Author Topic: Busted mirror--Good to Know  (Read 5178 times)

PonoBill

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Busted mirror--Good to Know
« on: September 13, 2017, 07:41:17 AM »
A guy hit the mirror on my F350 a week ago. The mirror is a breakaway, and it worked, so damage to the housing was just a plastic shroud that poppoed loose--a few minutes of study and I was able to pop it back. But the glass was broken. The guy stopped and left a note, said to get in touch and he'd pay. So I checked on the cost to replace or repair: $1780. You can't just buy the replacement glass from Ford, even though it just pops out of the housing on a plastic backing plate. Of course it's a very trick mirror. Electrically adjusts, extends for towing, folds in when parking is tight, and it's heated, all at the push of a button.

But I know these slick electric mirrors are available for a fraction of the cost online from manufacturers who either duplicate them or are the OEM, so I looked for one. Nothing past 2016 yet. But I did find a replacement mirror glass, with a heating element for 60 bucks.

A few minutes work getting the glass off the plastic backing and I'm back in biz. Yes, I could have let the guy pay for a $1700 mirror, but where's the fun in that. I'd rather make a little effort to reward his honest actions. And besides, I owe a little karmic debt for things like that. Good opportunity for payback. 

At the same time I found a good source for replacement mirrors for the new (very old--1978 GMC) RV I just bought to build a surfmobile with. I'm going to put 2016 F350 mirrors on it. Seriously trick mirrors for about $300 for both. I'm gutting the RV today. The fun starts now.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 07:44:39 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

stoneaxe

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2017, 09:19:57 AM »
What?.....you needed another project?.... :)
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

SlatchJim

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2017, 10:25:47 AM »
So the mirror folds when parked... ???  How did this happen?

So Bill are you going to start a new "surfmobile project" thread, or are we going to have to know the mirror back story to follow along? Pictures, we want them.  Imagine you're the love child of SuptheCreek and Wardog.  ;D
« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 10:28:15 AM by SlatchJim »

deepmud

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2017, 02:00:07 PM »
I have a lust for a really well-built GMC RV...did you see the one that was converted to Duramax?....crazy....but I like it...


PonoBill

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2017, 02:15:27 PM »
Duramax wouldn't be bad, this one has a 455 with fuel injection, but it's about 7MPH. My F350 truck is 18.5. So yeah, diesel, but no, not gonna do it.

Yes, a new project, and it's going to be a doozy, but it has great bones to start with. The guy who owned it since 2004 was an engineer on the Mars Rover project. He just turned 90 and had a stroke, so continuing to use it was out of the question. Cool guy, we had fun talking. He had a lot of really good stuff done to it, like disk brakes on the rear bogie wheels with torque plates and separate air springs to keep the rear wheel from getting light and flat-spotting. They did a very nice interior, which given my history with things like this, is mostly gonna go. The engine is freshly rebuilt--5K miles on it, and it's got a great custom paint job with perforated mesh over the windows that continue the paint scheme. Very slick.

I don't like big RV's, this is like an enlarged van. Amazing that no one has built anything like this since 1978, by comparison, most of today's bulbous monsters look absurd to me.

I'm going to document everything I do to it. Probably mostly on my old blog xtreme geezer blog (xgeez.com). Seems to fit.

Continuing the theme of the airstream conversion I did (Diane decided the interior should look like Nero Wolfe's office on the A&E series), we named it Fritz, and it's going to look something like Fritz Brenner's kitchen--Nero Wolfe's butler.

Admin will be delighted to hear that I've decided to replace the gas oven and cooktop with an induction one. I was dismissive of the one he and Chan put in their new house, but gas burners in a small space make for uncomfortable cooking. So I'm eating some crow. Nicely sauteed of course.







« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 02:24:03 PM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

SlatchJim

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2017, 02:35:30 PM »
Looks good already, perhaps some new carpet but it has night light cabinets, useful windows, and a pretty sporty paint scheme.

PonoBill

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2017, 02:43:41 PM »
Too heavy, too crowded. People go crazy for storage in RVs. I don't want to carry everything I own. Needs good board racks of course, and I'm building a powerwall for it. It has a nice, relatively new Onan 6kw genset and two 2000W inverters that can be synced, but just a couple of mega-heavy golf cart batteries for storage. I'm going to build a 12v 400AH LiFePO4 battery for it. I just need to find the best place for it. Easier to decide once some of that interior is stripped out.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

PonoBill

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2017, 02:45:50 PM »
So the mirror folds when parked... ???  How did this happen?

Ford didn't make them auto-fold when you park, you have to remember to do it. You'd think they could just look at a tesla and steal a few ideas, but no. I'll have to add that myself.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

TallDude

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2017, 02:49:57 PM »
Sweet motorhome. I always liked that Airstream / GMC style. When I was a kid we had a Cortez motorhome that was a total cruiser. Flat 6, front wheel drive and built like a tank.
 
On an OEM note, I had an older ford escape. The hatchback power lock failed. There was no manual operation to unlock it. I took the hatch apart, found the part # which was for the whole locking mechanism and $450.! It was just the solenoid that was bad, drilled out the rivets and looked up the solenoid part #. Bought it from Sears online, for $14. Reinstalled it with some Tech screws, and soldered the leads. Too easy.     
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

PonoBill

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2017, 04:47:47 PM »
I love doing stuff like that. At some point I'm tempted to fire up the mill, and I usually back off and buy something, but it's good to know how.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

eDUBz

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #10 on: September 13, 2017, 07:10:39 PM »
Nice RV - we love road trips, currently have a Toy hauler. 8) this past summer we hit the road for a 3 weeks, we almost went into Oregeon.  8)
@rf.boardworks

stoneaxe

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2017, 07:48:01 PM »
Sweet! Sue and I are talking about doing a cross country trip after we retire...maybe I'll just have you do the driving....... ;)
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

Bean

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #12 on: September 13, 2017, 09:15:59 PM »
Reminds me about the time I fixed my Daisy 880 air rifle with rubber o rings from the plumbing department at Sears.  I was about 13, what an eye opener...

Your RV looks pretty good as is, looking forward to seeing your mods as always PB.

PonoBill

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2017, 09:35:33 PM »
Sweet! Sue and I are talking about doing a cross country trip after we retire...maybe I'll just have you do the driving....... ;)

It will be available for loan. You know I hate low utility stuff.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Admin

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Re: Busted mirror--Good to Know
« Reply #14 on: September 14, 2017, 03:29:19 AM »
What a find.  That thing looks fantastic. 

An induction cooktop is a great idea for space saving in an RV.  Because the cook surface never gets hot itself, you can use any unused cooktop area as counter space/prep space right next to an active pan.  Chef stays cool as well :).

 


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