Using ORA Mirrors

The above is a photo of my rear view mirrors, like you use, the Italian ORA mirrors. When I bought them you could only get them from the Canberra importers, the price I think was about $160 each so I thought what the hell $320 for mirrors, I must have rocks in my head, but after having tried several different pairs of strap ons, they vibrated, the rubber straps obscured the view in the main mirror, trucks blew them away, and I thought I will never have to buy another set of mirrors. The first time I put them on, I had them extended out a fair way, and we went for the weekend to a lovely small caravan park next to a small lake at Beaufort 40 kms to the west of Ballarat. We have been there a few times and the wind was from the southwest at about 80 kph. We were driving into the wind at my usual 100kph then whack, whack, Oh dear, both mirrors were down the side of the car. I knew I had some semi's coming up behind me, and now I was blind. We pulled over and I adjusted them in, got going, and it happened again. I eventually had the mirrors overlapping my car mirrors before it stopped, and then on a two lane, a big semi coming the other way and whack, with my mirror down the side of the car. It became standard practice after that, a semi coming, window down, brace it with my hand, then window up. The mirrors still vibrated, but not as much. You knew a car was coming up behind you about 3km away, but you could not make out what sort.

My sister bought an A'van several years after me, and she bought the new type of ORA mirrors, two arms and magnetic plates, a hook over the windows and the car mirrors not touched, fantastic, no blow backs and no vibration, I was green with envy, but I was not going to pay another $300 plus for mirrors, then in Caravan World readers were complaining about blow back with the ORA mirrors like you and I have, and it only appeared once, but you could buy a steady arm for it. I rang ORA and yes $70 each and you could buy them at caravan accessory places. I hotfooted it to my nearest caravan place and bought two. It is an arm with a big magnetic plate, braces the mirror, no more vibration, and I thumb my nose at the big rigs going the opposite way on a two lane combined speed 200kph with NO blowback - well worth the $140 extra. In the ORA ads they make no mention of the bracing arm for the mirrors you and I have, just the ad showing the two types of mirrors.

Neil Louer