Anyone else tow with standard mirrors?
I have always towed my 102" wide tt without towing mirrors and never had a problem. I even towed for a few years with a narrow ford ranger. Am I one of the few?
Forum Discussion
See this thread.
When we got our first TT I towed with the stock mirrors on the Expedition, I had no idea there was such a thing called towing mirrors. Figured it was normal to have to wag the trailer to see behind it. Then got the clip ons which did more to "check the box" for the popo than for actual visibility. The McKesh strap ons were great but a pain take on/off. Now have the CIPA "dumbo" extendables in place of the factory mirrors and they are awesome, well worth the money.
There are many options out there, but I would say that if you AT A MINIMUM cannot see all the way down both sides of the trailer to the rear bumper of the trailer, you have INSUFFICIENT VISIBILITY and are a hazard on the road, regardless of what the laws say.
If you are in a rural area with few other vehicles on the road, it's not so bad because driving is pretty predictable...but in any urban area with crowded multi-lane interstates with numerous merges, you are at serious risk. You change lanes to the right without seeing what's there and you could easily force a compact car off the road with a larger TT.
If you are not using some type of extendable or auxiliary mirrors when towing I would strongly encourage you to do so for everyone's safety.
When we got our first TT I towed with the stock mirrors on the Expedition, I had no idea there was such a thing called towing mirrors. Figured it was normal to have to wag the trailer to see behind it. Then got the clip ons which did more to "check the box" for the popo than for actual visibility. The McKesh strap ons were great but a pain take on/off. Now have the CIPA "dumbo" extendables in place of the factory mirrors and they are awesome, well worth the money.
There are many options out there, but I would say that if you AT A MINIMUM cannot see all the way down both sides of the trailer to the rear bumper of the trailer, you have INSUFFICIENT VISIBILITY and are a hazard on the road, regardless of what the laws say.
If you are in a rural area with few other vehicles on the road, it's not so bad because driving is pretty predictable...but in any urban area with crowded multi-lane interstates with numerous merges, you are at serious risk. You change lanes to the right without seeing what's there and you could easily force a compact car off the road with a larger TT.
If you are not using some type of extendable or auxiliary mirrors when towing I would strongly encourage you to do so for everyone's safety.
