BAC Forum

General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Carl Boger on November 08, 2019, 12:42:08 AM

Title: Replacing Ramco 7000 series mirrors with Ramco 9000 series
Post by: Carl Boger on November 08, 2019, 12:42:08 AM
Does anyone see any problems changing out the Ramco 7000 series mirrors with the 9000 series.  The main differences between the two are the 6000's are 1/4 inch taller and 1 1/4 inches wider.  The 7000 series has an arm about 12 inches long and the 6000 series is about 17 inches long.  The mounting holes are very close to the same size and in the same location.  The mounting brackets both fit flush to the body.

                                           7000 series                                           9000 series
                                          12 3/4  x  8 1/2                                       13  x  9 3/4

Arm length                          12 inches                                             17 inches

weight of mirror and arm       7 lbs 5 oz                                         10 lbs 10oz


My only concern is the extra weight and the arm length.  To be honest most of the weight seems to be in the arm of the 6000 series.  The mounting brackets are different, but the 9000's seem to be the more robust of the two.  Unless there is a good reason not to I will mount the 9000's and use a full size metal plate on the back side instead of the fender washers on the 7000's I have now.
I have already mocked up the passengers mirror and the blind spot mirrors on that side are significantly better with the 6000.  The main mirror is also better.  Both mirrors are power and heated.  The arm on the 9000's also has a turn signal light built is as a bonus. 
The mirrors mount forward so they are no wider with the 9000's, just 5 inches farther away from the windshield which seems to give the better view.

So is there any good reason not to switch mirrors?  All insight would be appreciated.

Title: Re: Replacing Ramco 7000 series mirrors with Ramco 6000 series
Post by: Gerald Farris on November 08, 2019, 04:04:53 PM
Carl,
I have ran into two problems with switching out mirrors from a different coach. First was that even though the mirror base fit against the coach body, there was a slight difference in the taper that was made into the mirror base so that the mirror arm did not set parallel to the ground causing a very restricted usable viewing field. The other problem was that the color code and wiring plug did not match, so it was difficult to wire into the new coach system.

Gerald
Title: Re: Replacing Ramco 7000 series mirrors with Ramco 6000 series
Post by: Carl Boger on November 08, 2019, 04:30:38 PM
Thanks Gerald,
I actually just got off the phone with Ramco Support, and was informed that I actually have 9000 series mirrors.  As far as wiring it should all be ok same wires and controller. The radius of the mount while very close is just a little different though.  Fortunately for me there is a little extra material on the 9000's so that can be milled to the same radius as the 7000's or Ramco can sell me new ones with the correct radius. The Ramco tech stated that the 7000's are considered Bus mirrors and the 9000's class A RV mirrors.  He also agreed that the longer arms should give me  a better view.  He stated I would have to use my own judgement on mounting since the manufacturer (SMC/Beaver) had put in the reinforcement for the mirrors.   Decisions Decisions?
Title: Re: Replacing Ramco 7000 series mirrors with Ramco 9000 series
Post by: Carl Boger on November 16, 2019, 01:17:11 AM
Just a follow up in case someone is interested in doing something like this in the future.

First off this wasn't totally bolt on plug and play.
The mounting brackets while close, did require some scribing to the Beaver's exact contour.  The tops had to have more removed than the bottoms to sit correctly.  The mounts that I had were made to fit a Newmar Mountain-Aire according to the Ramco Rep.  He also said that they could sell me mounts that had the correct contour.  After marking the mounts I used a grinder with a course sanding disk to remove material down to the line.  After a couple of test fits they fit the Beaver as well or better than the originals.

Secondly since the arms on the 9000's were longer I wanted to strengthen the mounting area.  This was probably unnecessary, but I didn't want to take any chances. I used a piece of 16 gauge steel plate about 6 x 10 inches each.  I had to bend it to the general contour and drill the 4 mounting holes and cut out a place for the wires. 

After the mounts were bolted on using new grade 5 bolts the rest truly was bolt on plug and play.  I am including some pictures that show the differences in the two mirror types.  the 7000's are the black ones and the 9000's are the chrome.

The longer arms and slightly wider mirrors improved the visibility a decent amount, especially the blind spot mirrors.  Hopefully  this will be helpful to someone.