If the right side mirrors says “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” throw them away. When you’re backing up a trailer, you need to see the same distance view in booth your mirrors. Having good big towing mirrors with spotter mirrors makes towing, turning and backing safer.
Mirrors are a big part of towing safety. I’ve always been amazed at folks that use little standard mirrors for a tow vehicle. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s easy to get spoiled with power folding and power telescoping mirrors. You don’t have to get out of your truck to pull the mirrors out. Nice in the rain and it can help when turning corners.
I’m big on spotter mirrors. Good factory tow mirrors will have a spotter (convex) mirror. I like even more spotter mirrors. This lets you position them to watch the side of your trailer as you turn and see those little cars moving into the blind spot. In the seventies we used what was called “West Coast” mirrors which were like mini semi truck mirrors. They did have a blind spot right behind them near the top at intersections because they were so tall, equal to the height of the truck door window.
- Use mirrors that are tall enough to see at least the bottom half of the rear of your trailer. If the mirror is too tall, it will cause a blind spot behind the top section of the mirror when driving through intersection with side traffic.
- Get an extra spotter mirror if your trailer mirror doesn’t have them. Convex spotter mirrors will show the blind spots near the sides of your truck where small cars hide. A good spotter mirror adjusted properly will show you where your trailer tires are when turning corners. This saves mailboxes and trailer fenders.
- With 7 foot and wider trailers, having telescoping trailer mirrors is a must for backing and tracking your trailer in your lane.
- This is the easy one, keep your mirrors clean. I wipe mine off when fueling up and cleaning the windshield at gas stations.
- Get the right mirrors on your new truck. A good factory tow mirror is hard to beat for not vibrating on our smooth interstates.
Power Vision was the first tow mirror I’ve seen that telescopes under power. You don’t have to get out of your truck to pull the mirrors out. Nice in the rain and it can help when turning corners.
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Power Vision Mirrors
