Both of which will give you a great view of the front of the caravan!, neither will help or substitute for a mirror.
The wider visibility angle that towing mirrors provide are essential IMHO when joining via a slip road , or changing lanes.
The wider visibility angle that towing mirrors provide are essential IMHO when joining via a slip road , or changing lanes.
Parksy
Moderator
Discussions such as this are amusing.
As an ex-HGV driver and caravanner with over 20 years experience, almost every vehicle that I see on the highways and byways towing a caravan legitimately has towing mirrors fitted, in addition to the normal vehicle mirrors.
They are fitted to give the towing driver a good field of vision to the rear and sides from the drivers seat.
Nobody cares about how many centimetres the towing mirrors stick out, or about the finer points of the law, the fitting of towing mirrors is plain old commonsense.
They can be bought for a few quid, so they needn't break the bank.
Lorries usually have more than one mirror, I had the normal mirrors plus additional ones for a wider angle across carriageway lanes.
Nobody asked how far they stuck out from the tractor cab, but the distance was far wider than any caravan towing mirrors.
The only tow vehicles that I regularly see without towing mirrors are used by members of the travelling community.
Everybody else uses towing mirrors.
As an ex-HGV driver and caravanner with over 20 years experience, almost every vehicle that I see on the highways and byways towing a caravan legitimately has towing mirrors fitted, in addition to the normal vehicle mirrors.
They are fitted to give the towing driver a good field of vision to the rear and sides from the drivers seat.
Nobody cares about how many centimetres the towing mirrors stick out, or about the finer points of the law, the fitting of towing mirrors is plain old commonsense.
They can be bought for a few quid, so they needn't break the bank.
Lorries usually have more than one mirror, I had the normal mirrors plus additional ones for a wider angle across carriageway lanes.
Nobody asked how far they stuck out from the tractor cab, but the distance was far wider than any caravan towing mirrors.
The only tow vehicles that I regularly see without towing mirrors are used by members of the travelling community.
Everybody else uses towing mirrors.
i have always fitted towing mirrors even when we had a Kip Kompakt 300 caravan i like to see the rear view visibility is very important to me .
Many thanks for all the replies. Lots of great advice, much appreciated.
Looking at the diagram posted by the Prof, my standard mirrors on my car achieve the blue area of vision, so I am not sure that I would gain a lot from towing mirrors, maybe see the wheels for curb avoidance, but I can see the curb and know where the wheels are.
Since initially thinking about this, I have been paying attention to caravans being towed. My conclusion is that at least 95% of caravans are significantly wider than the vehicles towing them.
Because my caravan is much narrower than average and my car is wide, in fact wide enough for the mirrors to extend 10cm wider than the caravan, I will ponder the subject some more, but my current thinking is, that the laws are contradictory and I have decent vision down the sides of the caravan, so don't need more mirrors. I may try them some day and see if the additional vision is more helpful than the hindrance of the extra width
Basically, I believe that I meet the practical requirement or the law and if challenged on the measurements, I will listen and respond as I judge appropriate.
Looking at the diagram posted by the Prof, my standard mirrors on my car achieve the blue area of vision, so I am not sure that I would gain a lot from towing mirrors, maybe see the wheels for curb avoidance, but I can see the curb and know where the wheels are.
Since initially thinking about this, I have been paying attention to caravans being towed. My conclusion is that at least 95% of caravans are significantly wider than the vehicles towing them.
Because my caravan is much narrower than average and my car is wide, in fact wide enough for the mirrors to extend 10cm wider than the caravan, I will ponder the subject some more, but my current thinking is, that the laws are contradictory and I have decent vision down the sides of the caravan, so don't need more mirrors. I may try them some day and see if the additional vision is more helpful than the hindrance of the extra width
Basically, I believe that I meet the practical requirement or the law and if challenged on the measurements, I will listen and respond as I judge appropriate.
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I think the majority of replies reflected members who have experience of more conventional wider caravans. I’ve had a Trigano pop top but it was wider than your caravan. So I expect with such a narrow van, your car mirrors will provide the required field of vision. The extra width of towing mirrors should not be any hindrance as thousands of caravanners don’t find them a problem. The fitment is relatively independent of caravan width.
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The law sets out the minimum field of view, but there is nothing in the law that restricts you to that minimum. I personally like as much rearward view coverage, on the basis you can make better informed decisions about what's going on around you.
Having once met a traffic officer at a service area on the M5 who was patrolling the caravan service area telling caravan owners "helpful facts" which were far from correct, I'd buy a cheap set and keep them in the caravan "just in case" you meet PC Stubborn or one of his similarly mis-informed colleagues*
*Yes, I know most of our police officers are highly trained but trying to argue what you know to be correct during a roadside check isn't going to end well/quickly if the one you meet isn't completely clued up!
