Okay. I bought some mirrors for my Silverado. The dealer told me that I had to have them on for state law reasons. My question is, what am I supposed to be seeing in them? I seem to see the same things that I saw in the regular mirrors. Is there something specific I'm supposed to be pointing them at to see as I tow my trailer down the road?
Mine allow me to see the rear corners of my trailer (19' behind the coupler) because of their extension. I can only see along the side of the trailer with the regular truck mirrors. The wide angle "buttons" give me a broader look at the areas adjacent to the trailer. I also get a better look at what I'm doing when I back into a camp spot.
Since my trailer is only 15', it may just not be that dramatic a difference. I'll play with positioning them some more.
Texas Transportation Code § 547.602. MIRRORS REQUIRED. A motor vehicle, including a motor vehicle used to tow another vehicle, shall be equipped with a mirror located to reflect to the operator a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the vehicle. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
Hello Class I now know it is not the lenght of The Trailer, it is being able to see the Officer 200 feet behind the trailer. Looks as if I need to find a big flat parking lot - mark off 200 feet behind the trailer and see if I see anything using my mirrors. This distance may not be correct in other states, but I'll say, "but Officer ... I'm correct in some places". Rodger & Gabby COS
The last line of that law reminded me that I forgot to mention I can see cars behind me in my lane with the extension mirrors but not without them. HOWEVER, this is only true to a point. There is a blind spot in the area immediately behind the trailer. Think of it as the tapered shadow you would have if a bright light were shined on the trailer from the front. All rigs will have this to some degree.
When I first googled the Texas statute, I was going to make a smartass comment about the OP's dealer, along the lines of "what/how far can you see with the Silverado's stock mirrors, and did the dealer say you needed to purchase the towing mirrors from him ." But UT's first response was a much more practical, helpful, and a direct answer to the OP's specific question, which I think we can all agree is what is needed here on the Portal. So, I just posted the statute as the state of Texas' answer to the OP's specific question, "What am I supposed to be seeing...?"
I never thought about looking up the statute. Thanks! Just for the record... Dealer did not even offer to sell me any mirrors. Might have been nice to have them during my orientation session.
I ordered the tow package with my GMC but did not go for the power telescoping mirrors. At the time I bought the truck I was parking on the street and figured getting one of those mirrors knocked off would cost a fortune. Never did lose any and now I wish I had the mirrors!
I just got the kind that strap onto the truck's mirrors. They are similar to THIS but I got them at Camping World for about $25 each. The segment out on the end is the "button" I was referring to that gives the wide angle view. So, with these on I have three places to look at various views: the truck mirror, the main part of the extension mirror and the wide angle part. They work pretty well but I do have to snug the straps up a little after a long day's drive because they loosen a bit in the wind.
From my observations, most people don't use their mirrors properly, anyway. The side-view mirrors on a car are supposed to show what is in the lanes next to you. Most people have them pointed in such a way that they can only see the side of their car and the lane behind them -- which is what the rear-view mirror is for. Extended tow mirrors are a bit different, though... they are for seeing what is behind you because your rear-view no longer works with a trailer behind you. I have used strap-on mirrors in the past, but I was not a fan of them, so now I use a Camco Tow-n-See mirror, which suctions to the face of the existing side-view mirror. The big plus os that it moves when you adjust your mirrors, so you can adjust it from inside the tow vehicle. The difference you will see is in how much is visible behind the trailer. On a straight road, you should see a difference.
