Big Red Rearview Mirrors

[olivecrossbones]

Am looking for a rearview mirror to fit my BR. I have the Honda hard top and the Honda split 1/4 - 3/4 windshield. As this windshield wraps around the inside on the top roll cage bar, it does not leave much if any room between the edge of the windshield and the roof top. Have looked everywhere for a a rearview mirror that might fit but they all clamp to the cage bar and do not have enough of a bracket extension to clear the windshield and the roof top. It would also seem that whatever system or product it might be, that it would have to have a mounting bracket that would be long enough and adjustable enough to hang low enough to be able to have good rearview vision. Any help or suggestions?

[Cenflrider]

Originally Posted by olivecrossbones

Am looking for a rearview mirror to fit my BR. I have the Honda hard top and the Honda split 1/4 - 3/4 windshield. As this windshield wraps around the inside on the top roll cage bar, it does not leave much if any room between the edge of the windshield and the roof top. Have looked everywhere for a a rearview mirror that might fit but they all clamp to the cage bar and do not have enough of a bracket extension to clear the windshield and the roof top. It would also seem that whatever system or product it might be, that it would have to have a mounting bracket that would be long enough and adjustable enough to hang low enough to be able to have good rearview vision. Any help or suggestions?

Hello Olivecrossbones,
A mirror like this? Rear View Mirror (Auto Style)

or this? Cabela's -- UTV Deluxe Rearview Mirrors.

[olivecrossbones]

Thanks for the thought but neither of these would work as the Honda windshield wraps around the inside of the top cage roll bar such that it almost touches the hard top. There is about about a 1 1/2 " gap between the top edge of the windshield and the roof top but only about a 3/8" gap between the top of the roll bar and the roof top. Thus the top of the roll bar is almost even (about 1/4") with the top edge of the windshield. It would seem that a roll bar clamp could fit into this space but it would have to extend back into the cab from the top of the roll bar and not from the center of the roll bar. A mirror post that is center mounted such as the Cabelas choice would never fit. The first choice would seem to be headed in the right direction (clamp type) but would have the mirror pointing nearly to the roof. The long extension arm would be part of the final solution but full 360 degree adjustability would be required I believe. Once the clamp came off of the top of the roll bar, it would need to have some swivel attached that would allow the extension arm to drop down, then have the extension arm attached to it and then the mirror attached to that. Some have suggested cutting into the windshield, but at the price of the windshield, I do not consider that an option. I have considered suction cup mount mirrors but I do not believe these would ever stay up while trail riding and are a hassle in general.
Again, choice number 1 seems to me to be on the right track but would need some sort of fully adjustable (articulating) head to drop the extension arm down away from the roof.
Do you own choice #1 or have you seen it personnally? Is it possible/feasible that some sort of bracket or swivel could be attached to the clamp and put between the clamp and the extension arm?
Thanks for the response and any further help in noodling this through.
Who would have thought a rearview mirror could be so complicated???

[Cenflrider]

Actually, I don’t have a mirror on my BR. That said, I don’t even have a windshield so I would really be of no help. The only reason I know anything about a mirror is my friend has the Cabela’s style in his mule and loves it. I have yet to see a windshield equipped MUV/UTV here in Florida. I see them mentioned within the BR forum and that’s it. We certainly have northern riders within this forum. Maybe they could chime in and be of better assistance than me….. Gents, the floor is all yours!

[coldfingers]

I went and looked at a big red at a dealer and it had 11 accessories on it but a mirror was not one of them, sorry. I have not seen a mirror on one yet either. I did see the two piece windshield so I know what you mean about no room, that does look like a nice windshield though.

Coldfingers

[OFRC boy]

I love mine and I have the hard top, it is a golf cart 5 panel rear view mirror only 20 bucks and I installed it with two stainless steel hose clamps to the roll bar. you can see everything behind you very well. here is a link. Universal 5 Panel Mirror for Golf Carts All Models incl. EZGO CLUB CAR YAMAHA and more: M125 New Truck and Trailer Parts - Cargo Control: Global Parts Inc.

[olivecrossbones]

Thanks for the response.
Do you have a (the) windshield I mentioned as well? Does the mirror hang down low enough to get a good view of the rear and how did you make it hang down so that it was not so close to the roof? Do you have a picture of you mirror installed in your BR?
Thanks again...

[OFRC boy]

Originally Posted by olivecrossbones

Thanks for the response.
Do you have a (the) windshield I mentioned as well? Does the mirror hang down low enough to get a good view of the rear and how did you make it hang down so that it was not so close to the roof? Do you have a picture of you mirror installed in your BR?
Thanks again...

I made my own windshield if you look at my recent upgrades photos you can see the mirror it comes with mounting brackets and can be attached with hose clamps. Just open the clamp and push thru the gasket material around the roll bar screw back together and attach the mirror and brackets. Mirror is below the roll bar about 2-3 inches so view it very good. I will take a picture soon and attach.

