Anyone else tow with standard mirrors?

I tow a light weight trailer with my little Nissan Frontier pick up. I need mirrors. I just bought a set of fender mirrors for it from etrailer.com. I hope they'll work, the strap on mirrors fell off.

I always use strap on towing mirrors. Can't imagine not using them. If I forget to put them on I'll notice before I get out the driveway. I recently went on a trip using a 2005 F350 and really liked those mirrors as well. Still need to pull them all the way out for good visibility. I like to keep track of the other vehicle around me so I'm prepared to react in an emergency. I don't want to wait until I need to make a quick lane change due to something happening in front of me to wiggle the trailer, check my mirrors, etc. and then try and decide where all the other vehicles are before I can react. I also like to see cars coming up behind me that will whip over at the last second and go around you. If you can't see them until they are almost passing then it doesn't give you enough time.

BurbMan wrote:
...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.

+1

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.

john&bet wrote:

Jerrybo66 wrote:

elivi8 wrote:
I have extended mirrors and they help a lot. The other key factor is that if you are in a tight area and you bump the mirrors you KNOW that the trailer is next. It gives you a little warning and can save you lots of damage if you weren't paying close attention.

OK, Just a thought, are your extended mirrors within the legal 102" max? If your mirror gets "bumped" the trailer is next, but are you in a situation where your trailer should not be in? I'm all for safety but If I figure I can safely pass a 102 trailer I don't want to clip a mirror over the legal limit. It's rare but I've been in close quarters. There are safety standards but there are also those who sell items that have attraction to a consumer but nothing else. Just a thought, but if I can get passed your 102 trailer safely, I expect to get passed your truck.. IMO

Rear view mirrors are not limited to to 102" max. law. They are a safety item. Even semis can not see anyone right behind they in thier mirrors. If u see a sign on back of the trailer that says, if you can not see my mirrors then I can not see you, They mean it.

WOW finally the first correct answer and to see if you mirrors are sufficient go stand straight behind your rig 200' and then move 3' off centerline to each side and if you can't see at least one mirror then your mirrors are deficient and are IMO not safe. This is my test and opinion only since I believe the actual requirements are by state and just say you have to see a vehicle "X" feet behind you and generally don't get any more specific than that. I doubt many here except for MH and Class "C" have proper mirrors and even clip-ons might not be doing the job. I'm not even sure the Ford Towing mirrors are enough for the wider trailers, but I don't have any experience with them so I might be mistaken. Until you have towed with proper mirrors it's like trying to explain the color red to a person that has always been blind.

Larry

boosTT wrote:
I have always towed my 102" wide tt without towing mirrors and never had a problem.

You just think you never had a problem because you could not see the people you cut off when you changed lanes!

Dupe .... deleted.

ZeeLet50 wrote:
I just ordered my tow mirrors for my '09 Sierra. I will let you know once installed. I did not like the fact that I could not get a good view of the rear of the trailer and had to really look hard when passing a vehicle to make sure I was past them. I believe in safety and doing it right hence my decision. I like the fact that with the convex lower mirror, I will be able to see the trailer wheels when moving without having to move a mirror out of normal position to view.

Exactly. Once you get the new mirrors you will wonder how you did without them for so long and every other vehicle you drive will appear to have deficient mirrors. :)

Doing something and doing it "right" are often different matters. I prefer to use the proper tools to do the job right.

X2......whatever happened to having a little pride in being "safe & professional" out on the road????.....don't hear any truckers bragging about how they can tow without a good rear view down both sides of their rigs!!....I have alway used towing mirrors with convex mirrors.

I tow with standard mirrors but, I never go far from home, and never down the interstate. I have no idea how wide my trailer is. If I want to see behind me I just do a little wiggle with the trailer and then I can see.