How important are tow mirrors??

audio1der · Jul 31, 2012

Hi all,
New guy here. We ordered a 2012 Ram 1500 Sport with lots of goodies tonight, but are not sure if we should get the rotating towing mirrors (flat black) or the body colored sport mirrors. We can't find any applucation-specific tow mirror add-ons and would not want to scratch/damage the sport finish if we went that way.
The truck will be replacing a minivan for family use with occasional hauling of a 24-27' travel trailer.
How important are towing mirrors (how much would.do they help)?

TIA!

suzukiquadrider · Jul 31, 2012

Tow mirrors
For towing large enclosed trailers and very small narrow trailers they are extremely helpful, for towing anything else they are worth the money, i wish i had them over stock mirrors any day.

schroederMP · Jul 31, 2012

Just get em...you wont be disappointed. Def since you plan on towing

Rotzilla · Jul 31, 2012

This is my first truck with the tow mirrors. I really like them. The fact that you can look into the convex mirror and actually see the trailer tires without adjusting your regular mirrors is a nice feature. Im only pulling a 14' flatbed, not sure how the would benifit on a larger trailer, but they can't hurt.

jbmobbs · Jul 31, 2012

i have em on mine and i haul a 20ft car hauler and they are amazinf i can see my trailer tires and whats in behind the trailer just get them you wont be disappointed

h2oman · Jul 31, 2012

They are a great asset. In some states they are mandatory for towing. I wish all 1500's came with them but that is not the case.

audio1der · Jul 31, 2012

Well, it was making things tough to source the truck we wanted (Sport) with the mirrors AND they were flat black instead of body colored (wife likes body colored), so I took them off the list in order to get my #1 color choice; Deep Cherry.
Gotta pick yer battle sometimes. Just hope they have some decent aftermarket units I can clip on when towing.
Thanks all for you input :cheers:

Power247 · Jul 31, 2012

Awesome that you could get the truck you wanted. My 2009 has the sport mirrors and while they look good on the truck, they leave a large blindspot when pulling our 26' TT. After test driving a 2012 (I almost always test drive something when I am getting my oil changed) with the new rotating tow mirrors, I am sold. IMO they are a must have. Another item added to a long list must haves.

audio1der · Aug 1, 2012

The wife promised to buy me the rotating mirrors if I have problems when towing, so we're cool.
Just got the call from the dealer; they have the truck!! Hope to pick it up tomorrow in order to drive it to a family reunion out of town this weekend

Power247 · Aug 1, 2012

Congrats!! Enjoy your new truck!

Cthulhu · Aug 1, 2012

Congrats on the truck.. I had non-tow mirrors. Never again. They are must haves.

TRCM · Aug 3, 2012

I had put the towing mirrors off a 2001 on my 97 dually and they worked great for the big loads I was hauling, but they did cost me 1/2 mpg (and I had a 5 spd 12v CTD).

I was considering it on the 2012, and the dealer found one exactly like I wanted sans the monotone white Laramie. When I first drove it, I wasn't sure about them because of the mpg loss from before AND the fact that the convex part is not in a good spot for the way I use mirrors (rather it be on the inside like the older ones than the outside). It blocks the part of the regular mirror I use a lot when parking my boat here at the house.

I am getting use to them tho, but for me, the only time I will really benefit is the 200 miles a year my camper sees. All the rest of the time, regular mirrors would be fine, and while I have them now, we'll see how the mpg is affected since they aren't needed for 98% of the towing I do.

I also don't like that I lost the auto dim feature on the outside mirrors when I went with the towing version.

quietpeen · Aug 11, 2012

if you don't tow obviously they would just be preference. My truck came with them and i swapped with Musclemckeeter because i didn't like them.

sandawilliams · Aug 12, 2012

aftermarket towmirrors

I didnt get tow mirrors on my 2009 and I tow a 33' camp trailer alot. I went to my local rv dealer and bought tow mirrors that strap onto the existing mirrors with rubber straps. They work great, cost under 50 bucks, and you simply take them off when you dont need them. (about 2 minutes) No marks left on my flat black mirrors.

mrpiper · Nov 10, 2012

On my 2012 1500, I find that I can tow OK without tow mirrors, but it's WAY better with them from a safety perspective when changing lanes, and of course keeping an eye on the tires. Interestingly, the passenger side, due to it's "closer than they appear" feature, is really fine without a tow mirror. Now days, I just use a clip on for the driver's side, but I only tow about 5 or 6 times a year camping.

How important are tow mirrors??

audio1der

Senior Member

suzukiquadrider

Senior Member

schroederMP

Senior Member

Rotzilla

Senior Member

jbmobbs

Senior Member

h2oman

Senior Member

audio1der

Senior Member

Power247

Senior Member

audio1der

Senior Member

Power247

Senior Member

Cthulhu

Senior Member

TRCM

USN, Retired

quietpeen

Senior Member

sandawilliams

Senior Member

mrpiper

Junior Member

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