Understand Your Car's Towing Mirror Better

Do you know about a car towing mirror? It is that one auto part that is absolutely essential on any truck that pulls weight. You can observe that these car tow mirrors extend outward further than a standard truck mirror, thereby increasing the driver's rearward vision. A nice pair of extension car towing mirror enables you to have a good and pleasant look at the nearby surroundings. So, the only confusion that you’ll face is while replacing to trailer towing mirrors and choosing among the options that are most suitable for the truck.

Here listed are the various types of car towing mirrors:

1. Manual Car Towing Mirrors - The most basic design in the variety of tow mirrors is the manual car towing mirror. Since these mirrors do not have any wiring, they are the simplest upgrade for any driveway. Generally, and in case of most vehicles, the door panel has to be removed to get access to the bolts which fasten the car tow mirror on. A car towing mirror can be certainly picked up as an upgrade if the door panel can be removed. 
2. Power Car Towing Mirrors - Power car towing mirrors are the second step up from the manual car towing mirrors. Power car mirrors are similar to the manual car towing mirrors in appearance, with the major difference between the two being that the power car towing mirrors have a wiring setup inside them. Two or three wires extend out of the base of the mirror, which plug into the door wiring on the truck. The door wiring is woven through in such a way that it is connected to the power mirror switch. Installation of a power tow mirror is simple and does not involve any trickery. The installation procedure is not very different as in the case of manual tow mirror.
3. Telescoping / Telescopic / Extendable Car Towing Mirrors - The topic of telescoping mirrors is inextricably linked to the trailer car towing mirrors. Telescoping mirrors, better known as telescopic or extendable mirrors are a type of mirror which is used to enhance the rearward vision as they can extend from the sides of the vehicle. Telescopic mirrors offer the same purposes and features as the non-telescopic mirrors including power, manual, puddle-light, turn signal, folding etc. however, the feature relating to enhancing the rearward vision is mostly only offered in the car towing mirror applications, as it is not required on the standard-sized view mirrors. Telescopic mirrors can be of two types: the manual telescopic car mirrors, which can be extended outward with physical human force and the powered telescopic car mirrors which are controlled by automatic buttons, which makes their functioning much more efficient and comfortable. Keep in mind that the mirror should not be extended without looking around or checking for pedestrians and bicyclists sass it may cause inconvenience to them. This automotive gesture may disturb anybody off guard. Telescopic car mirrors can prove to be a great upgrade if a truck already has car towing mirrors. This would give a complete vision of whatever it is towing. The telescopic car towing mirrors would also give a bigger appearance to the truck which enhances the look of the truck.
4. Turn Signal / Directional Car Tow Mirrors - Some car towing mirrors come with built in elaborate options, but of course, these being the higher end mirrors, are more expensive than the normal mirrors. Some of the fancier trucks offer directional tow mirrors which have the option of turn signals. The turn signals/directional can be set into the mirror’s plastic casing or molded itself into the glass. These mirrors offer other options as well including puddle lights, and heat. The mirror manufacturers have also succeeded in creating mirrors was extra-long wires which splice into the turn signal harness of the truck. These car mirrors are built for the trucks which are not the type to be built with the option of the turn signal mirror. This might turn out to be a complicated procedure, but it offers numerous benefits such as additional safety at the time of towing. Even if a truck has these options from the time of manufacture with the standard size car mirrors, the larger car tow mirror wiring harnesses are often engineered in a way so that they can be plugged in without any complications. However, this completely depends on the year, make and model of the truck.
5. Clip-on Car Mirrors - The clip-on car tow mirrors are one of the most convenient and cheap way to add towing mirrors to any vehicle. They are designed in such a way so that they can easily snap onto the smaller standard car mirrors and give great additional rearward vision. They lack the features offered by many of the bolt-on trailer mirrors, but the incredibly easy method to install and uninstall these mirrors makes them a popular choice for many truck owners.

Trying to figure out how the towing mirror operates? Follow the section to know more about the operations of car towing mirror:

Well, size is an important factor when dealing with car mirrors. If there is a huge difference between the reflective space and the view, the full or the required vision will not be obtained. This is a problem we can see in terms of our daily lives, for example if a handheld car mirror is presented to us to assess our entire outfit, the size of the car mirror will of course be wrong for the task given to us.

The experience of towing something is similar to this scenario in a lot of situations. The reflective space of the standard mirror may not sufficient to give a proper view of the accessories, campers, trailers or other kinds of loads being towed and this would consequently lead to the magnification of the blind spot zones while driving. Reports state that blind spots are the major cause of towing-related accidents on the road today. Blind spots are a hazard with driving and towing and this is why evaluating visibility while towing is important, and all necessary steps, including installation of side mirrors to make sure that the field of vision covers all traffic and obstacles on the road.

