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Subject Topic: Will I need mirrors
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Personmiss baritone
10/7/2017 at 5:38am
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I do a lot of dog agility and after struggling to put my tent up and down every show I'm thinking of switching to a caravan. The only vehicle I have use of is my Vauxhall vivaro van as that's crated out for the dogs so that's my towing vehicle weather I like it or not. The van I'm looking at is a 1987 sprite. I've only ever towed with a car before which I used to put towing mirrors on but in reality I always found I could see better through the ordinary car mirrors. As the vivaro is a much bigger vehicle to stay legal do I need to buy and fit towing mirrors (which I imagine will be more expensive than car ones due to the size of my van mirrors) or can I just tow as I am using the mirrors already on my vivaro

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Persondiesel steve
10/7/2017 at 5:48am
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it depends if u can see past the caravan with standard mirrors, some older caravans are narrow.


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Personbirdman101
10/7/2017 at 7:49am
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For the cost of some cheap mirrors it is not worth not having them. That way you cannot be pulled up. A case a few months ago a 4x4 driver did not have them and was pulled up. He maintained he had vision but finished up in court.


PersonOutfortheweekend
10/7/2017 at 7:52am
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Or if you have an accident and the insurance want an excuse not to pay


PersonMick S.
10/7/2017 at 10:26am
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I find it hard to accept you can see right down the sides of any caravan with just the regular car mirrors. And this is the area in question when being able to 'see'.
I already have some big mirrors on the Navara, and you can see a lot. But, when i add the equally big millenco's, the sides and back corners of the van come into view as well.



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PersonOpensauce
10/7/2017 at 11:17am
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Rule of thumb is if caravan body is wider than tow vehicle body then towing mirrors required.


Personshaggy2000
10/7/2017 at 12:45pm
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From what I remember you have to be able to see roughly eight meters behind your van (think its eight meters)

So if you get your van hooked up to your tow vehicle, and then measure eight meters behind your van and put say a bottle, you must be able to see the bottle when sat in your van, if you cant, then you need mirrors.


PersonAndy Higham
10/7/2017 at 7:52pm
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I use a rear view camera on the caravan with a 4" screen stuck to the windscreen. It means I can also see what's directly behind me


PersonRay Clayton
10/7/2017 at 9:13pm
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You must have an adequate view of the road behind you.
Fit suitable towing mirrors if your trailer or caravan is wider than the rear of your car.
You can be fined up to £1,000 and get 3 penalty points for towing without proper towing mirrors.

Check CMC Site
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022769/rear-view-mirrors-mo.pdf
Or
Check C&CC Site Chttp://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/insurance-advice/caravan/caravan-mirrors-and-the-law/




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Cheers
Ray

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PersonLlaniDavis
10/7/2017 at 10:27pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Andy Higham on 10/7/2017
I use a rear view camera on the caravan with a 4" screen stuck to the windscreen. It means I can also see what's directly behind me


Not legal.
The Law does not recognise a rear view camera as a required method to see behind you, plus it is illegal to have a screen visible to the driver operating whilst you are in forward motion.


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Personbobmel
10/7/2017 at 10:35pm
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https://www.caravanwise.co.uk/caravan-tips/towing-mirrors.html

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Robert (BoB)


Persondiesel steve
10/7/2017 at 10:44pm
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Not legal.
The Law does not recognise a rear view camera as a required method to see behind you, plus it is illegal to have a screen visible to the driver operating whilst you are in forward motion.
what a load o bull. trucks have cameras all round and a large screen viewing areas around the truck when on the move


Personmiss baritone
11/7/2017 at 5:58am
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Thank you that's very useful. Just to make it clear when I towed with a car I did fit towing mirrors, I just tended to look in the car wing mirror more than the towing mirror.

It's about 8-9 years since I last towed and my vehicle now isn't a car. It's a Vauxhall vivaro which is a large transit type van. It's definitely wider than a car and its only a small caravan I'm looking at, which is why I thought I may not need towing mirrors.

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Personbnmuk
11/7/2017 at 8:05am
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I've got towing mirrors but I can see better out of the car mirrors. I put the towing mirrors on but don't use them much

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alan


Personswaggy
11/7/2017 at 8:36am
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+1

I have a large 4x4 with big mirrors which gives me a good rear view. But I fit a cheap set of towing mirrors because it is the law but don't use them much. I also have a rear vision camera on the caravan for safety when towing and reversing.

Hopefully, I'm legal and safe

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Phil

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PersonMick S.
11/7/2017 at 2:12pm
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Its bemusing and not a little stupid to find many dont bother 'using' the towing mirrors. This just means theres an area (and the longer the van, the bigger the area), where a motorbike or cyclist could be coming down the side, and you dont even know they are there. Go figure the results if you change direction at that point.



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