Loose side mirror

eewiilson · 01-21-2018, 05:01 PM

I have a Thor Aria 3601.

I have a loose P/S mirror and can't figure out how to tighten it. Any advice?

ctpres · 01-22-2018, 03:03 PM

If it is just the mirror and not the housing that is loose there are some clips that go between mirror and housing to reduce vibration.Call Thor and they might send you some. Solved our problem for over 20,000 miles. DIY install takes seconds.

eewiilson · 01-22-2018, 03:15 PM

Thank you for the reply.

No, it's the whole housing. I'm worried it will fall off.

cpmath · 01-22-2018, 06:40 PM

Can you send us some photos of the mirror housing.

cpmath · 01-22-2018, 06:43 PM

After looking at some photos of the mirror on line can you get under the dash inside when it is bolted through the body and try and tighten the bolts? Just a thought.

eewiilson · 01-22-2018, 07:34 PM

I tried from the front, next to the generator, but can't see any bolts near the mirror housing. I don't know how to remove the covers in the front.

I attached a picture. You can see that gap.

jpmihalk · 01-22-2018, 08:03 PM

Our old RV had allen bolts holding it into place. Just needed to tighten them with an allen wrench... try looking for a couple of backside holes and see what kind of attaching hardware they used.

VJRocky · 01-25-2018, 01:06 AM

Are there caps on the housing covering the bolts. If so, pry them off with a screwdriver to access the bolts underneath.

VJRocky · 01-25-2018, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eewiilson

I have a Thor Aria 3601.

I have a loose P/S mirror and can't figure out how to tighten it. Any advice?

Are there caps on the housing covering the bolts. If so, pry them off with a screwdriver to access the bolts underneath.

eewiilson · 01-25-2018, 01:25 AM

Thank you all for your replies and help.

I took my Aria to the dealer. They told me this was the first time they had seen this.

The technician pried off the cap on the bottom of the mounting and unscrewed the post that holds the mirror and pulled it completely out of the housing, wiring attached. Then he was able to lift the plate off the mounting and all four screws were then visible and very loose. He tightened them, replaced the post holding the mirror, tightened the post then replaced the cap. All fixed in less than 10 minutes.

jpmihalk · 01-25-2018, 02:48 AM

That is excellent news! Thanks for the follow up.

CSR · 02-15-2018, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eewiilson

Thank you all for your replies and help.

I took my Aria to the dealer. They told me this was the first time they had seen this.

The technician pried off the cap on the bottom of the mounting and unscrewed the post that holds the mirror and pulled it completely out of the housing, wiring attached. Then he was able to lift the plate off the mounting and all four screws were then visible and very loose. He tightened them, replaced the post holding the mirror, tightened the post then replaced the cap. All fixed in less than 10 minutes.

Thanks for the fix-it tip eewiilson! This will come in handy.

chughes · 02-26-2018, 04:19 PM

My same mirror has come completely loose 3 times now. Continue to take it to Camping World to re-attach. Hopefully 3rd time is the charm. Anytime I take a long trip, I guess the vibration makes it loose again.

jdamann · 05-10-2018, 05:17 PM

Mine came loose once...I tightened the self tapping oem screws. Next time, plan to replace with machine screws, lock washers, and nuts.

rpitch47 · 05-23-2018, 01:31 AM

Just had the same thing happen to me on a cross country trip. Fixed the same way but you need to make sure to put " Blue Threadlock" on the screws holding it on or it will come loose again.

BlueWaterSUX · 11-27-2019, 12:37 PM

First post here, so "Hi" all.

I found this thread as my 5 day ownership of a 2018 Venetian yielded some "loose side mirrors" too. The Velvac Mirrors have some simple, but hidden and interlocking features that you need to know about if you're needing to tighten or adjust them. I took some photos that may help.

I'm not new to RVing, so let's not blame this on any one coach builder... man there is a lot of Thor bashing, but what GED or work release program in Indiana teaches the use of 4" long wood screws driven (and cammed out) into 1/4" particle board for securing heavy items in a platform designed to bounce down the road? These heavy mirrors should be attached with through bolts, large fender washers for load distribution and nyloc nuts so that they never work loose from travel vibration.

A bolt that runs straight up from the bottom of the mount bracket into the swing arm, needs to be removed. Mine had a plastic trim plug plate that I had to remove by prying with a small flat screwdriver, in order to access the 9/16" bolt that mounts the mirror arm to the mount bracket.

The mirror arm rests in a cammed boss-well and had significant galvanic corrosion due to the dissimilar metals used. The mount bracket and the swing arm were nearly seized together. I needed some lube and a few upward taps with a hammer followed by a brute force push as if adjusting the mirror position, to loosen the less than two year old fitting.

Lastly a locking cam lobe, cast into the arm fitting, had to be aligned with a recess in the boss-well before the mirror arm could be lifted out of the mount housing. The plastic trim cover is only retained by the mirror arm being in place, so once the arm is removed, the mounting screws can be accessed and tightened or replaced with proper hardware. Hope the photos help.

P.S. the guy at the dealership that said he'd never seen that before? must either be lying or new...

The mount bracket with the swing arm out and the trim cover plate pulled back
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1574857319

Looking down into the boss-well
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1574857319

The cam lobe
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1574857319

The culprit
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1574857319

m1noel · 11-27-2019, 02:54 PM

^^^^That is exactly what we did also. Replaced the lag screws with stainless bolts, washers and nylock nuts. Need long arms, but have not been loose again.

STARIA4000 · 05-05-2021, 05:04 PM

Thank you BlueWaterSUX for the description and photos.
I am a little late to this post but this past week driving back from a trip my passenger mirror started vibrating as if it is possessed.
I stopped and checked it out and I can see 2 of the screws holding it came all the way out of the fiberglass. Thor should be ashamed of themselves for installing such a heavy mirror using only screws.
Anyway, I tried removing the mirror arm so I can lift the cover off to access the screws but I could not get the darn thing off for the life of me. I will try lube and a hammer as I am sure it somehow seized.
My question to the people that fixed theirs with nuts and bolts, how did you access the other side of the plywood to add the washers and the nuts?
Thank you,

Scubawise · 05-05-2021, 05:34 PM

hey everyone heard great reviews about this. I ordered and will place on all screws $6

BlueWaterSUX · 05-05-2021, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STARIA4000

Anyway, I tried removing the mirror arm so I can lift the cover off to access the screws but I could not get the darn thing off for the life of me. I will try lube and a hammer as I am sure it somehow seized.
My question to the people that fixed theirs with nuts and bolts, how did you access the other side of the plywood to add the washers and the nuts?
Thank you,

I'll look for some photos of it apart, but the swing arm has cast cam lobes!!! Those lobes need to be aligned with the relief slots in the mount fitting before you can lift the arm off of the mount bracket. So try swinging it back and forth as you are lifting to see if you can get the arm's lobes to line up with the casting voids...There is also a retaining bolt that goes up into the arm from the bottom. You may need to remove a little plastic access trim button... AND A DEEP WELL SOCKET to remove that axel bolt.

As far as getting access to the back side... I didn't. I mixed up some good quality 2 part epoxy and coated the lag bolts with it. I also packed the holes full of epoxy using a long stick as well as I could, then inserted the lag bolts and slowly tensioned them one last and final time. After the epoxy cured I re-assembled the whole mirror and haven't had any issues since.

I'll look for a photo of the cam lobes, but this might get you started and I won't have time to find those photos for a bit.

Today I am fixing my ill-engineered rear closet hanging clothes bar... It never ends with stupid and cheap being the front end goal...

Good Luck

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