Another reason besides the safety concern is the law mandated for towing mirror regulations by the states. The basic underline of the law is that the entire length of the trailer and the traffic behind it must be clearly visible to the driver. Thus, the required size of the towing mirrors may be decided on the basis of the size of the trailer.

A large number of options are available for the type of towing mirrors. Towing mirrors maybe included in some of the towing packages, and can also be purchased individually. The next page covers the types of tasks each type of mirror is suited for.

Car towing mirrors are essential while towing a trailer because of the prime concern about the safety and visibility. These car mirrors reduce the possibility of any blind spots or blind zones for both, the driver, as well as the passenger’s side, and increases the view of the roadway behind. This becomes even more important in the cases where taller trailers are being towed, for example, rvs or camp trailers, enclosed cargo trailers etc. Towing mirrors level up the safety factor as it makes easier to spot the motorcycles or vehicles which would have otherwise been in the blind zone. Car towing mirrors also help to ensure that the sides of the trailer are avoided getting hit, as this problem is there even when the trailers have been packed tightly.

Even though it is not possible to see the area behind the trailers completely, car towing mirrors are much better as compared to the standard mirrors, as they stick farther out from the sides of the vehicles and this allows them to reflect a greater area behind the vehicle as well as beyond the sides of the trailer.

While using the towing mirrors, you can face a number of problems that include:

One of the most tiresome issues with car towing mirrors is that they may not be able to give a complete vision of the trailer that is being towed. It also becomes hectic having to attach and detach the mirrors off of the side view mirrors all the time. These problems of the conventional towing mirrors have been overcome by the long view towing mirrors, which have been designed this way especially.

Longview towing mirrors are very popular with truck owners because of their line of high-quality slip on towing mirrors. The mirrors from Longview are easy to slip off and on the side mirrors unlike the run-of-the-mill towing mirrors. The company works with major vehicle manufacturing companies including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Mazda and Isuzu. It has designed over a hundred types of variety of mirrors, with the best automotive and environmental standards. The long view towing mirrors are incredibly convenient with their installation process. It goes as follows: the towing mirror needs to gently be sipped on the side mirrors. The next step is to sort through the bag of accessories with is provided with the mirrors and find the hook provided. This hook then has to positioned on the inside edge of the regular mirror. The towing mirror’s shell has a hole where the threaded end of the hook has to be inserted. The knob of the towing mirror then has to be tightened till the mirror fits perfectly. Refrain from tightening it too much. This process has to be repeated for all the other mirrors.

If customers trust a brand, then it would make them loyal, and if they are loyal, then they will surely buy more. We are well aware that customers want comfort, cheerfulness as well as satisfaction in their lives and that’s the reason why we offer top quality auto parts brands to our customers. We make sure to provide a positive experience to our consumers from the brands which we are offering so that they can form an opinion that a particular auto parts brand is trustworthy and would give them peace of mind while they are purchasing it for their car. Here we have listed out some top brands for car towing mirror:

Cipa USA Towing Mirror

Planning to change the towing mirror? Just follow these simple steps in order for performing this task:

Step 1: It should be noted that different types and different brands of car towing mirrors have different installation processes and varying time periods. Portable towing mirrors can be installed easily as they require minimal assembly. With permanent car towing mirror models, however, professional supervision may be required. Secure installation is important for both portable and permanent models as negligence on this part may cause the towing mirror to get detached while you’re driving down the road. It would be helpful to thoroughly go through the instructions for attaching the mirror to your vehicle.

Step 2: The hot spot car mirrors can be installed conveniently by peeling off an adhesive strip and sticking it to the appropriate place provided on the side mirrors. Slide mirrors also have easy installation process as they are customized for specific models and makes. The towing mirror can be slid onto the frame of the side mirror and hooked into the appropriate position with the help of tailored hardware which is provided with the towing mirror.

Step 3: Universal fit car mirrors may be of many types such as mirrors which need to be strapped to the fenders. They are not much work either, except they might require a few minutes for assembling since they may or may not come in a single piece. There are the clip-on universal-fit towing mirrors which usually don’t require any tools. This type of mirror only needs to be clipped-on the top and bottom of the side mirror, and attached more securely using a strap. Another type of towing mirrors is the fender mount mirrors.

The first step in their installation process is the opening up the hood of the vehicle to attach the mounts to the fenders at the edge of the hood. The bottom mount has to be attached to the fender placed above the front tire. There are certain brands that also include straps which help you to secure the mirror to be secured well. The only major difference between door mount mirrors and fender mount mirrors is that door mount mirrors have to attached to the passenger and driver doors.

Step 4: Permanent car mirrors are tougher to handle because the installation process requires the driver and passenger door panels to be removed completely. So yes, this becomes tricky and cannot be done without causing some damage to the vehicle. Permanent mirrors which are provided with the functions of LEDs and heating functions will also involve rewiring which can be better handled by a professional.