The Object Is, This Mirror Is Bigger Than It Appears : Product: Dusty Pace, tired of the clunky mirrors made for pulling trailers, has designed a sleeker version that extends at the touch of a button.
Dusty Pace was stopped by a police officer five years ago for pulling a trailer with a pickup that still had its original side mirrors. The officer, who let him escape with only a warning, explained that the mirrors were illegal because they didn’t extend beyond the width of his trailer.
“I realize that,” Pace said he told the officer. “But they don’t have any decent mirrors on the market.”
The problem, in his opinion, was that all of the side mirrors designed for use with campers or trailers were giant, clunky devices with several bars mounting in various places on the pickup’s door. They might have worked fine on older pickups, but the big metal mirrors were no longer in keeping with the style of today’s expensive, plush trucks.
Rather than risk another traffic stop, Pace decided to invent a mirror that would satisfy both Oregon law and his taste. Five years and several prototypes later, the Pendleton wood products businessman has started a company called Power Vision, which is preparing to start production of its mirrors in February in a plant the city is building for them near the airport.
Working with three business partners, Pace and the Power Vision principles have come up with a patented, six-way power-adjustable mirror that extends six inches to the side with the touch of a button, yet blends inconspicuously with the styling of a modern truck.
The final prototype, which is mounted on the driver’s side of Pace’s 1995 Chevy, is hardly distinguishable from the stock mirror on the passenger door. It’s a little bigger, with 28% more glass area, and there’s a black rubber accordion-style boot between the mirror and the mounting bracket.
The black paint on the back of the mirror is the same as the right side mirror, and the mounting bracket, which doesn’t include any metal arms, looks like the factory set-up.
“We don’t want people to notice it’s there,” says Power Vision sales manager Mike Gannon.
The secret to the design is found in the rubber boot, which allows the mirror to move in or out at the touch of a button. The button is mounted near the armrest, in the same area that houses the factory power mirror adjustment and door lock buttons.
At about $550, including installation, Pace doesn’t expect every pickup driver who tows a trailer to spring for the new mirror. But with the popularity of pickups, which can easily sell new for $25,000-$30,000 or more, he thinks there’s a market.
The plan is to sell 12,000 mirrors the first year and employ 18 workers who will earn a so-called family wage.
Gannon already has a list of 14,000 dealers that will receive brochures describing the Power Vision mirror, which will be sold through pickup and RV dealers and installed by dealer technicians.
Pace, Gannon, Dave Thompson and Curtis Moore, who are all involved in one of three wood products businesses operating near the airport, clearly have the feeling the product could be an enormous success.
“It’s an exciting project that we’re undertaking,” Gannon says.
Keeping the project local was important for the Power Vision players, Pace says. The city of Boardman wanted them to locate there, he said, but they chose to remain in Pendleton. They also use equipment made entirely in the U.S., specifically Oregon whenever possible.
An important piece of the project is the $360,000 facility that the city of Pendleton is building. All but $10,000 of that is coming from the city’s library trust fund in the form of a loan to the Airport Commission, according to Larry Lehman, Pendleton city manager.
The Airport Commission will repay the loan from the library trust fund at 7% interest over 12 years using the lease payments from Power Vision, he said. It’s a good deal for everyone, Lehman said, because the library trust fund currently makes only 4 1/2% interest from a government pool.
Power Vision has the option to buy the building after four years for either the cost of construction or the building’s assessed value, whichever is greater.
Although he insists it’s safe deal, Lehman admits it’s a bold move for Pendleton.
“The city is taking an aggressive approach to economic development,” he said. “The fact that they are a local business expanding into a new product line, and that we feel the product itself is a winner, made it a good deal. We’re hoping to have 18 family wage-type jobs with the possibility of many more in the future.”
The worst-case scenario, he said, is that Power Vision would fold and the city would be left with an empty building. With the city’s current lack of building space, however, that wouldn’t be much of a problem since finding another tenant would be easy, he said.
Another benefit for the city is that building the 12,000-square-foot Power Vision facility at the airport could stimulate more activity at the industrial park.
“We’re really trying to promote building development at the airport,” Lehman said.