Frankly the precise cm to cm requirement is just too detailed for most of us, certainly for me. Profs diagram is good enough for me.
I tow a 7'6" caravan and add towing mirrors.
I also tow a 7'6" boat, but as the widest part is above the mirrors I can see perfectly well without wide mirrors.
I prefer not to overthink this.
I tow a 7'6" caravan and add towing mirrors.
I also tow a 7'6" boat, but as the widest part is above the mirrors I can see perfectly well without wide mirrors.
I prefer not to overthink this.
Over all the years I was a traffic cop I cannot recall a single occasion where anyone even mentioned mirrors protruding beyond what was permitted, let alone booked anyone.
I would fit a set to give you the best view possible and not give it a second thought.
I would fit a set to give you the best view possible and not give it a second thought.
You are definitely over thinking this mater, and I suspect you have fallen into a trap that happens all to frequently. Neither the Highway Code(HWC) and especially the Govt web site(GWS) are the law, they are both only interpretations of the law.
Whilst I have much greater faith in the printed booklet version of the HWC as representing the details of the under lying laws, the GWS has in several areas, including towing regulations has previously inaccurately related information and would have caused some drivers to tow illegally had they followed it's advice verbatim. The authors of the pages did not appreciate the implications of the difference between a weight and a weight limit.
The web pages are constructed by people who do not necessarily understand the implications of the underlying regulations, and consequently the web pages can be flawed, especially where the detail is concerned.
Don't implicitly believe anything you see on the internet.
Whilst I have much greater faith in the printed booklet version of the HWC as representing the details of the under lying laws, the GWS has in several areas, including towing regulations has previously inaccurately related information and would have caused some drivers to tow illegally had they followed it's advice verbatim. The authors of the pages did not appreciate the implications of the difference between a weight and a weight limit.
The web pages are constructed by people who do not necessarily understand the implications of the underlying regulations, and consequently the web pages can be flawed, especially where the detail is concerned.
Don't implicitly believe anything you see on the internet.
I have never seen anything regarding mirrors coming up in any accident reports I have come across. The law may cover them but in practice it seems to be ignored. My feeling it would be very difficult for a prosecution as measuring how far they stick out is very difficult as you simply cannot run a tape across between them unless you do it through the open windows, even then I think my mirrors would end a little ahead of the line through the car, so getting an exact figure would still need some thought.
The only way I think a case could work is if the prosecution could prove that when sat in the car the sides of the trailer were not visible. Trying to say the mirrors stuck out too far would be far harder and need precise measurements. You are dealing with the odd CM or even MM so you need very accurate figures.
As a matter of interest would that be difficult as we are all of different physique and have different seating requirements.
I didn’t realise that using mirrors was so complex, but drivers field of view with car mirrors varies with the driver. Also the drivers internal view varies with physique. My wife who is 5 ft 3 on a good day finds the A and B views are significantly diminished compared to me at 6ft 4.
I must admit that having electric mirrors on a car was a massive step forward as no need to get out to adjust mirrors with different drivers. LOL!
But drivers still need views out of the car in areas mirrors don’t cover and increasingly with ever higher safety standards things like A and B pillars have become wider and can affect visibility. Even my long standing motorcyclist over the right shoulder glance shows me a nicely made B pillar. But front views don’t benefit by mirrors, electric or otherwise and shorter drivers find their field of vision restricted by A pillar width whereas taller drivers less so. Our cars have front facing collision avoidance sensors but I prefer primary safety to secondary safety.I must admit that having electric mirrors on a car was a massive step forward as no need to get out to adjust mirrors with different drivers. LOL!
Same percentile as used for economy airline seats 😂 Good job Orangutans with their body shapes don’t drive Short legs and very long arms, almost Italian. 🦧
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I have a rear view Camera on the Caravan, live all the time, it gives a fantastic view of those people tucked in and hidden behind me, Then Milenco Grand Aero's so a really great rear vision. From inside lane to outside lane on a motorway.
Towing to site last week , I think I had the mirrors fitted at the best place for many a trip, they were spot on the marks I put on the cars mirrors and the view was great. When I refitted them today to bring the van home and then to storage, again fantastic. I wonder if they will be good next time out.
Towing to site last week , I think I had the mirrors fitted at the best place for many a trip, they were spot on the marks I put on the cars mirrors and the view was great. When I refitted them today to bring the van home and then to storage, again fantastic. I wonder if they will be good next time out.
Followed and eventually over took a three wheel motor trike towing a smallish tear drop type caravenette thingy. He didn't have towing mirrors and was struggling to see what was behind when changing lanes.
Not sure if the same rules apply but would expect so.
Not sure if the same rules apply but would expect so.
Just unclip mine when we arrive from the top of the mirror casing and rarely have to adjust the view when refitted as they store ‘as is’ in the little drawstring bags. Not sure what make as they came in my starter pack when I bought the caravan back in the day!
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