Newbie question on mirrors

[luvmydogs]

I know this may be a stupid question,but are there some kind of extention outside rear view mirrors to put on your tow vehicle to see with? We have an Expedition with what I think are regular rear view mirrors. Will they do?

[dadmomh]

Yep, this is one worth doing battle over. No, you cannot see everything you need to with standard OEM mirrors unless they're the newer ones with extensions. We have McKesh and they've served us well. Re the vibration...fixed that with a couple of those lambswool seat belt things at the spot where the straps hit the door. Check that off. Re the window scratching.....fixed that with the fuzzy side of some sticky Velcro. You may have to replace it occasionally, but it does the job. Strongly suggest you go ahead and get the round convex mirrors to add on. Amazing the things you'll find behind you.

[ChooChooMan74]

I use the cipa door mirrors from etrailer, which are the same as the mckesh. I like them. My review of them is on the etrailer site.

[luvmydogs]

Well I've gone to 2 sights now and was told twice there mirrors didnt fit a 2012 Expedition. Geeze!!! Looking at those in the first response link.

[BurbMan]

luvmydogs wrote:
My hubby claims he can see along side of the trailer just fine with the mirrors on the SUV. Are the extentions a "must have" or personal preferenc? Our trailer is just 24 ft. I just want to know if I should go to battle with him on this or let him decide.

If your trailer is 7' wide, then I would say he's probably right. If the trailer is a full size 8' wide, then I call BS. Yes, if you "wag" the trailer you can temporarily see down the side that is angled in toward the truck, but driving in a straight line down the road, you cannot see...With proper mirrors, you should be able to see the back bumper of the trailer when driving in a straight line, ie without the need to "wag" the trailer.

We towed our 26' Mallard (8' wide) with our 2000 Expedition, and I thought I was OK with the factory mirrors until we got into heavy fast-moving traffic and I couldn't see to change lanes when I needed to.

The first mirrors we got were these:



They were inexpensive and did OK. Then we got the 34' Sunnybrook and I was back to square one, so I got a set of McKesh:



These were awesome mirrors, but not without issues...

Finally a member here on the forum was selling his truck and looking to sell his OEM-style extendable mirrors, so I got them for cheap. Best by a long shot.

[luvmydogs]

Oh Mbutts we were surprised about alot with the expeditions. It was the only suv we could get than folded down flat enought to house all our animal crates in back. I would have thought they all had tow packages, but they certainly dont. It was hard finding one with the full tow package. Now we have to put in an after market braker controller because ford didnt make one for this suv. Very strange I thought. I will look up those mirrors, thanks.

[mbutts]

I had great luck with McKesh Mirrors on my Expedition. Found 'em on Craigslist for about $75 and sold 'em five years later for the same price. New, they are about $130. I didn't have the scratching problem that lanerd had.

I always found it strange that the Expy, with its ability as a tow vehicle, doesn't have tow mirrors from the factory or aftermarket, just the add-on models.

[luvmydogs]

scbwr, the link does not pull anythign up

[scbwr]

Aero towing mirrors!
Aero towing mirrors.

[luvmydogs]

My hubby claims he can see along side of the trailer just fine with the mirrors on the SUV. Are the extentions a "must have" or personal preferenc? Our trailer is just 24 ft. I just want to know if I should go to battle with him on this or let him decide.

[lanerd]

I had McKesh mirrors on my Tundra and while they normally worked pretty good, they did have some vibration to them. However, they also would scratch my windows whenever I would raise or lower them. I tried many times to adjust them so they wouldn't scratch but was never really successful.

Ron

[Tennessee_Nomad]

There are numerous aftermarket mirror extensions. Google "tow mirror extensions" and look for ones that will fit your particular vehicle. I bought a pair for a previous vehicle I had and they were crap. They vibrated like crazy and were mostly unuseable. Buy the best ones you can afford.

[intheburbs]

There are products available like THESE, and I used them on my first tow with my TT. Shortly thereafter, I upgraded to full-on extendable towing mirrors, and every truck I own has them and will have them.