like hitch balls. My new F250 at work has massive mirrors, combined with the unnecessarily tall bulbous hood, I can't see a thing when off roading in it, which is often through mine-land reclamation and grass over the hood. I rely on the side view, more than out front, looking for rills in the grass. The large mirrors preclude that now.

Placement is actually pretty good right behind the wing window when it comes to length. any shorter or tighter in and they are closer to the glass as it pivots out. I'm not sure if the arms are steel or aluminum, perhaps steel, have to get out a magnet. The base is aluminum.

That's what I was saying above, Britax has some arms that are probably an inch or two shorter, I just couldn't find an outlet for the specific parts.
Do you think the "Little Hoss" mirror could mount on an OEM mirror arm? Lets say, for like a '77 FJ40.....
 
Hey GA, I was thinking the same thing but the attachment at the mirror head looks completely different I think.
 
Hey GA, I was thinking the same thing but the attachment at the mirror head looks completely different I think.
Yep, it would not use the ball at the end of the Toyota arm as the attachment or as a swivel. Looks like the "Little Hoss" mirrors could slip over the ball and compress just below it on the OEM arm.

May have to look into these a little more......
 
Keep me posted
 
What are the measurements of the mirror head?
 
Those would be ideal for towing wide loads MoCoNative... (You could just move them out to hook up a caravan and get to see around it properly.)

The heads look a very good size to me, but like others here, for normal use, the length of the arms do tend to "grab the eye".

I'm proud that my mirrors were your inspiration...

For the benefit of those that haven't seen them, I'll drop in some pics (and be the show-off again :D)..

I converted these (which were ex-factory on my 1979 BJ40):
Mirror04.jpg
Mirror01.jpg


to holding Britax heads (mainly because the plastic on the OEM heads splits almost the instant sun shines on it):
Mirror11.jpg
Mirror10.jpg


All the non-OEM components I've added are either plastic (that stands up to ultraviolet properly) or stainless so long-life is assured and the slightly curved mirror-glass gives a better view too.

(I think I should take fresh pics because the doors have been repainted since I took those.)

:beer:
 
maybe take the oem mount and mirror and cut both mirrors (new and old) and weld the new longer arm mirrors onto the oem mount and arm?
thats what i was thinking or would do.... JMO
 
I will take a picture tonight of the stock arm next to it. It is surprising how close in length the two arms are. The stock arms have bends in them is all.

The early doors do not have good provisions for mounting the later style mirror arms, plus I don't have any to mess with anyways. The early mirror arms do not fold in, and that is what I was wanting.

Actually, I only got the passenger side put on so far, still need to paint my adapter plates, but I really like the visibility. I can see the rear tire and bumper very clearly and any objects near them. I'm going to finalize the other side and try them for awhile, but I think they are growing on me.
 
Do you think the "Little Hoss" mirror could mount on an OEM mirror arm? Lets say, for like a '77 FJ40.....
The mirror is a standard clamp on style mirror. You would have to modify your arm like LostMarbles did above. He used Britax mirror heads, they are all similar, simply designed for a bar a certain diameter.

That is what I was trying to replicate, but with a mount that went to the hinge like the early doors used.
 
The mirror is a standard clamp on style mirror. You would have to modify your arm like LostMarbles did above. He used Britax mirror heads, they are all similar, simply designed for a bar a certain diameter.

That is what I was trying to replicate, but with a mount that went to the hinge like the early doors used.
MoCo - Yea, after I posted that, I realized the OEM arm bends back with the ball, so the OEM mirror can swivel. I realized that one would have to modify the OEM arm to make that work....OR, swap sides with the arms and mount the compression right below the bend, with the ball sticking towards the front. But that would not LOOK GOOD, in my opinion.

Do you think there is a way to take the OEM door mounting piece, remove the OEM mirror arm, and swap it for a similar arm to mount a new compression type mirror head?

I'll look to see if anyone has taken the mirror arm apart....Thanks!
 
Which arm you talking about????? I'm dealing with the pre 76??? arms. They could be easily modified. I think you are playing with the later arms. Look at lostmarbles posts about modifying the arm, he shows the arm disassembled. There is not much to them, he modified the end of his arm.

A real slick way to get the bigger mirror head is the "Euro" style arm and mirror that SOR and CCOT offer. I ran some on my FJ60 for several years. I really liked them, especially on a 60 because the stock mirrors are really small and useless. I got the cheap aftermarket ones from SOR, the glass rattled in them while driving. Also my fat ass cat broke one off last spring, so I put the originals back on it. I would go for the OEM units if I were to replace them or upgrade a later 40 series, I assume they are far better quality.
 
Which arm you talking about????? I'm dealing with the pre 76??? arms. They could be easily modified. I think you are playing with the later arms. Look at lostmarbles posts about modifying the arm, he shows the arm disassembled. There is not much to them, he modified the end of his arm.

A real slick way to get the bigger mirror head is the "Euro" style arm and mirror that SOR and CCOT offer. I ran some on my FJ60 for several years. I really liked them, especially on a 60 because the stock mirrors are really small and useless. I got the cheap aftermarket ones from SOR, the glass rattled in them while driving. Also my fat ass cat broke one off last spring, so I put the originals back on it. I would go for the OEM units if I were to replace them or upgrade a later 40 series, I assume they are far better quality.
The OEM arms on a '77 FJ40, see below.....me haz no welder, thus I was wondering if the arms could be removed out of their base and have a different steel rod installed to hold a new mirror head.

Maybe I'm trying to reinvent the wheel here?

$_57.JPG
 
The OEM arms on a '77 FJ40, see below.....me haz no welder, thus I was wondering if the arms could be removed out of their base and have a different steel rod installed to hold a new mirror head.
Maybe I'm trying to reinvent the wheel here?

Here's a view inside the mounting-base of these later-style mirrors:
Mirror03.jpg

(As you can see, corrosion can be a problem ..... but maybe that was the result of my young foster-brother "helping me" one day during a ferry crossing by washing my mirror with salt water that he'd scooped out of the sea by reaching over the side.)

I think the way I modified my arms is easier than trying to replace the entire arm, but then I admit I do have a lathe and oxyacetylene set here...

I turned up a mild steel collar that fitted the original arm on one end and fitted some 16mm stainless rod for my new mirrors at the other end.

I could have eliminated welding by choosing a press-fit at both ends .... but instead I chose to turn for looser fits and to produce nicely curved joints by silver brazing.

Mirror05.jpg


But, getting back to your early-style mirrors MoCoNative .... I'm seeing my 1979 all the time and so I definitely have a mindset on the late-model appearance...

And this became clear to me when you said this above:

I will take a picture tonight of the stock arm next to it. It is surprising how close in length the two arms are. The stock arms have bends in them is all.
.....

So while your long arms do "catch my eye" .... that's really irrelevant (because my eye is biased by continual exposure to late-model).

In other words ... I now think it would be hard to beat what you've achieved there with those mirrors on your early model...:clap:
 

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