After Market Towing Mirrors?

apackoftwo · 08-06-2014, 12:54 PM

I have been going round and around researching after market towing mirrors and I wondering what others have used?

I have CIPA slides ons now but the mirror apparently from vibration does not stay put. They are old however they do not seem to fit my mirrors very well either. They came with the truck.

CIPA and McKesh both make a door mount towing mirror and there are other types of Universal fit/ snap on types.

Electric after market replacement mirrors are upwards of $400

so that's not an option for me right now

Any suggestions/reviews from those who have used an after market towing mirror?

PanamaRvers · 08-06-2014, 06:08 PM

Joan,

I purchased CIPA towing mirrors early this year and used them about a half dozen times and I love them.

Custom Towing Mirrors for 2008 Chevrolet Silverado - CIPA CM10900

**JohnB** · 08-06-2014, 07:37 PM

We went with the McKesh on our Suburban and pleased with the results. Had the CIPA slip ons before these and just could not see the rear bumper of the camper with them. Did not stick out far enough. Son now has them now on his Avalanche as the F350 has factory towing mirrors.

I also recommend getting the round blind spot mirror, both sides. It really help see what is in that blind spot.

Wannabes · 08-06-2014, 08:59 PM

Joan,

We bought the CIPA 11800 Ford F-150 Custom Towing Mirror from Amazon.com. While driving thru a one-lane construction zone the back side of a crane came out into the lane and took the towing mirror on the passenger side right off. While the body of the mirror was slightly damaged, the mirror was unbroken; can't say the same for the side mirror on the truck - that broke! The wedge used to keep the towing mirror on the side mirror was missing and, when I asked CIPA for a replacement wedge, they sent us a whole new set of mirrors. Talk about customer service! Both of us felt that the replacement set had a better quality mirror than the first set we got.

Well, only a few months later, we were parked street-side and a truck came by and took off the driver's side mirrors.

This time both the towing mirror and the side mirror were broken. When we went to our local garage to order a replacement side mirror we found out that the F-150 tow mirrors were actually cheaper than the regular side mirrors so that's what we replaced them with. That being said, we felt the CIPA mirrors were good, especially for the price, and were pleased with their customer service. When put on correctly, they stay on and we didn't notice much, if any, vibration when traveling.

apackoftwo · 08-07-2014, 12:02 AM

I think the model of your truck makes a big difference on how well they fit.

Mine is a 1997 Silverado Diesel and you will notice the difference between the CIPAs for mine compared to yours. Glad they worked out for you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanamaRvers

Joan,

I purchased CIPA towing mirrors early this year and used them about a half dozen times and I love them.

Custom Towing Mirrors for 2008 Chevrolet Silverado - CIPA CM10900

apackoftwo · 08-07-2014, 12:10 AM

In the time between first posting first and now I had pretty much decided to go with the McKesh with the extra convex mirror. They cost more but I feel they are vastly superior to the CIPA model for my truck and your recommendation really sealed the deal!

The factory is only an hour away from me so I might just buzz down to get them. I do have one question though, Are they pretty easy to put on and take off? Do you usually just leave them on when pulling then take them off when you get to camp or do you keep them on your Suburban?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

We went with the McKesh on our Suburban and pleased with the results. Had the CIPA slip ons before these and just could not see the rear bumper of the camper with them. Did not stick out far enough. Son now has them now on his Avalanche as the F350 has factory towing mirrors.

I also recommend getting the round blind spot mirror, both sides. It really help see what is in that blind spot.

apackoftwo · 08-07-2014, 12:18 AM

WOW you certainly have had an adventure with your towing mirrors!

The CIPAs for my truck really do not allow my electric truck mirror to move properly and the mirror itself does not stay in place. Mine are fairly old but the model hasn't changed either. The model for my truck is really long too!

I am glad your customer service was good, so many times it isn't

I am going with the McKesh. Both CIPA (Port Huron) and McKesh (Davison) are Michigan companies so either way helping Michigan's economy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wannabes

Joan,

We bought the CIPA 11800 Ford F-150 Custom Towing Mirror from Amazon.com. While driving thru a one-lane construction zone the back side of a crane came out into the lane and took the towing mirror on the passenger side right off. While the body of the mirror was slightly damaged, the mirror was unbroken; can't say the same for the side mirror on the truck - that broke! The wedge used to keep the towing mirror on the side mirror was missing and, when I asked CIPA for a replacement wedge, they sent us a whole new set of mirrors. Talk about customer service! Both of us felt that the replacement set had a better quality mirror than the first set we got.

Well, only a few months later, we were parked street-side and a truck came by and took off the driver's side mirrors.

This time both the towing mirror and the side mirror were broken. When we went to our local garage to order a replacement side mirror we found out that the F-150 tow mirrors were actually cheaper than the regular side mirrors so that's what we replaced them with. That being said, we felt the CIPA mirrors were good, especially for the price, and were pleased with their customer service. When put on correctly, they stay on and we didn't notice much, if any, vibration when traveling.

**JohnB** · 08-07-2014, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apackoftwo

Do you usually just leave them on when pulling then take them off when you get to camp or do you keep them on your Suburban?

That is a really good question. If I was staying in camp with the truck I would leave them on. If I was taking the truck to go into town, sight seeing etc I would take them off. Just so it would not look like I had dumbo ears on the truck...

