Barry38 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 What a pain and expense ! I think the main reason for door mirrors getting damaged by oncoming traffic is that being generally black they are quite camouflaged against a background of silver or black bodywork, tarmac and general surrounding traffic and consequently easily misjudged. I have attempted to resolve this issue by fitting DRL,s on the mirrors themselves, wired in using a recognised wiring method. Time will tell if they do the job as intended but they do give a better indication of a vehicle's overall road width and look impressive and eye catching too. I have prepared a method sheet if anyone is interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Sounds like a good idea if a little difficult ? I have fitted Mirrorguards, and have about a 6" wide band of highly reflective (white) tape in the center panel, very noticeable when driving toward my vehicle with lights on. Been bashed a couple of time previously, not since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry38 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 It cannot be considered 'easy' but I like a challenge ! Having experimented with one door the second one was considerably easier as I knew which route to take without removing lots of panels, which is the reason I prepared a method sheet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi Barry and welcome to the forum, A question for you, Are they legal? For example the maximum height that DRL's can be above the road surface is 1,500 mm. Are yours mounted below this height as I'd imagine Ducato mirrors are considerably higher? If not then I'm afraid they are not legal. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 To make mine more noticeable, I have stuck strips of white reflective tape on their backs facing forwards, and red reflective tape on their edges facing backwards. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I've screwed white circular reflectors to them, also makes the fitting more secure from theft. (I hope) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Keithl - 2016-02-19 10:42 PM Hi Barry and welcome to the forum, A question for you, Are they legal? For example the maximum height that DRL's can be above the road surface is 1,500 mm. Are yours mounted below this height as I'd imagine Ducato mirrors are considerably higher? If not then I'm afraid they are not legal. Keith. I also wondered about the ‘dimensional’ legality, but (having measured the height from the ground of of my 2015 Ducato’s mirrors) it would easily be practicable to fit extra lights to my motorhome’s mirrors and remain within the 1500mm maximum you refer to. However, you may also be interested in the Department for Transport’s advice in this 2012 link https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/placement_requirements_for_retro (The latest version of the “Mirrorguard” protector has a reflective disc on it facing forwards. This might help at night when (I assume) Barry’s mirror-fitted DRLs will not be illuminated.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I had my offside mirror (coach style assembly) taken out by a lorry coming the other way on a narrow road. Subsequently, attached 3 horizontal bands of yellow reflective tape to the back of the black mirror enclosure. The van now looks a bit like an approaching bumble-bee but seems to be very effective and have noticed oncoming vehicles are far more conscious of my width now. I was a bit unsure about using yellow reflective tape, in terms of the legal aspect, but the yellow does seem to more visually obvious in daylight hours compared with white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Bus mirrors tend to be bright yellow because they used to get clonked quite often. Coach mirrors tend to be as close to the side of the vehicle as possible or sticking out at the front. My coach mirrors on my Hymer seem less likely to be hit by oncoming vehicles because of their height but being white, they are just as difficult to see as black mirrors in certain light conditions. Lighting on vehicles is controlled so any additional lights must be within the regulations or you run the risk of being caught and at least fined. I wonder what the cost will be of replacing the DRLs and wing mirror when it is inadvertently hit by something substantial. All said, I hope its legal and works because you'll be on to a winner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I'm with most of the other responders. Long ago I noticed that the black mirrors of oncoming vehicles are hard to see and realised that mine must also be hard to see. I therefore fitted a set of Mirror Guards. My first set were white and I stuck on strips of orange reflective tape (probably illegal). The Mirror Guards on my current motorhome are silver/grey and I have stuck stripes of silver reflective tape on the backs (fronts?) of these. In the three years that I have had Mirror Guards fitted I have clipped other mirrors sufficiently hard to pop out the mirrors but with no other damage and the mirrors simply popped back in. Unfortunately, on one occasion the mirror of the other vehicle ( a Ducato van) smashed. Despite the fact that I had stopped before the impact the other driver claimed against my insurance and the matter was settled, against my wishes, on a fault for fault basis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Hi Had an HGV come around a bend on my side of the road and smash up my mirror. Back plastic in tatters, crack on front frame. Not wanting to spend £160 on an X290 mirror (fiat don't just sell the back plastic), I bought a replacement X250 rear cover (chinese made 3rd party moulding) off fleabay for £7. I glued the slight crack in the front frame, still visible just, removed the mirrors (they clip in) and unscrewed the damaged rear cover. New cover was X250 with no hole for temp sensor, had to drill a hole, stick sensor through it an dab on some sika to keep it there. Screwed new cover on (bit of a pain to get it aligned. Needed some longer screws and washers for the indicator lens as the screws had pulled through the black plastic of the inner frame. Looks fine anyway so for folks on a budget £7 is way better than the silly money Fiat want for a new mirror. Once X290 mirror units are available for the £65 you can get an X250 unit for (ebay), I will buy one and do a proper job fixing. (I believe the connector is different vs X290 due to temp sensor). I'll get some reflective strips to guard against the next numpty that decides they own the entire road! Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Bad luck but increasingly common unfortunately - might be worth considering mirror guards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 With the replacement back plastic having cost me £7 (much less than mirrorguards), I'll pass on the mirror guards for now. Something to think of when I source a new mirror for reasonable money. Need to take a look at mirror connection as it may be that the temp sensor is on a different plug to the main mirror plug which would mean that an X250 mirror may fit (same connector). If that's the case then easy job to drill hole and stick temp sensor from old mirror into new X250 mirror. A job for a summers evening. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 veletron - 2016-02-23 1:24 PM Need to take a look at mirror connection as it may be that the temp sensor is on a different plug to the main mirror plug which would mean that an X250 mirror may fit (same connector). If that's the case then easy job to drill hole and stick temp sensor from old mirror into new X250 mirror. Nigel Nigel, take a look at my reply to earlier question at:: http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Mirror-Guards-X250-vs-X290/40946/ As far as I know, the new X290 mirror was a direct replacement for the original X250 version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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