General Replace exterior mirrors by electronic ones

[JG99]

Hi all,

New to this forum, which I joined because we bought ourselves a Fiat Ducato based motorhome (Carado T337, 2.3 MultiJet 140PK, 2021).
As it was lacking one, my first action was to add a reversing rearview camera.

One of the things I might change in the (near?) future is to remove the exterior mirrors, as they add ~ 45 cm. width to the van, and replace them by a digital mirror system (e.g. like IPoster, Sanan or 3DM-Vision).
These types of mirrors are allowed in the Netherlands and will pass APK/MOT checks, so that won't be an issue.

- Does anyone have experience using these?
If so, what are pros and cons?

- If I do so, what would be the best way to power this system?
I think it would not be wise to just have them powered on when ignition is on, as when one wants to leave the cabin (after switching the motor off) one still wants have a mirror to see traffic coming from behind.
Is there already a delayed power off function somewhere in a Ducato or do I need to add myself a relay with a delayed power off?

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

Very interesting idea, so I'm adding to watched threads, as I had the same idea for my girlfriend's daily a couple of days ago Remember that in you Carado the back of the van is wider than the cab. So having a longer support could be necessary.

FYI, I'm working on installing the foldable mirrors on my van, which was delivered with 100% manual mirrors. I've already have the foldable short arm mirrors (I was not able to find the middle arm ones - I hope I will be able to put the folding system in the original ones), the manipulator and both looms, will try to get it working during the winter.

 

[JG99]

Hello,

Very interesting idea, so I'm adding to watched threads, as I had the same idea for my girlfriend's daily a couple of days ago Remember that in you Carado the back of the van is wider than the cab. So having a longer support could be necessary.

FYI, I'm working on installing the foldable mirrors on my van, which was delivered with 100% manual mirrors. I've already have the foldable short arm mirrors (I was not able to find the middle arm ones - I hope I will be able to put the folding system in the original ones), the manipulator and both looms, will try to get it working during the winter.

Hi,

"Remember that in you Carado the back of the van is wider than the cab." The 'overhang' on top of the cabin is nearly as wide as the rest of the camper, so it won't need a long support.

Furthermore, the reason to replace is not issues with parking etc., but we had an case some time ago, driving thru the UK on a not so wide, hollow road (with a similar rental motorhome), where an upcoming minibus hit our right mirror and broke the lower part of it. And that camper also had, just like ours, the long 20 cm arms.
As replacement of a heated, electrically adjusted mirror is a couple of hundred euros and the price of the Ebay/Ali digital systems is less that 2 new mirrors

 

[the green vanper]

The 'overhang' on top of the cabin is nearly as wide as the rest of the camper, so it won't need a long support.

The 'nearly as wide' centimeters can make a difference. Do a test. Ask someone with a mirror to put it in the same distance of the cab as the camera will be. And check how much you see in comparison with the factory mirror. I think finding a cam with a slightly longer arm shouldn't be a problem.

I've installed a short arm mirror in place of mine middle arm (which is 16 cm, so 4 cm shorter than the long one you've got I assume) just to test and the view difference was huge. As there will be windows on the sides adding a few cm to the van width more or less on the mirror height, it will become more problematic. During winter I'm planning to replace the folding mechanism and get the system work.

Keeping my fingers crossed for the project, as I wrote before, it is very interesting for me for my girlfriend's daily But I'll definitely need smaller screens