Mirrors or Not
Comments
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Bear in mind also that as soon as one deviates from a straight line the whole thing becomes a nonsense.
...Got to be quite a deviation if towing mirrors fitted correctly
Not that much. Once pulled onto a motorway hard shoulder on a slight left curve, when a passer by indicated we had a problem. It was not possible to pull out again as I could not see what traffic was coming up in the inside lane. We had to drive for a fair
way along the hard shoulder, through all the accumulated bits of rubbish, before we could rejoin.0 -
The regulations are quite clear in specifying a required angle of vision to the rear through the exterior mirrors. If that angle of vision is achievable without towing mirrors you don't need them, if not you do.
Exactly the point I've been making, Lutz.
Wall, against, brick, banging, head
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When I towed with a mercedes Vito van the extention mirrors needed extended length straps. You usually have to ask for them when buying mirrors with straps as the normal ones as too short for commercial vehicles. Extention mirrors make manuvering on site
much easier even although they do shake a bit out on the road.0 -
every type of mirror I have tried over the last thirty years have been useless, shaky and with blind spots you could hide a bus in. Personally I consider e en if you cannot quite se the required angle car mirrors are safer, and if you move your head a
couple of inches forward you generally cover the required angle. Not that I advocate not using towing mirrors if your van is wide .Towing mirrors are a legal requirement on most outfits so shaky or not, blind spots or not they are cheaper than a fine and better than points on your licence.
I would admit mine shake a bit but they do increase my view and combined with the car mirrors I get far more rear view than without. I cannot see me ditching them law or no law.
Well said. The chances of getting stopped without extension mirrors is much higher than if they are fitted. Once stopped, I suspect it would be very difficult to prove that there was sufficient rear view to comply with the law. Having extension mirrors fitted
provides absolute evidence that the correct visibility has been achieved. The result would be a fine. Personally I fit both even though my 4x4 provides a good view in it's own mirrors. I find the offside one significantly improves my rear view but the nearside
one enhances the view much less.0 -
Not me, I'm not clever. I've only stated what the regs are as has Lutz and Jill.
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Not me, I'm not clever. I've only stated what the regs are as has Lutz and Jill.
So to summarise. The regulation does not mandate the use of extension mirrors when towing a trailer.
When that trailer is a caravan it is most unlikely that you are able to comply with the regulation without mirrors.
Seems clear to me. If you are towing a caravan you need Extension mirrors.
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Not me, I'm not clever. I've only stated what the regs are as has Lutz and Jill.
So to summarise. The regulation does not mandate the use of extension mirrors when towing a trailer.
When that trailer is a caravan it is most unlikely that you are able to comply with the regulation without mirrors.
Seems clear to me. If you are towing a caravan you need Extension mirrors.
But this is about the OP who tows with a commercial vehicle which bears commercial vehicle size exterior mirrors. We're not talking about the likes of you or I towing with a 'normal' car.
How many times have I said only the OP can tell if extension mirrors are needed? I'm not advocating use or non-use as its for each individual to decide.
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Sorry I'm a bit thick, so would one of you clever people please help me out. By listing, the suitable tow vechicle caravan combinations, which would comply with the law as it stands without extension mirrors?
Thank you
Write your comments here...
I am towing with range rover with a total width to tip of mirrors of 2.220 metres.
The caravan is an average width van of 2.250 metres.
This suggests to me that even with a Range Rover, towing mirrors would be needed by law as the van is wider than the mirrors.
As the Op states his caravan is 2 inches wider than his van this would suggest the need for mirrors.
However the spec for a boxer van shows a width of 2.050 meteres without mirrors and 2.5 meteres with mirrors
So I would think that with a narrow caravan the law may be satisfied without mirrors, but only just.
If the van is 2 inches wider than his mirrors, then my guess would be, that he was running the risk of a fine.
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Sorry I'm a bit thick, so would one of you clever people please help me out. By listing, the suitable tow vechicle caravan combinations, which would comply with the law as it stands without extension mirrors?
Thank you
The answer is so complicated it would never fit on here. Basically almost all car and caravan combinations need extending mirrors but with one or two narrow caravans and the widest towcars you might be legal. Those combinations are unlikely to be of any interest to most people as those with very large towcars probably want very large towcars.
Basically when you get to vans of the size used by the OP there are many caravans narrower than the width of the van including the mirrors which would be legal. If you go back a few years the number of legal combinations would be substantial. The van could easily tow a Lunar Ariva and most other narrower models.
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Thanks everyone. Really helpful and yes I do have 4 meters and 20% vision from each mirror...happy days !
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On second thoughts.. I,'m going to stick to Byers
On third thoughts I'm going to attach them but then I'm illegal because they stick out more than 200mm from the van ..so beheading pedestrians on the pavement !
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Perhap one of the members that know chapter and verse about the "law" and what it requires could explain to us what the "law" requires when turning a corner and you cant even see the front of the van through one of the mirrors let alone down the side.How does the "law" work on that one then ?
v9
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I have been using mirrors this year after not using them for around 14 years and in my opinion there are a must , they take a bit of getting use to , I have marked my car mirrors so they are fixed in the correct place each time and they enable me to see the length of the caravan and more .
I would recommend them to all.
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Bear in mind also that as soon as one deviates from a straight line the whole thing becomes a nonsense.
...Got to be quite a deviation if towing mirrors fitted correctly
Sorry JVB but i have to agree with RR man here you only need to be a few degrees off straight and one mirror is rendered totally useless.
v9
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Perhap one of the members that know chapter and verse about the "law" and what it requires could explain to us what the "law" requires when turning a corner and you cant even see the front of the van through one of the mirrors let alone down the side.How
does the "law" work on that one then ?v9
The law only requires you to see down both sides when the outfit is in line. You are allowed the restricted view on bends as a view round the side is simply impossible then.
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Thanks for the advice here guys, I found it really useful.
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Unbelievable certainly. If she needed mirrors, she should have had them.
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I have always used tow mirrors since I started 35 years ago. Strange thing is that a few years ago I towed from a site onto a particularly windy road. Several miles of it. It was only when I hit the straight that I realised that I had forgot to put my mirrors on.
Because the road was so bendy I kept getting a view one side or the other from the car mirrors and when I hit the straight realised that I could not see down the caravan. Into first pull in to fix!0 -
It's hard work towing without extended mirrors. Apart from when I've forgot to fit on the site & then realised and pulled over to fit them, I've towed with just one mirror a couple of times. Once when a k**b in a Saab decided there was room to pass me (in the opposite direction) and there wasn't and smashed my driver's side mirror, and then when I dropped one while fitting it in French France 😳. Fortunately the passenger side mirror was of more use to me while on the wrong side of the car.
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At the moment I'm using Milenco Aero towing mirrors. I bought them after reading good reviews of them. Sadly I've been dissapointed with them and I find the view restricting, and, to be honest, I tend to llok in the car wing mirrors rather than the Aero mirrors. Not only that, but I find them a pain to adjust to get in the right position. I'm so tempted to go back to my Suck-it-and-See wing mirrors which I liked.
David
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