Interior Rear-View Mirror relocating?

[Boogieman]

Bought my first Vehicross yesterday- an '01 Kaiser Silver. Question is this: the driver's seat seems very high (I've hit my head on the handle many times already- I'm 5'10"). I've read posts on the subject of lowering the seats- the project just might be out of my comfort zone. My problem is the rear-view mirror COMPLETELY blocks my view forward and to the right.

I'm thinking if I can relocate the rear-view mirror up ar far as I can, it might clear the view out front and eliminate/reduce the problem. Anyone have any experience with this? Super adhesive/strong tape? Is this a Pep Boys question?

Thansk-
Keith

[mbeach]

First off, congratulations on your purchase!
I hope that our input eased your decision.

Second, there are many of us in the 6+ foot range (I'm 6'2"). It just takes a bit of practice to avoid the head-bonking. Figure after a week of regular driving you'll be good to go.
Just make sure that your hips go in the truck before your head goes in and you'll be fine.

As for relocating the rearview mirror, you can mess around with the adjustments to move it closer to the ceiling, some have even flipped it over completely (I did this for a time, but it interfered with my radar detector location).

I do find that I keep the VX's seat a bit further back and reclined more than I do in most other cars.

[LittleBeast]

Welcome to the VX family! Yeah I am 6'4" and it took a while to find a comfortable position. I just tilt the seat back so I can see out of the small side window for lane changes and still put my arm out the window with the window down.

I had an extra rear view mirror mount put in well above the stock one and it helps rear visibility a lot! But it is so high now that it is totally in the way of the sun visors, but being over 6'4" I have never really used the sun visors so oh well. But they suggested NOT removing the old mount for the rear view mirror because they have to heat the glass and they said 4 out of 10 times it cracks the glass. Your call, I love having the higher mounted rear view mirror for visibility out the rear and ahead and to the right like you stated. It is totally out of my forward and right visibility now. Hope that helps.
In Christ,
Ryan
USA Decathlon Team

[Bulldoggie]

I have my VX mirror pivoted all the way up at the glass and pointed down/ out at the mirror, this places the mirror near the roof of the VX, and improves rearward vision.
On other cars I've owned, I have re-glued the nub on the glass higher. Another option I have done is to mount a multi-mirror to the visor area. this works great but you lose your visors (and map lights). Multi-mirrors work great for blind spots also.
As for heads hitting the grab bar area, only lowering the seat(s) will help. A future project on my list.

[Boogieman]

Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on removing the driver's side grab bar? A big no no? I do/will do probably zero off-roading, as much as I would love to do a trail/hill or two, so I doubt ever using that thing. My head is starting to get a permanent indentation...

Keith

[mbeach]

I actually had to go outside and check to see if I had a grab bar on the driver's side at all...
I say remove it -I didn't even know it was there!

You could replace it with a small strip of foam padding.

[Toad80t]

Welcome to the VX family! Yeah I am 6'4" and it took a while to find a comfortable position. I just tilt the seat back so I can see out of the small side window for lane changes and still put my arm out the window with the window down.

I had an extra rear view mirror mount put in well above the stock one and it helps rear visibility a lot! But it is so high now that it is totally in the way of the sun visors, but being over 6'4" I have never really used the sun visors so oh well. But they suggested NOT removing the old mount for the rear view mirror because they have to heat the glass and they said 4 out of 10 times it cracks the glass. Your call, I love having the higher mounted rear view mirror for visibility out the rear and ahead and to the right like you stated. It is totally out of my forward and right visibility now. Hope that helps.
In Christ,
Ryan
USA Decathlon Team


Where would one get an extra mount?

[rowhard]

Where would one get an extra mount?

Well, you could have mine if I could remove it. I found the rearview mirror to be so completely useless that I just removed it and installed map lights in the headliner. But that said, think the mounts are universal and any parts store would have them

[Toad80t]

Thanks for the reply. I will take a look at Auto Zone.

[circmand]

I use mine to make sure there are no aircraft speed detectors flying behind me. It gives great view of the horizon.

[rowhard]

I use mine to make sure there are no aircraft speed detectors flying behind me. It gives great view of the horizon.
Here is Washington, their is so much low cloud cover that they stay on the ground

[JHarris1385]

One of the best mods I have done is raise the mirror. I just wish I could get that old piece of tape off the glass without cracking it left from the original mount. I have been thinking of raising it again and sticking behind the headboard between the sun visors so it is completely off the windsheild.

[Ldub]

I have been thinking of raising it again and sticking behind the headboard between the sun visors so it is completely off the windsheild.

Dude...headboard?...you have a BED in your VX?...:confused: SWEET!:cool:

[don moore]

LOL LDUB your great:bwgr:

[JHarris1385]

Wow that was a ridiculous typo....My other tab on firefox was furniture (just bought a bed and forgot the headboard purchase). You know what I mean.

Has anyone thought of this though? Headliner that is, in between the visors.

[LittleBeast]

Has anyone thought of this though? Headliner that is, in between the visors.

Yes my mount is located as far up on the windshield as it can, so the mirror itself IS actually between the vanity mirrors and the top or the mirror rests on the headliner. If you put the mount through the headliner and attached to the roof, the angle of the mount would prevent it from being flush with the headliner and would hang down too low for my taste. Mine is as far up as possible, and I love it!

[JHarris1385]

Do you still have the black sticker on the windsheild (the tape piece from underneath the orginal position)?

I think with some bracket/mount you could easily only cut a hole through the liner the width of the bar and mount behind.


Overall moving it up was a great mod. (other than when the wife folds the visor down for various reasons and it moves the angle)

[LittleBeast]

Do you still have the black sticker on the windsheild (the tape piece from underneath the orginal position)?

I think with some bracket/mount you could easily only cut a hole through the liner the width of the bar and mount behind.


Overall moving it up was a great mod. (other than when the wife folds the visor down for various reasons and it moves the angle)

Yes I still have the black sticker, but you can barely see it and it blends in nicely with my EZtag toll thing.

For the bracket/mount I would suggest trying some of the HD magnets so you do not have to worry with punching a hole through your roof panel. I still think that mounting it this way would not be as beneficial as just moving it as far up as we both have already done. Maybe it is worth a try or a mock-up, I still don't see it sitting flush with the headliner if it is attached to a plane that is perpendicular to that surface therefore sticking out (down from headliner) a little too much..... Just a thought

[cyronman]

I'm about ready to take mine off completely!
I don't think I ever look in/at it.

And it's such a nuisance when looking through the windshield while turning or looking at lights.

[JHarris1385]

So does yours touch the base of the headliner?

The kit I got to move it took forever to actually adhere.

[cyronman]

So does yours touch the base of the headliner?


whose?

[SilverBullet75]

The first mod I did on both of my VXs was to flip the mirror upside down. This does the trick! No removing of anything... only problem is that it renders the map lights useless, unless you are trying to signal the mother-ship. :smilewink

[LittleBeast]

So does yours touch the base of the headliner?

The kit I got to move it took forever to actually adhere.

I did not use a kit I just had the guy that replaced my windshield move it up as far as it would go, and it works perfectly, no extra charge or anything. Any windshield replacement place can do it, but you need one of the spare mounts, I am not sure where you would get that. Here is some shots of what mine looks like, and yes that is the ground you can see in the rear view mirror!
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/VX10-16-08_16_.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/VX10-16-08_15_.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/VX10-16-08_14_.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/VX10-16-08_13_.jpg