Ducato mirrors

[Guest Brian Kirby]

I have just got a Fiat based Burstner motorhome and so far have only driven it 1000 miles or so, so this is based on limited experience. The 'van is left hand drive, which probably doesn't help, and many UK roads are relatively narrow. However, even in this short distance I have experienced several instances where approaching drivers seem not to have noticed the amount the o/s mirror projects, one knocking it out of line in passing, fortunately without damage, where various others just missed, but seemed to react late. Is it just me being over anxious about the new toy, or do others share this experience? If the latter, has anyone discovered if painting the housing a different colour, or antything else, helps? All legal suggestions gratefully received. Many thanks.

[Guest JohnP]

I have put a vertical strip of red dayglow tape on my Hymer as near to the outside edge of the mirrors as possible to help eliminate this problem. It seemed to work in France!

[Guest WRDunstone]

Hi Brian, I have been driving LHD Hymers for some years now and have only had this problem once and it was partly my fault (Both the vehicles were on the correct side of the white line but both mirrors were over the line!). Without casting doubts on your driving are you as close to the (h)edge as you could be? Or if there is doubt about the space stop and if necessary let the other guy hit you - at least you have a clear-cut insurance claim then! I suspect it is really the fact that you are quite a long way from your offside and there is probably more room than you think. Enjoy your 'van. BillD

[Guest Peter Goddard]

We have a Burstner t615 RHD and I always felt that the off side mirror projected too much. We only had the van about three weeks when a LR Disco and I had a coming together, at least the mirrors did. In our case the bottom section dropped off, his was wrecked. It was a case of both mirrors overhanging the white line and being the same height. If it had been a normal car we would have missed each other. Now I am most careful to hug the verge as much as possible on narrow roads but do pick up scratches from hedges etc. There is no real answer to this other than drive a bit more slowly on narrow roads and look well up the road so that you can pick out problem vehicles early.

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Thanks you for your replies to date. However, reading what you have said, I realise I may not have been sufficiently clear as to circumstances. Perhaps more detail might help. Vehicle is Coachbuilt low profile. Therefore has less immediately visible width than A classes or lutons, or so it seems to me. Roads A283/272 Shoreham - Winchester. Carriageways narrow in places, roadside vegitation not cut back, various large tree stumps/rocks hidden in roadside growth, various road signs v. close to carriageway. DoT norm is no obstructions within 600mm of edge of carriageway. This does not apply on much of this road, mainly due, I suspect to the narrow sections being between banks that would need to be cut back to give the proper clearances. However still classed a "A" road, the A272 being designated primary. Problem arises when 32 tonne artic emerges round bend and co-incides with tree stump, rock, roadsign. B6270 Reeth - Kirkby Stephen. The fault here may lie in my road atlas the Philip's Prefessional Driver's Britain and Ireland 2004. This particulat road is, in places, single track with passing places. It is not so indicated in the atlas so, unprepared for what lay ahead, we went in. Once you have the sweat out of your eyes, it is spectacularly scenic! Much was taken at below 20mph, passing other vehicles requires dropping to walking speed or stopping. Many other drivers, even those with cars, just "froze" when confronted with the 'van. The mirror knock was a impatient white van driver who started forward while I was inching past. Either he didn't see the mirror, or didn't care. Which brings me back to my py point, which was that the drivers of oncoming vehicles simply do not appear to react initially to the extra width of the mirrors. This leads me to wonder if the black mirror heads are insufficiently visible and whether others have similar experiences/views and or "fixes". On our way home, for wxample, we passed a Le Voyager that had white mirror heads and despite the 'van being white, I thought these were far more noticeable that the generality of black Fiat mirrors on other 'vans. Expect I've bored you all to death by now. However, if any are still awake, the benefits of your experience with this problem, and/or commente will be most welcome. Many thanks.

[Guest Mike C]

Hello Brian, No not bored, any information that can help in not having to pay out large sums of money to get mirrors and their housings replaced is interesting and worthwhile. Have not been in this situation with the Motor Caravan (yet) but had this problem with a previous car. I suspect that mirrors with the housings in dull colours (eg. Graphite, Sage Green etc.) as well as Black will be less obvious especially in the dark and therefore more vulnerable to the drive by type of damage. After having off-side mirrors smashed twice by passing vehicles I followed the advice of the Parts Manager and stuck strips of Scotchlight tape on the mirror housings. White facing forward and Red facing rearwards. The forward facing was in the form of a strip on the lower section of the mirror housing similar to the side lights on the mirrors on the new VW Passat and some Mercedes cars. The rearwards facing was a thinner strip on the bottom of the mirror. The tape was sourced from my local Halfords. The redundant tape was used on the inside of the doors as Door Open Reflectors. I suppose that white circular reflectors stuck on the mirror housings would do the same job. Hope this is of some assistance. Regards, Mike C.

[Guest martin h]

i,ve had this happen only twice, once when i started driving transits regularly for my work, and recently when i bought a LHD motorhome. The first was because i was unsure of the curb and lamposts etc.,since when ,i,ve got used to it and i,m hoping to do the same in our moby. Our brains will hopefully ajust in time!

[Guest Brian]

Hi Bri when I first bought my LHD Ducato I found a great reluctance to drive as close to the hedge as was necessary,but I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually, a glance in the offside mirror when approaching oncoming traffic to guage how far inside the line you are is a good help until it becomes second nature.