Just some questions. I would be interested in your thoughts, ideas on extension mirrors. Do you use them? What brands do you have? I know some states require them while towing. I bought a pair from Curt Mfg. They are held on with rubber straps which deteriorate very quickly. When I complained to Curt they very nicely sent a second set of straps (They claimed that the new straps were of a better material.) but the new straps have deteriorated too. Thanks.
I bought a pair of McKesh Mirrors which are some of best (if not the best) aftermarket extension mirrors for passenger vehicles.
I found that they do help me see behind the tailer quite a bit, but I also found that I get along fine without them.
I currently have them up for sale but at this point I am not interested in shipping them.
(Towing 16 foot Scamp with a Toyota Sienna van, YMMV)
Thanks Gordon.I'll look into the McKesh Mirrors.
If they fit your mirrors, I've been pleased with Grand Aero extension mirrors. Both will be convex mirrors that make images smaller - I ordered a flat mirror (only available from the UK st the time) for the driver's side. The flat mirror shows more shake than the convex, but is acceptable.
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I'm elaborating on and bumping up athearn2's question on extension mirrors, because it's been a month now and there's not a lot of feedback.
It makes me uneasy, to have limited vision behind my 2016 13' Scamp. Tow vehicle is 2013 Subaru Outback (which from the power point of view seems to totally rock trailing, btw, and still has decent mpg when not trailing anything). I can never tell when somebody's tailgating me, unless I've been watching them pull up closer and closer. And it's hard to tell when it's both safe and courteous to pull in, when passing. I have to have been paying close attention and then make a really great judgment call. Better vision - real *evidence* - seems like better grounds for all maneuvers.
I'm wondering how much of an extension is really necessary, when getting extension mirrors for my Outback. Of course, the more, the merrier; but I've read some things about long-extension/strap-on-door McKesh mirrors putting some deformation that doesn't recover in the window weather stripping gasket. So is anybody happy with some of the extensions that fasten to the car's mirrors, for a smaller tow vehicle like mine? Reviews seem to vary widely, and I suspect have a lot to do with how good a job the user did in attaching the extensions to the original mirrors.
I also wonder, is it really important/necessary to have the passenger side mirror extension be convex? Because that makes it really hard to tell when to pull in, when passing. I don't want to light anybody's fire, and I do want to be as polite as possible. Actually I want to go well beyond polite, as much as possible.
Thanks for more discussion and feedback.
Joan
I have replied to the question before but not to this group. It is important to be able to see down the sides of what ever you are pulling. That helps see into blind spots and seeing tailgaters. My F-150 is wide and I do not need towing mirrors to pull a Scamp but did when I pulled the Prowler.
I can't stand strap on mirrors and I don't need extended mirrors on my truck. Others on other forums have recommended Milenco mirrors. For a while they were hard to find but now it looks like Dometic now owns the company and I am seeing them in RV shops and now on Amazon which they get fairly good reviews. A little rich for my billfold but if I really needed them I might buy a set. No experience with them myself.
Eddie
I have been thinking of adding a backup camera to the 13' I have on order. Couldn't I just run that all the time as a rear view camera? Or am I missing something?
What would the camera transmit to for the monitor? I have a Garmin GPS I still use and it had a BC30 camera as an option It fed the camera from the Scamp back up lights and the GPS switches to the camera when in reverse only. Some vehicles can select a second camera when wanted But then the camera may need to be powered 100% of the time
2019 Scamp 13 standard
Yes, it would have to have constant power. I'm assuming the same view would work for backing up and a rear view for traffic. Isn't that what I see on large RVs?
Yes that is a possibility on some systems. some even have multiple cameras to choose like left and right sides for blind spots.
2019 Scamp 13 standard