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Old 03-21-2005, 03:17 PM   #18
Bill
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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John -

I have never used the Tow-And-See, but let me offer a couple of random comments.

First, a wide-field convex miror is a good thing, because it will tell you that "something" is back there. But it provides NO depth perception - it gives you no clue how far back that "something" is. To estimate distance, you need a flat mirror. The phrase

"Objects in mirror are closer than they appear"

is an understatement, a gentle warning of that situation. And it will be even more true with a mirror as small as the Tow-And-See. It is possible you would need two Tow-And-Sees on each side - one convex, one flat.

Second, the Tow-And-Sees don't appear to stick out very far beyond the stock mirrors. If you have a wide tow vehicle, it may be enough. I'm not sure that a Montana falls into that category, since it is 72" wide, same as my Explorer - and my Explorer definitely does not fall into that category. Remember, a Trail Manor is 91" wide, and at a very minimum, you need to be able to see straight down both sides of the trailer. This means that your mirrors must be 91" apart at the middle of the glass - the outer edges will be farther apart.

After all, if small mirrors were adequate, 18-wheelers wouldn't use mirrors as big as a kitchen table.

There have been a lot of discussions about mirrors on the board. I'm sure you've seen them. Many people have tried clip-on/slide-on/tie-on mirrors, and been dissatisfied. Most have gone to McKesh, and you will find a lot of really enthusiastic McKesh supporters, both here and on other boards. True, one guy does say that he left his McKeshs in the garage. What was his tow vehicle? Regardless, if you make your decision based on this one guy, vs all the others, let us know what you find. There's more than one mirror in the world!

Bill
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