They do go on and off easy, however... like any mirror if you change the location of the mirror you have to readjust to see from your driver seat. I ended up creating a method to always have them install in the same spot on the truck. Then I had no adjusting needed from on and off and back on.

For my truck, once all adjusted I made a very small scribe (scratch) line on the black plastic molding trim of the door where the window goes up and down. This gave me a line on the truck to put them back on in the same place. You can see the black window frame trim in my one pic. This line is real small, ~ 1/8" lg and I had to look for it so no big worries it creates marks etc.

You do have to be careful when you place them in storage to not bump them to shift the settings. Need to find a spot in the truck or camper where things will not lay on top of them etc. when off the truck.

There was one thing I had to deal with, the door straps have a metal hook on the bottom and they have a urathane plastic slip on cover to not scratch the door paint. I had to glue the cover the the metal clip to keep it from falling off the clip when it was off the truck. They may have fixed that issue or line the inside of the urathane cover with double sided sticky foam tape to hold it on.

When I bought mine, CIPA did not make this kind. They where like ~ $75 back then if I recall right. I have seen the CIPA vintage in Camping World, the way they mount is about the same, the actual mirror quality is not as high as the McKesk at the time. This was now, about 6 to 7 years ago. Odds are high you really will not go wrong with either brand. The main thing is they stick out far enough to see with and they hold the mirror from giggling around going down the road.

apackoftwo · 08-10-2014, 07:33 PM

I bought the McKesh with the convex mirror. Now to put them together. That's an excellent idea to mark the location to place them again.

I am think of storing them in this long plastic storage container but I will know when I get them together, might to long for that

Thanks for the great tips John!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

That is a really good question. If I was staying in camp with the truck I would leave them on. If I was taking the truck to go into town, sight seeing etc I would take them off. Just so it would not look like I had dumbo ears on the truck...

They do go on and off easy, however... like any mirror if you change the location of the mirror you have to readjust to see from your driver seat. I ended up creating a method to always have them install in the same spot on the truck. Then I had no adjusting needed from on and off and back on.

For my truck, once all adjusted I made a very small scribe (scratch) line on the black plastic molding trim of the door where the window goes up and down. This gave me a line on the truck to put them back on in the same place. You can see the black window frame trim in my one pic. This line is real small, ~ 1/8" lg and I had to look for it so no big worries it creates marks etc.

You do have to be careful when you place them in storage to not bump them to shift the settings. Need to find a spot in the truck or camper where things will not lay on top of them etc. when off the truck.

There was one thing I had to deal with, the door straps have a metal hook on the bottom and they have a urathane plastic slip on cover to not scratch the door paint. I had to glue the cover the the metal clip to keep it from falling off the clip when it was off the truck. They may have fixed that issue or line the inside of the urathane cover with double sided sticky foam tape to hold it on.

When I bought mine, CIPA did not make this kind. They where like ~ $75 back then if I recall right. I have seen the CIPA vintage in Camping World, the way they mount is about the same, the actual mirror quality is not as high as the McKesk at the time. This was now, about 6 to 7 years ago. Odds are high you really will not go wrong with either brand. The main thing is they stick out far enough to see with and they hold the mirror from giggling around going down the road.

Gary A · 10-08-2014, 04:23 PM

I might have gotten lucky, but I bought a pair of strap on mirrors from Advance Auto parts that work great on my 4 Runner. Easy on and off and not a lot of vibration. About 28 bucks each, plus or minus

GWildey · 10-09-2014, 02:36 PM

I bought CIPA Universal Towing Mirrors #11960. They were not very cheap. I thought that the ratchet/strap design would hold them to the car but it doesn't. I have a Volvo XC90 and the CIPA mirrors continue to slip down. There was one occasion that I stopped on I90 and got out and ty-wrapped them on for fear that they were going to fall off!

I have tried several things to get them to stay put: I tried putting two different styles of rubber shelf liner (mesh and solid) between the car and the mirror- hoping that I could make a stickier surface, I replaced the plastic feet with metal swivel rubber mounted feet from McMaster Carr because the original plastic ones were too soft and only gave me point of contact pressure not the entire surface, I even replaced the rubber surface on the feet, I am forever adjusting the screws on the feet to get the perfect distance between the mirror and the car. Nothing has worked yet. I figured for the price that I paid they would be great. So far I am disappointed. I will continue to experiment until I get them to not sag.

apackoftwo · 10-11-2014, 09:19 AM

I had the CIPAs too. They did not fit my truck model very well and were constantly slipping. That's why I went with the McKesh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWildey

I bought CIPA Universal Towing Mirrors #11960. They were not very cheap. I thought that the ratchet/strap design would hold them to the car but it doesn't. I have a Volvo XC90 and the CIPA mirrors continue to slip down. There was one occasion that I stopped on I90 and got out and ty-wrapped them on for fear that they were going to fall off!

I have tried several things to get them to stay put: I tried putting two different styles of rubber shelf liner (mesh and solid) between the car and the mirror- hoping that I could make a stickier surface, I replaced the plastic feet with metal swivel rubber mounted feet from McMaster Carr because the original plastic ones were too soft and only gave me point of contact pressure not the entire surface, I even replaced the rubber surface on the feet, I am forever adjusting the screws on the feet to get the perfect distance between the mirror and the car. Nothing has worked yet. I figured for the price that I paid they would be great. So far I am disappointed. I will continue to experiment until I get them to not sag.