Towing mirrors - how much should I see?

[Gilitygirl]

Hi all,

Just wondering how much of the passenger side I should set my mirrors to 'see'.

Is it a matter of personal taste? Or is there a recommended viewing angle?

As I'm a relative newcomer I like to be able to see some of the lower part of the van for road positioning - but I also want to see a bit further (obviously) for overtaking.

Must admit I'm probably over-cautious gauging the distance I need before I pull in, but better too far than too little!

 

[Lutz]

If the car and caravan are in one straight line, then you should be able to see the rear corner of the caravan through the mirror.

 

[Tosh_374320091]

I reckon the following...

With your car mirrors you should leave them as they are; they'll help you check your road position.

With your caravan mirrors, you should position both so that you can see a thin 'slice' of your caravan. You use these for changing lanes on motorways and checking behind on bends on main roads to see all those cars behind you; admiring your van.

And if you do some 'extreme turns' where your van disapears out of sight of your mirrors, you do it slowly and check where your van is by bending your kneck in the direction of your caravan; ie looking at where your van is going.

I'm sure I've probably missed some stuff, but that's how I do it.

 

[nineteen4ever]

Hi Beej,

I set the towing mirrors as Lutz suggested.

The car mirrors (electrically moveable) I set at a down angle when in urban areas/minor roads to see the van wheels for cornering, this helps against 'kerbing' the wheels.

On Motorways etc, I set the car mirrors at a wider angle to help cover blind spots. This also helps me to judge the speed of cars behind, so I don't pull out on them when overtaking as they are travelling a lot faster than me. (You should be able to judge the speed better with the car mirrors as you use them day in, day out, rather than the towing mirrors).

As for overtaking, most 'right minded' drivers will flash you once it's safe to pull back in, but on a bright(ish) day the shadow of your van can be of help but don't rely on this method as it depends where the sun is. You could see a gap according to the shadow, but that doesn't mean there's clearance for you to pull in.

Cheers, Gary.