Taking the doors off my SUV

[MustangO4]

Just to see what it looked like, I dropped the doors off my Isuzu. My question is if this would be street legal? Yes it has seatbelts and i put on a mirror.

[Cokebottle]

Maybe legal, but don't do it.

That's likely unibody construction and a lot of the strength of the body comes from the doors.

Remove the doors, drive it for a year, and you'll probably find that you can no longer reinstall the doors because the body will sag at the B pillar.

[Falconis]

and if something happens, in addition to the injuries sustained, your insurance won't pay out.

[PANTyRAiD]

looks silly any ways...

[infernl]

If its a unibody vehicle, the doors are part of the vehicle's structural rigidity. Just driving out of an uneven driveway at an angle can cause enough damage to the unibody to total it. Don't do it, put the doors back on before you drive it.

[MustangO4]

It is not a unibody. It is body on frame. The same as an Amigo, Trooper or rodeo. A lot of the guys that off road them pull the doors before going out, like a jeep. The question was is it street legal to drive it that way. I know it is in Jeeps, but I am not sure if that has to do with the doors being designed to be removed or not.

The wife refuses to get in it though, so the doors are back on, but i was thinking of dropping them for my next run to the desert....

What i am thinking is If legal, I would fab up some tube doors, like these:

[Falconis]

cool. i would think you would be gtg then. vehicle codes apply to all vehicles. there is rarely an exception to any one make or model of vehicle.

maybe a traffic guy can jump in here. I just know the generals.

[Jonathan Doe]

Maybe it will fall under unsafe vehicle? I have never seen one of those on the street. But then, there are Jeeps without doors on the roadway.

[Cokebottle]

Jeep bodies rise a bit higher above the floorboards, almost to the level of the seat... they would tend to keep the feet/legs inside during an accident.

Now, the rear hatch being removed, that's not good. It will allow exhaust to enter the cabin.

[ironcross]

You can be cited for VC 26709(b)

As well as Falconis stated:

and if something happens, in addition to the injuries sustained, your insurance won't pay out.

A lot of insurance company's are getting on the bandwagon with vehicle modification.

You would be liable for any injuries that occurred in that vehicle if in a accident. Unless the insurance company knew of such modification?

You can always take it to your local CHP testing area to see if they will pass it or not.

My Ranger was totaled (By a 16Yro who peeled out from the curb and PITed my truck and went into a RV to show of to some hinas...) and rebuilt and had to get a salvage title and needed CHP to sign off on it.

[Turo]

You can be cited for VC 26709(b)

Why? He's got at least two mirrors that I can see.

[ironcross]

Why? He's got at least two mirrors that I can see.

Since not factory. Can they please;

CVC 26709;
(b) The following described types of motor vehicles, of a type subject to registration, shall be equipped with mirrors on both the left-and right-hand sides of the vehicle so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle.

It is not a unibody. It is body on frame. The same as an Amigo, Trooper or rodeo. A lot of the guys that off road them pull the doors before going out, like a jeep. The question was is it street legal to drive it that way. I know it is in Jeeps, but I am not sure if that has to do with the doors being designed to be removed or not.

The wife refuses to get in it though, so the doors are back on, but i was thinking of dropping them for my next run to the desert....

What i am thinking is If legal, I would fab up some tube doors, like these:

As above I stated as long it pleases CVC 26709(b);
(b) The following described types of motor vehicles, of a type subject to registration, shall be equipped with mirrors on both the left-and right-hand sides of the vehicle so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle.

I couldn't find anything with in the CVC regarding doors. Other state have laws prohibiting it, yet California has none that I could find.

[Cokebottle]

Right mirror is only needed if the view from the center mirror is obstructed by cargo or a structure in the vehicle (including tinted windows, I got popped for that in my '69 Camaro, front windows were legal, rear and rear sides were blacked out with 2 layers of 5%).
Added a mirror on the right and got it signed off.

But the center and left mirrors are needed.

You left out 26709(b):
(1) A motor vehicle so constructed or loaded as to obstruct the driver's view to the rear.
(2) A motor vehicle towing a vehicle and the towed vehicle or load thereon obstructs the driver's view to the rear.
(3) A bus or trolley coach.
(c) The provisions of subdivision (b) shall not apply to a passenger vehicle when the load obstructing the driver's view consists of passengers.



(b) doesn't apply if the view from the center mirror is clear.

[ironcross]

Right mirror is only needed if the view from the center mirror is obstructed by cargo or a structure in the vehicle (including tinted windows, I got popped for that in my '69 Camaro, front windows were legal, rear and rear sides were blacked out with 2 layers of 5%).
Added a mirror on the right and got it signed off.

But the center and left mirrors are needed.

You left out 26709(b):
(1) A motor vehicle so constructed or loaded as to obstruct the driver's view to the rear.
(2) A motor vehicle towing a vehicle and the towed vehicle or load thereon obstructs the driver's view to the rear.
(3) A bus or trolley coach.
(c) The provisions of subdivision (b) shall not apply to a passenger vehicle when the load obstructing the driver's view consists of passengers.



(b) doesn't apply if the view from the center mirror is clear.

I'm not an expert. But can you cite the CVC that requires a "Center Rear View Mirror"?

Per VC 26709;

Allows two (2) (Driver side and rear view) mirrors to be unobstructed at all times. Since we can't see how the rear hatch would effect the rear view. Nor do we know how the aftermarket[?] side mirror distance is. That's why I cited CVC 26709(b).


As to 1 and 2 can be easily violated due to say a 'desert trip'. You're either carrying a lot gear in the rear or a trailer of dirt bikes, etc.

For 3 all the new buses I've seen don't have a rear glass. So it would be in violation. As only school buses I've seen have rear glass.

Better safe than sorry.

[Cokebottle]

Read the CVC in it's entirety...

26709. (a) Every motor vehicle registered in a foreign jurisdiction and every motorcycle subject to registration in this state shall be equipped with a mirror so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle. Every motor vehicle subject to registration in this state, except a motorcycle, shall be equipped with not less than two such mirrors, including one affixed to the left-hand side.

Okay, so every vehicle except a motorcycle requires two mirrors. One of the two must be mounted on the left hand side.

(b) The following described types of motor vehicles, of a type subject to registration, shall be equipped with mirrors on both the left-and right-hand sides of the vehicle so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle:
(1) A motor vehicle so constructed or loaded as to obstruct the driver's view to the rear.
(2) A motor vehicle towing a vehicle and the towed vehicle or load thereon obstructs the driver's view to the rear.
(3) A bus or trolley coach.

Mirrors are required on both the left and right hand side if and only if the view is obstructed without a right hand side mirror.

It's true that the center mirror is not a requirement... as long as you have two, the 2nd one may be anywhere other than the left side.

Very, very few vehicles came equipped with right hand side mirrors prior to the mid 70s. Today, virtually every car has one, but the 3rd mirror on the right is not a legal requirement for passenger cars.

(c) The provisions of subdivision (b) shall not apply to a passenger vehicle when the load obstructing the driver's view consists of passengers.

Go figure
IMHO, blocked view is a blocked view whether you can tell your brother in law to move his fat head or not.