Tested: Clearview Towing Mirrors

There’s a reason these quality aftermarket mirrors are so popular with caravanners

Simplicity, quality and functionality – it's the triumvirate of excellence sought by many an automotive accessories manufacturer, and it's evident in spades in Melbourne-based Clearview Accessories' Clearview Towing Mirrors.

These mirrors are available to suit a wide range of popular tow vehicles, and they’e made to replace the standard mirrors and wire straight into your vehicle's electrics. As such they maintain the mirrors' electric adjustment and, if applicable, the functionality of the integrated mirrors.

The Clearview Towing Mirrors themselves are available in a black or chrome housing, with or without integrated indicators. For my 120 Series Toyota Prado I went for the basic black – I’m not really one for fashion but it did seem to go well with my truck's black snorkel.

Easy fitting

I took the Prado to Clearview's headquarters in Melbourne's northern suburbs to see for myself just what the fitting process involved. The result? Not much – it's roughly a 10-minute operation to swap out each mirror but if you're not comfortable with removing your door's interior trim then Clearview has over 700 authorised dealers throughout Australia who'll get the job done.

So what exactly do we have here? The Clearview Towing Mirrors are larger than standard mirrors and they come with spot mirrors too, just as you'd find in truck mirrors. The lower spot mirror is manually adjustable and does a great job of eliminating blind spots and highlighting vehicles that have nearly drawn level with your own – especially smaller cars and motorcycles.

What’s more, the spot mirrors also come into their own when reversing, and they allow you to keep an eye on your caravan's or camper trailer's wheels, helping you identify any puncture before it negatively impacts your rig's handling.

When retracted the Clearview mirrors do protrude further than the standard mirrors – an extra 95mm per side – but if this poses any issues when it's time to stick your tow tug back in the shed the mirrors can be manually folded in.

And when it's time for towing, the mirrors extend on their two solid mounting arms by 110mm – a full 205mm more than a vehicle's standard mirrors – giving the driver a far better view of what's going on at the rear of their vehicle. A solid pull with both hands is all it takes to extend the mirrors, and a similar shove to return them to their retracted position.

Clear view all round

On the road the mirrors provide a clear, blur-free view to the rear – they have just as solid a mounting as any standard mirrors, and so they're free of the distortion inherent in many 'strap on' RV mirror extensions. Even better, there's none of the fiddling around involved with fitting strap-on mirrors – just pull the Clearview mirrors out and you're good to go.

As for durability, I've only got one trip under my belt with the Clearview mirrors so far – a family run with the camper trailer from Melbourne to Mungo National Park, Broken Hill and Silverton – but they certainly appear sturdy and give every sign of standing the test of time. My father-in-law also has them fitted to his Mazda BT-50 and he had them on a Nissan Patrol before that, and he swears by them.

As I was only towing a small camper trailer on this trip I found the Clearview Mirrors did a great job even when retracted – that extra 10-odd centimetres each side, and the added benefit of the spot mirrors, really makes a big difference. Having the mirrors fully extended seemed like overkill for a rig of these modest dimensions and so I had them in for most of our trip, but I'm sure they'll come into their own for longer loads, like caravans, when fully extended.

Verdict

Safety is paramount when towing and Clearview Towing Mirrors can play a big role in ensuring not only your safety, but that of other motorists around you. They don't come cheap – pricing ranges from $695 to $845 a pair depending on the model (see the Clearview website) – but certainly appear to be very well made and they come with a three-year warranty.

They simply work and work well – this is must-have gear for any RVer who takes their road safety seriously.

Tested: Clearview Towing Mirrors

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