Extended Mirrors for Towing...

[PEIslander]

Okay I'll admit it. Towing mirror thingies aren't really a "Camplite Mod" but the do relate to the whole Camplite experience. When I met Paul and his Camplite at the First International Livin'Lite Owner's Rally at Fundy National Park earlier this year, I couldn't help but notice the great towing mirrors he had. Inspired by the idea that they might make a big difference I ordered a pair for myself.

>> Here they are at Amazon.com << and >> Here they are at Amazon.ca <<

Since I bought them (and before putting them to a road test) I traded in our 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. This coming weekend we have a camping trip planned for >> Blomidon Provincial Park << in Nova Scotia --- a few hundred miles away from our Island home. The trip will be a great chance to see what difference such mirrors can make. I did try mounting them to the Tacoma as the pics below atest. They mount easily & very securely. With them mounted the truck's electric mirror adjusters still work fine. Likewise they will fold with the mirror. (That folding feature could prove handy if I drive too close to cyclists or hitch-hikers! --- It is an important safety feature - I certainly wouldn't want to break my mirrors after what I paid for them!). 

The extension mirrors clamp on very quickly to the tow vehicle's mirrors. They came with a zippered carrying case and it is sized big enough that once you have the mirrors installed & adjusted the way you like, you can take them off and put them in the carrying case without messing up your adjustments. Next time you install them you likely won't need to re-adjust them at all. Great for quick get-aways!

[Paul]

Nice mirror! What I liked about those mirror is the way they attach, the shape of your tow vehicle mirror doesn't matter. It's because of the shape of my Ford Escape 2014 mirror I had a hard time with the type of mirror that has strap to securely attach them, the proof I lost one on the highway! I will take a picture next time I use them

[rideandfly]

Nice mirrors!!!!!!!!!!!

[PEIslander]

I've now gone on one road trip with the mirrors. They were a big improvement in extending the sightlines. They go on and off exceptionally easy, are easy to adjust, and don't interfere with the operation of the vehicle's electric mirrors. That good stuff said it isn't all puppies & rainbows...

Initially I had them sticking way out there like the photos above. Problem was the vibration. At highway speeds that vibration made it look like the trailer was bouncing like a pogo stick the day after Christmas. Seriously - you can get seasick if you try to actually watch the reflection! When bouncing you can still tell if a car was behind the trailer etc. so I suppose it does do its most important role pretty well -- but damn it doesn't make looking back as fun as I'd hoped.  For my 5 1/2 hour return drive I adjusted the mirrors closer to the vehicle's mirrors and it did lessen the bouncy views. It also reduced the rear viewing and still bounced -- just a bit less. The shorter cantilever seemed to reduce the frequency of the bounce to more of a vibration. Not as "buzz" vibration -- still a bounce but just less vertical magnitude and higher frequency.

I will still use them but I wish the experience was better.

Paul - You have the same mirrors -- what has been your experience?

[Mitch]

I have these mirrors also and I agree totally.  They are better but the bounce is still there, just less.  I've been trying to figure out a way to add a strut between this mirror and the actual truck mirror because I thinks that's all that would be needed to eliminate the bounce but so far I haven't come up with any ideas that would fit the bill.  I have a 3d printer so I could fabricate the parts, it's the connecting the two issue that I'm a bit stuck on.

I've now gone on one road trip with the mirrors. They were a big improvement in extending the sightlines. They go on and off exceptionally easy, are easy to adjust, and don't interfere with the operation of the vehicle's electric mirrors. That good stuff said it isn't all puppies & rainbows...

Initially I had them sticking way out there like the photos above. Problem was the vibration. At highway speeds that vibration made it look like the trailer was bouncing like a pogo stick the day after Christmas. Seriously - you can get seasick if you try to actually watch the reflection! When bouncing you can still tell if a car was behind the trailer etc. so I suppose it does do its most important role pretty well -- but damn it doesn't make looking back as fun as I'd hoped.  For my 5 1/2 hour return drive I adjusted the mirrors closer to the vehicle's mirrors and it did lessen the bouncy views. It also reduced the rear viewing and still bounced -- just a bit less. The shorter cantilever seemed to reduce the frequency of the bounce to more of a vibration. Not as "buzz" vibration -- still a bounce but just less vertical magnitude and higher frequency.

I will still use them but I wish the experience was better.

Paul - You have the same mirrors -- what has been your experience?

[PEIslander]

Next time I think I'll try mounting them from the bottom of the Tacoma's mirrors. Perhaps that lower part will be more stable?? Worth a try anyways.

[Mitch]

I'll be interested to hear if that makes a difference.

Next time I think I'll try mounting them from the bottom of the Tacoma's mirrors. Perhaps that lower part will be more stable?? Worth a try anyways.

[Mitch]

I've been thinking about this some more (a dangerous thing), the problem is bounce. If I could fab a piece that connected the 2 mirrors as shown below it should fix that.  I'm thinking 4 pieces, two more or less permanently attached ends with slots for the mirrors then 2 rods with ends that would slide into the slots. The rods would have a turnbuckle type assembly in the center to allow me to adjust the length and  tension on the mirror. Any thoughts?

[PEIslander]

I was thinking perhaps there is a more high-tech approach.   

Imagine sensors like what Apple put in the Apple Watch added to the mirrors along with a bluetooth interface. They would provide continuous positional input to an iphone app that would in turn control electro-mechanical devices that would support the drivers seat. Those supports would provide multi-axis positional adjustment to the driver's seat perfectly synchronized to the relative motion of the mirror. The driver would bounce in perfect sync with the mirror and thus would see a perfect reflection. Other features would be an eye-tracking system that would apply the seat movements only when the driver's gaze is looking at the mirror --- thereby not interfering with looking at the vehicles stock mirror, road safety signs, or at the road in front of you etc.

Maybe I should apply for a patent! 

[Mitch]

I suppose we could go that direction, certainly more elegant and only a teenie tiny bit more complex.  Tell you what, I'll continue down the simple solution path and you tackle the servos and micro-mechanical sensors as well as the laser eye tracking. Let me know when you're ready to install it. 

[Paul]

I found that there is some bouncing sometime but not that much it's not bothering me maybe it's the way I installed them?

[PEIslander]

Hi Paul -- It looks like you have yours less cantilevered than I did the first time. The second time I used them I had them set more like yours -perhaps even a little closer- and the did bounce less. It could well be that different vehicles behave quite differently. My Tacoma might vibrate quite a bit more than your Ford. I am thinking some form of add-on stabilizer like Mitch proposed, might be a good idea.

[txaggie79]

Can the brackets be removed from the support rod?  If so, what do you think about taking off the innermost bracket and attaching it to the side of the mirror?  Then you could fabricate a vertical rod to connect to the horizontal rod.  This could allow for greater horizontal separation of the brackets and would add a vertical stabilizer.

[Paul]

Can the brackets be removed from the support rod?  If so, what do you think about taking off the innermost bracket and attaching it to the side of the mirror?  Then you could fabricate a vertical rod to connect to the horizontal rod.  This could allow for greater horizontal separation of the brackets and would add a vertical stabilizer.

Yes the brackets can be removed

[Chappy133]

If your make and model is available this is what I got from Amazon for our F150: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TCGF3U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00