INSTALLATION OF RAMCO MIRRORS ON AIRSTREAM 345

I was frustrated in the factory installed mirrors on our 345.  I couldn't adjust them to suit my needs and desires, and although I added several convex mirrors to supplement them, I was never satisfied.

I decided to install a set of RAMCO MIRRORS.  Using the web site, http://www,ramco-eng.com , I ordered a set of 9000CCR mirrors.  It was Winter and cold, but I have a large barn that I store my Motorhome in and although its not heated, I used a ceramic heater inside the coach and that did a nice job of making it warm enough to work.

STEP 1.  Removing the old mirrors.

The factory installed mirrors are secured to the chassis with large phillips head screws that are anchored to a flat piece of one half inch metal which is bonded inside the shell.  Use care not to strip out the heads of the screws when loosening them. 
       

STEP 2.  Aligning the mirrors.

The new mirrors will not line up with the old mounting holes, and the aluminum block bonded on the inside is not large enough to allow much latitude in their placement .  To resolve this, I made a cardboard pattern of the Ramco's screw placement, and then adjusted it until I was certain the screws would align.  Without the backing block, the skin is not strong enough to support the mirrors.

As you can see, the new mounts will not entirely cover the area left bare by the old mounts removal.  Touch up paint later.

STEP 3.  Drilling the holes.

Using the cardboard pattern I carefully center punched each hole and then drilled them using a bit one size smaller than the attachment screws.  The backing plate is really hard metal and I needed a really good bit to drill through it.  Place a piece of tape on the bit about one inch from the end and only drill to that point so as not to damage anything inside.
I then used a 7/32 tap to thread the new holes in the backing block to the size of the screws.  The screws that Ramco had provided didn't look as sturdy as the originals, so I reused the original screws. 
Since I had ordered the optional turn signals for the mirrors, I needed to drill one center hole to run the wiring for the lights as well as the remote mirror adjustment large enough to accommodate all the wires, (I had to drill a small pilot hole and then enlarge it as the backing plate is so hard).  You can see that in the last picture.  On the drivers side there was the CB antennae that was mounted on the old mirror brackets.  I left that cable hole in front of the new brackets.  More on the antennae later.



STEP 4.  The wiring.

This was truly the hard part and I don't have many pictures.  One option would have been to strip all of the upholstery from the inside to expose the mounting blocks.  Since the shifting mechanism is in the way on the drivers side, and removing enough upholstery would have taken hours, I devised a method of inserting a flexible fiber glass cable (so as not to chance a short circuit with a metal wire), in the hole from the outside and  taping  wires to it and drawing them out.  I found that I could also draw the mirror wires from the outside in using the same method.  Once I had all the wires run, I mounted the mirrors.

STEP 5.  Mounting the mirrors.

The mirrors are rather heavy to try and hold up and work on too, so I removed the mirror heads and mounted the arms first.  The wires were long enough to lay the mirror heads on a step ladder close by and not have them pull out.  I screwed the 7/32 screws in being careful not to strip out the threads.  I also had applied a drop of LocTite on each screw.

 I them remounted the mirror heads and tightened them slightly.  I will adjust them later. 


STEP 6. Wiring

By removing the side panel with the ash tray, I was able to find power for my mirrors using the hot lead to the power seat control.  That made it much easier.  Then, using my fiber glass wire, (really its just weed trimmer line), I snaked it behind the dash from the left to right and was able to draw the wires from the right side, and to wire both mirrors to the control unit.  I mounted the control unit just below the power seat controls.  Very convenient.

I spliced into my turn signal lines under the dash and hooked them up and the mirrors are done.  Now for the CB antennae.

STEP 7.  The CB antennae.

The old brackets for the antennae would not work on the new mirror arms, so I had to fabricate something.  What I found was that if I used half of the old mounting bracket and fastened it right to the side in front of the mirror it would work perfectly, but it needed some backing as the mirror plate wasn't large enough.  On top of that, the area that needed backing was almost unreachable.  Here's what I did.
I took a piece of aluminum plate and cut it the same size as the bracket face.  I then drilled four mounting holes to align with the bracket and tapped them for 1/4 inch machine screws.  The reason was that I couldn't get my hands with nuts into the space.  By tapping them, I wouldn't need to.  After drilling the four 1/4 inch holes I inserted one end of my Fiber Glass wire into the top left hole and the other end into the bottom right hole.  I then went into the coach and passed each wire end through the corresponding hole on the backing place and taped them together.  Returning back outside I pulled the backing plate into place using the wires.  I then inserted to top left screw and the bottom right screw.  Using a snips, I cut the fiber glass wire and pushed the ends in out of the way and inserted the last two screws.  I hooked up the antennae cable and everything works.

I really like the look of the mirrors, and they work a lot better than the old ones.  The really hard part is drilling the first holes.  What if they're not in the right place?  Just close your eyes and getr-done.