Tow Mirror Arm Shakes

[2014 Ram]

I have searched the forums and have not really found any info on a cause or fix....I have a 2014 2500 and the drivers side mirror shakes so bad its hard to see anything at times. Its not the glass shaking, its the arm. I can be backing out of a parking spot and you can see it shaking. There is a small amount of play in the arm itself causing the mirror on the end to shake bad. The 3 bolts the hold the arm onto the door are tight...The swivel point is where its loose. There has to be a spring and a set point in there to lock the arm in place when its folded in or out? I have used the water hose to clean the swivel in case there was any mud etc not letting it "lock" properly...Its gotten worse over time and is about to drive me nuts...I hate driving down a back road with the window down because of the rattling noise the arm makes now...

 

[photowrite]

My driver side towing near shakes/vibrates some too, but never a problem when moving slow, only at freeway speeds with the wind, which makes it a little fuzzy and bothers me some. Does not seem to be the same with my passenger side mirror. I figure that in my case it was probably the relaxing of the spring from the folding in the driver's mirror repeatedly on tight four-wheel-drive roads.

 

[Cummins2014]

My driver side towing near shakes/vibrates some too, but never a problem when moving slow, only at freeway speeds with the wind, which makes it a little fuzzy and bothers me some. Does not seem to be the same with my passenger side mirror. I figure that in my case it was probably the relaxing of the spring from the folding in the driver's mirror repeatedly on tight four-wheel-drive roads.

Yup, same here. Drives side vibrates some , passenger side no vibration.

Be nice to see a change in their tow mirror design. Maybe similar to Ford or Chevy

 

[2014 Ram]

Pass side is solid, drivers side shakes at ALL speeds, even going across the parking lot...Mine never get folded in so its not the spring being relaxed too much

 

[spoon059]

I wonder if they didn't install the brace inside your door. If you buy the OEM mirrors after the fact, they include a brace for inside the door.

 

[photowrite]

Yup, same here. Drives side vibrates some , passenger side no vibration.

Be nice to see a change in their tow mirror design. Maybe similar to Ford or Chevy

Overall I like the towing mirror design, that they are slightly wide when 'in', great for seeing around my camper when I don't need more for a trailer. But my previous set of good towing mirrors were on my 1996 F-350, huge, all manual, and archaic compared to these.

 

[Cummins2014]

Overall I like the towing mirror design, that they are slightly wide when 'in', great for seeing around my camper when I don't need more for a trailer. But my previous set of good towing mirrors were on my 1996 F-350, huge, all manual, and archaic compared to these.

My mirrors on my previous Ford Superduty IMO were far better mirrors then the Ram. Reason I mentioned a redesign comparable with Ford or Chev.

Maybe enough noise has been made about the Ram towing mirrors a redesign might happen with the 2018 or 19 ,whenever they are making the Ram changes.

 

[photowrite]

My mirrors on my previous Ford Superduty IMO were far better mirrors then the Ram. Reason I mentioned a redesign comparable with Ford or Chev.

Maybe enough noise has been made about the Ram towing mirrors a redesign might happen with the 2018 or 19 ,whenever they are making the Ram changes.

Cool. No disagreement.

 

[Cummins12V98]

ONLY issue with mine is the fish eye when mirror is folded down. I always leave mine up and I really do like them.

 

[Cummins2014]

ONLY issue with mine is the fish eye when mirror is folded down. I always leave mine up and I really do like them.

I think you would agree if you spent the time I did towing with a Ford Superduty, that the mirrors are better. Its just better with that fish eye as you call it being at the bottom all the time like on the Ford. . I don't care to have my mirrors out when not towing, but they are better when flipped out , and the fish eye is at the bottom

 

[Cummins12V98]

I have said plenty of times Ford has good towing mirrors. BUT our mirrors IMHO look MUCH better and I like them up with my BIG hips.

 

[surfbeetle]

I have a 2016 and a 1995, both with towing mirrors. On the 95, I added them years ago at a time when you could not buy power/heated towing mirrors for a 2nd gen truck. You could only buy them for a 3rd gen. For the 2nd gen, you could only get manual mirrors. Why is this relevant to the original post? At the time, one of the popular topics documented on this site was the conversion of the mirrors to end up with power/heated mirrors for a 2nd gen. These mirrors are all very similar and have a spring on the arm's pivot and a pressed on locking ring that holds it all in place. If you search for this conversion in the 2nd gen section, you should find some photos and maybe hints on how you can tighten up your mirrors. But, if you're still under warranty, just have the dealer give you a new mirror that is tighter. Tell them it's a safety issue that the mirror is not usable in Tow Mode.

 

[Rampilot]

If you are looking for a cheap, easy fix, this worked for me. Fold the mirror back, place a 1/2"x2" strip cut from a Koozie, and use a putty knife to guide it between the folded arm and the mount while you fold it back out. No more rattles, and no more annoying buzz when I close the driver door!

 

[Cummins12V98]

Mine are rock solid.

 

[Cummins2014]

Mine are rock solid.

Lucky you, its a real problem, feel fortunate .

 

[Cummins2014]

If you are looking for a cheap, easy fix, this worked for me. Fold the mirror back, place a 1/2"x2" strip cut from a Koozie, and use a putty knife to guide it between the folded arm and the mount while you fold it back out. No more rattles, and no more annoying buzz when I close the driver door!

Its unfortunate thats what it takes to fix, mine is the same. Another vote for Ram to adopt the ford style mirrors.

 

[photowrite]

If you are looking for a cheap, easy fix, this worked for me. Fold the mirror back, place a 1/2"x2" strip cut from a Koozie, and use a putty knife to guide it between the folded arm and the mount while you fold it back out. No more rattles, and no more annoying buzz when I close the driver door!

Like that idea, I can envision how it would work. Might try it on my 2014, where I think repeatedly folding the driver's side on narrow trails led to spring softening and the bad vibes I have.

 

[photowrite]

Mine are rock solid.

The pair on my new '17 regular cab seem tight too.

 

[Cummins2014]

If you are looking for a cheap, easy fix, this worked for me. Fold the mirror back, place a 1/2"x2" strip cut from a Koozie, and use a putty knife to guide it between the folded arm and the mount while you fold it back out. No more rattles, and no more annoying buzz when I close the driver door!

Thanks for the easy fix

 

[SnoKing]

This may NOT be a problem with power fold mirrors. Sounds like it effects the manual fold ones only. SnoKing