Doors-off mirror solution, cheap and no tools required

Gravel

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Oct 13, 2020
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Traverse City, Michigan
Here's another solution to the doors-off Jeep TJ mirror issue.

Buy a small "blind spot mirror" that has a sturdy metal mount (See examples in attached screenshots). At a hardware store, buy a suitably sized bolt, washers, rubber washers and a long hex "coupling nut." I bought a pair of mirrors on Amazon for $10, but only used one because the passenger side wouldn't be visible from the driver's seat. The hardware cost less than $5. Assemble as shown in photos.

The mirror is big enough to be usable, but small enough that wind hasn't been a problem. The unit has built-in angle adjustment. The rubber washers minimize vibration and help keep the nut from backing off. The long hex nut has enough surface area that you can install and remove with just fingers. After a few hundred miles of driving late this summer, it was still snug (next year I'll probably add a third rubber washer next to the nut just for good measure). I noticed zero vibration while driving. It's small enough that the unit drops in the glove box, ready for instant use when the doors come back off.

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I've been using a-pillar mounted mirrors on my last three Jeeps. Starts with the standard doors off mirror kits you can get on almost any vendor website permanently mounted on the a-pillar. Remove the OE mirrors from both full and half doors. Shorten the mounting arm for both sides and, replace the mirror that comes with the kit with a wide view round CJ style mirror.

The doors open fully with these on. I can see the full rearview on both sides and have a really wide angle of view. No vibrations. Most important, no swapping mirrors or having to adjust to a new mirror when swapping doors or doors off.

The wide angle view takes a day or two to get used and what you see in the mirror is closer than it actually looks, but I am used to them now. Keepers for sure.

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I have a question about the doors being off of my 04 wrangler tj.... when the doors are off, will the dome lights stay on beings that the doors ain't on to push in the little button....? I'm new to being a Jeep owner...
 
I have a question about the doors being off of my 04 wrangler tj.... when the doors are off, will the dome lights stay on beings that the doors ain't on to push in the little button....? I'm new to being a Jeep owner...

Yes... doors off will leave the dome light on.

Options? Most folks just pull the fuse from the panel behind the glove box. You can buy spring clamps that hold the door pin down but more than few folks have accidentallyreplaced the door and then closed it on the spring clamp. You can add a small switch to interrupt the circuit when doors are off (I hacked one together a while back that worked fine). Or you can replace the door pins with the Mercedes pins that can lock open defeating the dome light. I switched to this solution.
 
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I have a switch. I followed the instructions for the Quadratec kit, except I used my own parts and spliced the power wire behind the fuse block rather than using fuse taps.

I hate fuse taps, and $40 for a switch and some wire is ridiculous. However, if you're not electrically-inclined, there's hundreds of these kits out there, so you can probably find something cheaper.

https://www.quadratec.com/products/13029_200.htm
 
I have a question about the doors being off of my 04 wrangler tj.... when the doors are off, will the dome lights stay on beings that the doors ain't on to push in the little button....? I'm new to being a Jeep owner...

Yes, they will stay on.
Two possible solutions.
The most common answer is to remove the fuse for those lights. This also disables the buzzer warming the headlights are on when you remove the key from the ignition - so if you're not careful you will get a dead battery.
On my 2005 TJ, it's the bottom right fuse behind the glove box. Consult your owners manual to see which one it is on your year. The glovebox easily comes right off with no tools.
Other answer is to remove all four bulbs that stay on, the two on the rollbar and two under the dash.
 
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Yes, they will stay on.
Two possible solutions.
The most common answer is to remove the fuse for those lights. This also disables the buzzer warming the headlights are on when you remove the key from the ignition - so if you're not careful you will get a dead battery.
On my 2005 TJ, it's the bottom right fuse behind the glove box. Consult your owners manual to see which one it is on your year. The glovebox easily comes right off with no tools.
Other answer is to remove all four bulbs that stay on, the two on the rollbar and two under the dash.

Or any of the other solutions above. 🙂