Towing Mirror Comparisons

Article by · December 29, 2017 ·

I go through a lot of towing mirrors, and I don’t think I’m alone in wondering if there is a ‘perfect mirror’. One that doesn’t vibrate, is easily adjustable, offers good vision and most importantly, won’t break. Here’s a rundown of the mirrors we’ve been through in the last two years.

 

Coast to Coast Door Mounted towing mirrors – 64.95 each.

coast to coast towing mirror review
These are one of the most popular strap on, door mounted mirrors on the market, and for good reason. They are stable, even at high speeds and so don’t vibrate (which causes the rear-vision to become blurry). They are a hefty, and strong construction and reasonably easy to use, although some people with newer more premium cars my be a bit sceptical of the bits that hook on to their car causing damage – it may well.

The strap can develop a vibration if the buckle position isn’t just right, so may take a few drive to get exactly right. The biggest problem with them, though, is that the clamps holding the mirror arm in are hard to tighten, and often loosen themselves over time. I’ve had them fall out, or nearly fall out a number of times. Wing nuts would fix the problem, rather than the small round, plastic knobs fitted to tighten that part.

ORA Towing mirror – $109 for the pair


These mirrors are best suited to vehicles with flatter, less aerodynamic mirrors, as they are most secure when the strap is flat against the front of the mirror. They are highly versatile though, and can be made to fit most car’s wing mirrors.

User beware, though, if your wing mirrors can fold into the car and the hinge is week, the gust of a passing truck will consistently blow them into your window until you get sick of the damn things and put them in the boot – however an occy strap run to your bull bar will also temporarily fix the problem. These mirrors also have a lot of small pieces which can easily go missing.

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ORA Rossa Towing Mirror – $85 each

Ora towing mirror review
These are the next step up from the basic ORA towing mirrors and have a wider arm and extra stabilising rod which suction cups to the car’s door to prevent truck from being able to blow it into the car.

I bought a pair of these after I lost one of the normal ORA mirrors somewhere on the Sturt Highway after one too many trucks blew them in. I didn’t find them much better, though, as the suction cap quickly lost suction (no matter how many times I licked it, or cleaned the car door) and eventually trucks could blow the mirror in again. In the end it fell off travelling down the Ivanhoe Road – the same road I broke a pair of the Camec door mounted mirrors.

Milenco Aero 3 Towing Mirror – $97.95 for a pair

milenco towing mirror review
These are a simple and effective wing-mirror mount towing mirror which just rely on a pair of adjustable clamps. It makes them easy to fit, and reduces the amount of parts you can lose. The aero-dynamic shape of the mirror ensures they are a good performer in the face of on-comming trucks, although the heavily stylised shape reduces rear-vision somewhat.

With wide arms and a great build quality, they’re the pick of the mirror mounted options available, if you can’t bear the thought of spending more than $100, or you’ve got a really modern vehicle like a Land Rover or BMW SUV, as they’ve been designed and manufactured in Europe for European cars.

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Camec Suction Cup towing mirror – $19.95 each

camec towing mirror review
At $20 each, the price is great, and they keep you legal, but just barely. The suction cup sticks to your mirror which is great because it means you can adjust the mirror using your car’s controls, although because they stick to your mirror, they create a big blind spot. On many more modern cars, they also often foul on the mirror surround.
The suction cup is of good quality, though and they only occasionally fall off and swing into your car thanks to the thin elastic safety cord.

Camec Strap on towing mirrors $27.95

camec towing mirror review
These are actually a very reasonable mirror for the price. With the double elastic straps, they suit a wide range of mirrors and can be reasonably easily fitted, although the rudimentary buckles are a little fiddly. Because they are compact and don’t protrude too far from the car, they have less problems with passing trucks, although the small buckle clasps are incredibly easy to lose. In the end, I hung one of these from the shower rose and used it as a shaving mirror, rather than a towing one.