[olivecrossbones]

Thanks. Very helpful. The picture you mentioned taking will be very useful to me as well. I assume you are talking about worm-screw (radiator hose type clamps)...Is that correct?
I believe you have just about solved this for me!!!

[OFRC boy]

Correct, Good luck!

[Cenflrider]

Olivecrossbones, could you post pictures of your project when you are done so we can all see.

[olivecrossbones]

Unfortunately, 5 panel Wink rearview mirror did not work...not enough clearance to get past windshield top edge. Mirror does not hang low enough to see behind you...
Back to the drawing board.

[OFRC boy]

Mine works great, I guess I don't understand but if the brackets don't lower it enough for you extend them an inch or two. Isn't there a foam seal between the roll bar and the windshield? the clamp material is only 1/16" thick or less so remove windshield install clamps and reinstall. I do have to look up to see my mirror but the view to the rear of the machine could not be any better. Sorry yours didn't work out.

[dwfleming1]

The best way I have found to mount a mirror is to go to any auto parts store and pick a replacement mirror… they are cheap. Go to Home Depot and in the Hardware section and pick up a flat pieces of steel (1 to 1 ¼” wide) that you can cut for an extension so you see out the back window. Cut a small gap in the windshield so that the extension will fit through the gap. Mount the extension to the roll bar and the other end to the mirror and the windshield will still close and open around the gap.

[olivecrossbones]

After much searching, I believe I have found a solution to my rearview mirror problem. I purchased a CIPA UTV Side View Mirror (Passenger Side) $12.94 and mounted it in the center of the top cage roll bar. The loop clamp provided did not stick out far enough rearward to avoid hitting the top edge of the windshield so I had to fashion a small metal extension out from the clamp to which the mirror arm is bolted. The mirror arm and mirror hangs down (underneath) the loop clamp. It now clears the windshield, hangs low enough to view the rear of the cab and beyond, is adjustable and looks like it is a natural BR accessory. The loop clamp was too big for BR bar tube size so I had to line the inside of the clamp with the piece of rubber provided and a piece of two sided sticky sponge tape to insure a tight fit when mounted and clamped. I also had to use additional bolt spacers to insure the mirror was not close to the hard top roof. The process required removing front hard top roof clamps so that roof could be raised and became a two man job (one man and one wife to squeeze the loop clamp tight enough while holding up the roof top while putting a bolt, lock washer, loop extension and nut together). The wife's job is also to provide patience, support and encouragement during the entire process. The installation took almost exactly 4 hours but doing it a second time would be about 30 minutes! That is why Research & Development is so expensive!!!

[CamoBred]

Originally Posted by olivecrossbones

After much searching, I believe I have found a solution to my rearview mirror problem. I purchased a CIPA UTV Side View Mirror (Passenger Side) $12.94 and mounted it in the center of the top cage roll bar.

Now about a pic or two,,,,

[dwfleming1]

I have tried to post all my picture updates, but the site has too many limits on size and I cannot get them to load. If someone can tell me how to load pix of my updates... I can answer several questions asked on this site. Sorry!

[sfrankland]

I would suggest a image hosting site like photobucket and then copy the link into your post. Much easier to manage and you only have to upload it once but can share it on multiple sites. If you ever need or want to stop sharing a photo it is just a matter of removing it from the image hosting site and it is gone from all the sites you linked it to.

[geologger]

I used one from Seizmik. Part #18029. Not the highest quality but works fine.

I mounted it to the front crossbar of the cage with a loop clamp in the normal position for a rearview mirror in your truck. It's slightly convex so I can see everything behind me.

Cost about 20 bucks.

I'm new on this site and I'm loving my new Big Red so far.

I did find that if you're having problems with dust in the cab (mine had a windshield when I bought it), removing the windshield solves all your problems. I can deal with a little wind and cold air instead of choking on truckloads of dust! Of course being from Arizona makes "cold air" a relative term. Dust is a constant companion though. With 2 little boys in the rear seat, all that dust was not an option.

I appreciate all the info you guys share about upgrades and modifications.

[olivecrossbones]

In what seems to be a never ending saga of getting mirrors for my BR, I have successfully completed phase two; that being rear view side mirrors. I went with Kolpin mirrors as they were the most adjustable. However, their plastic clamping system was a total failure (would not stay in place or even stay clamped to the roll cage tube at all). I had to engineer an entirely different clamping system and after a 90 mile test run last weekend, I am happy to say that we have success. I completely removed the plastic Kolpin clamp system, used two vinyl loop clamps per mirror and added a small piece of thin, stamped metal angle iron to mount the mirror to the loop clamps. Therefore I can say that the Kolpin mirrors left in their origainal condition are useless, but with extreme modification, can be made functional. This then for me concludes about 100 hours of engineering thought and labor to get a functioning center rearview mirror and two side rearview mirrors. I am going to need some trail riding just to relax from this project...