Tow-N-See Towing Mirrors

[jerem0621]

just got my towing mirrors for the Chrysler Town and Country. I haven't seen these mentioned here very much and wanted to show this as an option for people out there. Maybe do a longer term review as they age too.

here they are installed from the front.



These mirrors use fancy suction cups to mount directly to the TV's mirrors... I know.. I know... Suction Cups?????

Yes, but they are a little more than just that.

These give the user an advantage that no other add on Tow Mirrors can give... the ability to adjust the tow mirrors from inside the TV by using the power mirrors in the TV.

There is a drivers side and a passenger side... The drivers side is a flat mirror while the passenger side is convex.

Here are a few more pics, a little closer up





There is a knob on the end of the mount that you turn to create a very strong vacuum that holds the mirror very securely.

Sounds crazy but there is little to no vibration in the mirror at towing speeds, there is a safety strap just in case the mirror falls off.

The instructions are pretty clear, clean the mirror, clean the suction cup.. install, tighten the knob down.

Here is a picture of the convex mirror..




Why did I choose these?

These mirrors are the only option that do not clamp onto the body of the mirror or on the door of the TV. They are the only aftermarket tow mirror that is somewhat adjustable on the fly.

Anyway.. I don't have a lot of miles on them right now, but plan to put thousands on this summer with the PUP.. we will see how they hold up and if any issues arise.. I may try to update this thread from time to time as they wear in and if any issues pop up.


Thanks!

Jeremiah

[gmw_photos]

Speaking of the strap on kind, and "noisy", I tried this one:

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/cipa-universal-tow-mirror/21154

....and it created so much wind howl at anything over about 35 mph, I could not leave the window down at all, and even with the window up, it was annoying. I tried building various "air re-delfectors" with duct tape, to no avail. So that one too ended up on the scrap shelf.

[gijoecam]

I went with these:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/xlr-ratchet-clip-on-tow-mirror/55143

Yes, they're strap-ons, but I have crome mirror bezels and the plastic hardware and stretchy straps didn't leave any marks on them at all. My only complaint was the 'moaning' noise they made at-speed (they were NOISY!) but in terms of function, they were excellent.

Any of the ones that stick to the mirror glass itself will be pulling on the little plastic gears inside the mirror that drive the mechanism. They are not engineered to take those sorts of loads and will quickly fail. I would not recommend those solely for that reason.

Good luck!

[gmw_photos]

I tried those ( in your original post ) and gave up on them quickly too. I then went to Aero 2, and they worked well. One nice thing about the Aero 2, is if you do not need all the width that the "rod" can provide, you can cut that rod shorter and that allowed me to pull the mirror in to where it was right at the edge of the factory mirror.
I have since changed out the original factory mirrors with tow mirrors, but while I used the aero 2's, they worked very well.

[jerem0621]

N-Trouble wrote:
Just looking at how those attach they have "bad idea" written all over them.

Yep, they are...asked my son to turn the mirrors once after we parked...he grabbed the tow mirror to turn the whole side mirror in..terrible idea.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[N-Trouble]

Just looking at how those attach they have "bad idea" written all over them.

[jerem0621]

Verdict is in...

These things are not good... at all.

They are okay for a quick 15 minute trip, but not for hours of driving. And the convex mirror surface started to come off at the bottom.

I noticed that my neck was starting to hurt while driving, I think these mirrors are the culprit.. I found myself adjusting my seating position so that I could see out the mirrors... even though they are adjustable from the inside you have to choose, do you want to really see out of the vehicles side view mirror or do you really want to see out of the towing mirror.

I found myself wishing that I could see out of both at a simple glance.

In other words...

I'm taking them back and going to try and get my money back, then I am ordering Aero 2's.

Thanks for the feedback again, I am sure some of you probably knew where this would end with the tow mirrors.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[jerem0621]

Thanks for the Feedback Pitch! We got our first tow in with the tow-n-see mirrors last night and I very much like them! They do exactly what I need..

We are taking off on a 150 mile trip today...hopefully have more feedback soon.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[pitch]

As to the McKesh!! I had pair did not like them at all. They are excellent in function, probably the best you can find. However one wet snowy rainy day my straps stretched, loosened, whatever, started vibrating and destroyed my doors, both sides. Drivers side was buffed and polished passenger got a total repaint. I had had them on and of and used them for several trips before this,so I do not think that it was operator error.
Just my experience,take it for what you will!

[jerem0621]

Fordlover wrote:

jerem0621 wrote:
Thanks for the Feedback! I'll try to be careful to remove the mirrors or turn in my mirrors if parked and I need them on.

I did leave them on today and drive into work...seems to work great up to 62-65 mph...there is vibration above that though.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

That was always the problem with any pair of add-on towing mirrors I tried. Call me crazy, but that's when I need mirrors the most, when merging, or changing lanes at 60MPH. The Mckesh mirrors aren't a pretty solution, but they work and haven't scratched my truck over 7 years now.

Awesome!

Thanks for the report on the McKesh mirrors! If these don't work out for me I will look at those and the Aero2's in more detail.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Fordlover]

jerem0621 wrote:
Thanks for the Feedback! I'll try to be careful to remove the mirrors or turn in my mirrors if parked and I need them on.

I did leave them on today and drive into work...seems to work great up to 62-65 mph...there is vibration above that though.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

That was always the problem with any pair of add-on towing mirrors I tried. Call me crazy, but that's when I need mirrors the most, when merging, or changing lanes at 60MPH. The Mckesh mirrors aren't a pretty solution, but they work and haven't scratched my truck over 7 years now.

[jerem0621]

Hi APT...yes..I strongly considered the Aero 2... If these do not work out for me then I will be buying the Aero 2.

I wanted to try and avoid a clamping add on mirror on my painted bezels and I wanted to try the adjustability of the mirror via the power mirrors. Plus these things weigh nothing...holding these and the other types of mirror show the significant weight difference.

The mirror and the suction cup must absolutly be clean for it to work correctly and that's the big caveat.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[APT]

I can think of some potential problems with those. Did you consider the Grand Aero 2?

[jerem0621]

Thanks for the Feedback! I'll try to be careful to remove the mirrors or turn in my mirrors if parked and I need them on.

I did leave them on today and drive into work...seems to work great up to 62-65 mph...there is vibration above that though.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[tvman44]

Be careful around those type mirrors, I have a set I no longer use because they got bumped into a few times by people and ended up stripping the motorized mechanism in my power mirrors. 😞