tow mirror problem

[jeff95]

I have a 2004 ram. I just bought and installed factory tow mirrors from a dodge dealer on ebay. The drivers side mirror is fine. The passenger mirror provides a very small field of view. I have had the truck for 5 years and never had this problem with the original non tow mirrors. My wife noticed the same thing.

Have there been any reports of the glass being miss shaped?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[HBarlow]

I'm not sure I understand your problem. You wrote your passenger side mirror has a small field of view and wondered if the glass was misshaped. Are you saying the glass distorts vision?

All three of the Rams I've owned, '01, '06, and '08 have had the factory tow mirrors with the small convex mirror in the lower outer quadrant. I guess they are not the best design I've ever seen, I would have preferred to have the convex mirror mounted outside the normal vision rectanglular mirror, but they were designed as a compromise and are pretty good. It takes a few towing miles to get used to the mirrors.

 

[jeff95]

If I have my trailer attached, I can see a 5'x7' area at the front of my trailer out of the drivers side mirror. I can see a 3'x5' area out of the passengers side mirror. There is no distortion that I can tell but, there may be some. It is merely a smaller field of view.

 

[HBarlow]

I'm sorry, I still don't understand your question.

I've read both of your posts several times but still don't understand what it is you think the mirrors should do but are not doing. There have not been any reports that I am aware of that the glass on the towing mirrors is misshapen or that any other defects or limitations exist.

I have used the Dodge towing mirrors since summer of 2001 for extensive trailer towing and find them pretty good for a factory mirror. Obviously they are not as effective and don't provide a field of vision as large as those on OTR tractors, but they work pretty well when properly adjusted.

Maybe I can do a better job of answering your question or offering a suggestion is you will restate the problem you are experiencing.

 

[DCreed]

I think he means compared to the stock non-flip up mirrors. I have heard that the towing mirrors arent as good as the regular ones when down but the regular mirrors are near useless for towing anything large as you cant see the back of the trailer. The reason the mirror on the pass side seems to have a smaller field of view is it is further away from your eyes than the drivers side and that makes the reflecting surface look smaller. sit on the passengers side and look out both mirrors, and the drivers will look smaller.
As Harvey said, the real truck mirrors are the best for vision, if you dont mind bolting them to your doors.

 

[Flexiheep]

Jeff,

I know exactly what you mean about the field of view being narrow, I retrofitted a set of the flip up mirrors on my 93 and feel that I can't see out the pass side mirror for the narrow field of view. I like to keep mine flipped in when not towing and end up using the spot mirror to see. I was hoping that mine was a defect, but looks like they are all that way. #@$%!



I was under the impression that almost all pass side mirrors were convex to give you a better field of view, hence the "object in mirrors are closer than they appear".

 

[SSell]

I know exactly what you are talking about.

I have a 95 RAM 1500 gasser thats my go to work car---the passenger side mirror on it has convex glass, you have excellent vision down that side, never have to adjust it & so on. Our old '96 2500 CTD was the same. My '05 3500 SRW has the factory tow mirrors which have FLAT GLASS (notice no "objects are closer than they appear" stamped on it?), I've found that they are not nearly as good as old "normal" ones on the gen 2 trucks----I mostly use the fisheye part for driving, they're not much good for backing up & constantly get adjusted.



I'd buy convex glass for this mirror in a heartbeat, if there was such a thing.

Seriously considering one of those back-up cameras/monitors.

 

[Jumbo Jet]

You are also positioned further away from the passenger mirror. Take any mirror and move it further away and the field of vision is reduced.

 

[Carlacee]

A convex aftermarket retrofit would be cool!! but it would need to be a direct replacemnt for the mirror head.



The OEM mirror assembly looks cool... =)

 

[Pawpaw]

I, for one, love the factory tow mirrors.



I guess it's a matter of what you're used to. When those convex passenger mirrors first came out, I hated them and it's never gotten better.



I keep both mirrors adjusted where I can't quite see the sides of the truck unless I tilt my head. For lane changes & such, I check the spot mirrors first, then the flat mirrors.



If you're backing a trailer and the mirror doesn't show you what you want to see, there is a simple solution. Adjust it! It's not like the old days, when you would have to get out and walk around to adjust the passenger mirror. There's a switch right by your left hand that will do the job quite well.



Bob

 

[HBarlow]

Yep, I agree with the previous post. When I'm backing a trailer I want to be able to see the right rear and side of the trailer in true perspective, not distorted by a convex mirror.

Big trucks use normal vision glass in their main mirrors with convex add-on or spot mirrors for wide angle viewing.

 

[Flexiheep]

I, for one, love the factory tow mirrors.

Adjust it! It's not like the old days, when you would have to get out and walk around to adjust the passenger mirror. There's a switch right by your left hand that will do the job quite well.



Bob

I wish I could



Anyone know how to take the towing mirror apart, someplace in my passenger mirror a wire is crossed, or just plugged in wrong. #@$%!

 

[JMetzger]

I still like my Power Vision Mirrors best of any other mirror I have owned. Have had them new since I bought the truck new & have never had a problem with them.

 

[HBarlow]

I wish I could

Anyone know how to take the towing mirror apart, someplace in my passenger mirror a wire is crossed, or just plugged in wrong. #@$%!

The mirror glass is attached to the swivel bracket in the back of the housing only by high quality (probably 3M) automotive adhesive. A replacement mirror was not very expensive when I bought one several years ago from an auto glass shop not a dealer.

 

[Grizzly]

I love my tow mirrors, which are much improved from my 95 Dodge tow mirrors, which were the tripod type. These new mirrors are heated and remote control unlike the old tripod type.



You get used to the smaller image on the passenger side very quickly. As far as putting turn signals on the mirrors, I could care less.

 

[GQuigley]

I can see okay with towing mirrors but I'm not entirely comfortable with what I see so I bought a backup camera from Ebay and leave it on all the time when towing. It works out very well and is great with its night vision when needed. Seems that 'blind spot' is too real to ignore.