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Just come back from a weekend away ,comming back up the M5 cruse control set at 60mph,we were passed by several caravans weaving in and out ,not being towed by young foollish drivers but by so called people of a certain age who should now better!!!!

Also by motorhomes with cars in tow traveling at 70mph plus i thought that the 60 mph towing rule applied to all types of vechicles but i must be wrong.......

Could someone please enlighten me on the mirrors issue.

I tow a Compass Corona 505 with a Grand cherokee and use the standard adjustable mirrors as supplied on the vehicle with no extra " Towing mirrors".

I feel that I can see sufficiently with these mirrors, am I missing something.

Previously I had a Lunar Delta and Shogun and felt that I had sufficient rearward vision again with the standrd mirrors.

This is a genuine question and not a request for digs.

I had better take a look at the legal issues as from a practical point of view i can see all that I need to.

Many thanks for the reply.

I believe the legal issue is that you should be able to see at least 25 meters behind your van on both sides.  One mirror is not enough.Obviously if you have a caravan that is slimmer than your car then you can do this without them. The vast majority of caravans are larger so requiring mirrors.

I am sure I have read this somewhere and I always use mine ans I can't see what is overtaking until they are nearly past me without them.

Thanks Geoff you beat me to it by 4 minutes!!!!!!!

i thought i could see all i needed to see through my Pajero door  mirrors...

until i put the grand aeros on that is.you can see far more with them than a standard mirror.why chance a fine or causing an accident for the sake of a few quid ???

Quote: Originally posted by scar on 26/7/2009

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I had better take a look at the legal issues as from a practical point of view i can see all that I need to.

Many thanks for the reply.

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If you do not use extended mirrors how can you know? You can never see enough behind. My car is only a couple of inches narrower than the caravan, but towing mirrors make such a difference, especially on straight motorways where you can then see vehicles coming up behind.

i think the use of the mirrors is to give you a good clear veiw of traffic behind making lane change safe and easy,Meaning the use of extended mirrors a must if you carnt see both sides i followed a van only yesterday that clearly couldnt see a thing,

his safe way to change lane was to indicate and wait until flashed,shame it wasnt blue flashing lights that was clearing his lane change.

any motorway can be dangerous as hgv rutts do start to make caravan snake, theres nothing you can do about it other than be carfull,slow down and hold tight,

stick to a speed that your comfy and safe with and always be ready to deal with an emergancy.How quick can you slam the brakes on (saftly) while traveling downhill with a strong side wind at 80 mph with only 1 tyre?

it happends so be prepaird

Surely the time to find out whether you need mirrors is before you take to the road for the first time not because you've read an article on the net?

In recent weeks we have seen all manner of outfits, big and small, without mirrors, and there is no way any of them could comply with the legislation but they were quite happily thundering along the M5.

Ali

i quite agree with PAJOHOLIC the m5 lorry ruts do not help, and the m5 is quite a windy corridor around bristol down to taunton.  we have a twin axle and loaded etc correct and we struggle we come on the motorway at burnham on sea and can do no more than 45 miles per hour, and it takes quite a while from there for the caravan to settle, and we are back up to 55mph the further down the motorway and nearer exeter it does get easier,, why cant they repair that part of the motorway or find a road covering that will not make these ruts  dangerours they have enough of our money in road tax and fuel charges!!

And these idiots that sail past us no mirrors and swaying  oblivious to it all,  we stuck at 45mph, can't repeat on here what my OH calls them, and OH is a lorry driver!!!