Clearview towing mirrors $745 – $795

clearview towing mirror review
At roughly four times more expensive than anything else on the market, the Clearview mirrors have to really perform and there is no doubt they are the best towing mirror on the market. On the vehicles they can be used, the rear vision is excellent, and the ability to wire them into the cars mirror adjustor is just spectacular.

The downside is the price, of course, and the fact that even when they’re not telescoped out, they are still wider than the standard mirror an industrial design graduate in Japan spent four years and a million dollars engineering.

Which mirrors do you use, and how have they performed? Tell us in the comments to help other caravanners make the right decision.

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About Brendan Batty

ROAM's fearless editor, Brendan's most often found searching for the next best campsite, or fixing his caravan so it will make it to just one more.

10 Comments

  • comment-avatar

    Guy Parish

    Hi I’m currently using the Ora equivalent, from Supercheap. Initially, they took a bit of fiddling to set up on my Isuzu MuX wing mirrors. I tow a Camper tralier, not so wide, but being a dailiy urban truck driver, ‘m used to using external mirrors.I did find after the first2 trips,the driver’s mirror kept swinging in and trying keep the mirrors themselves from swinging back and forth at 90KPH-ish. SO i drilled some holes. measured on the mirror arms and able to turn the tension knobs in further ;to lock and stop them rotating , an Ocki strap to a point near the windscreen drain.( not so much the bullbar) so far works well. thanks for the Article.

  • comment-avatar

    Jo

    I use the clear view after trying the Ora and having them constantly turning in.Yes there is the downside of them being bigger than average mirrors but the plus far outweighs this .
    The vision when extended and towing my van is awesome.

  • comment-avatar

    Bob Jolly

    I have had Ora mirrors and have also lost them as wellas having them bash against my window after a truck went by. I have also had door mounted mirrors which caused paint damage due to dusty conditions. I now use Milenco and I am happy with them. They are also easy and quick to put on or remove.

  • comment-avatar

    Bob Jolly

    I have had Ora mirrors and have also lost them as well as having them bash against my window after a truck went by. I have also had door mounted mirrors which caused paint damage due to dusty conditions. I now use Milenco and I am happy with them. They are also easy and quick to put on or remove.

  • comment-avatar

    Ian williams

    I currently use the Milenco Mirrors I get a little bit of vibration from them but apart from that I have had no problem with them at all.

  • comment-avatar

    keith trotter

    I have had the coast to coast on 3 vehicles best mirror I put a seat belt buddy on the strap to stop them humming and leave them on with the mirrors pushed in there on a dual cab rodeo

  • comment-avatar

    Bert van Spronsen

    Having travelled more than 120000km in 3 years, a good mirror has been critical. To be honest, I have tried most of them and usually their life span is really limited due to their lack of stability. 18 months ago I bought the Danish mirrors Brunsgaard Towing Mirrors. They have now covered around 60000km and not budged!. They are sleek, very secure and never get buffeted by passing trucks. Worth the extra $. Would never change them now.

  • comment-avatar

    Peter

    G’day! I use the Coast to Coast door mounted mirrors after throwing the cheapa**e ones into the bush (and shamefacedly retrieving them after being called an environmental vandal by the SWMBO). Solid as a rock, and eliminated the strap vibration by putting a small piece of cloth on it. This also protects the paintwork (although many 4wd trips have made that a bit of a joke!). Replaced the plastic knobs with stainless steel wingnuts so they wouldn’t break like the cast ones do. Now bulletproof, even after all the k’s, trucks and bush tracks!

  • comment-avatar

    Kevin

    I have a set of clearview mirrors with the chrome finish. They are only 4 months old and the chrome has pitted. My warranty claim has been denied as according to clearview they have been exposed to saltwater. I don’t live on the coast but can’t see why this would be relevant.

  • comment-avatar

    David

    I have just had the Camec (Clearview lookalike) caravan mirrors installed on my new Landcruiser VX! Indicators on the sides of the mirrors will not work despite their being there! Disappointed but half the price of Clearview and hard to tell apart.


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