Tested: Reich towing mirrors

I’ve been searching for the right rear view mirrors all my towing life.

Ones that will clip tightly to the exterior car and 4WD mirrors of all makes and sizes; ones that don’t require a superstructure resembling the Sydney Harbour Bridge to attach to your vehicle; ones that can be quickly removed and refitted, so when you unhitch you can drive into car parks and parking spaces without your ‘whiskers’…

Ones that won’t scratch or potentially dent your doors getting them on and off; and ones that won’t be blown out of adjustment – or fold in submission – when struck by a blast from an oncoming B-Double truck.

But finally, I think I have found them and based on a combined 20,000km of inland and coastal travel by caravancampingsales.com.au editor Chris Fincham and myself over the past few months, they are the Reich stuff.

Designed in Germany, the Reich Handy Mirror and Excellent View range is everything you’d expect from a car industry that produces Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche cars. They are well made, strong and, most importantly, they work.

The Handy Mirror range consists of three models, all of which attach to your car’s exterior mirrors.

The basic model is the XL, which consists of a mirror attached to two arms that are tightened to the mirror via rubber straps and a clever ratchet system.

The Handy Mirror XL Extended, as its name suggests, is a longer-armed version of the XL for towing wider caravans, while the XL Dual Angle is basically a standard XL mirror with a blind spot mirror incorporated in the main mirror housing.

Finally, there is the Reich Excellent View, which employs a more conventional turn-wheel to control the length of its tensioning rubber straps.

The Handy mirrors are very easy to fit, with a quick release tab allowing the twin rear rubber straps to be slackened completely before being ratcheted tight, with a choice of two attachment points to the mirror arms to cope with slim and fatter OE mirrors.

Twin pliable rubber pads sit between the serrated straps and the vehicle’s mirror head, providing secure and starch-free attachment.

One issue I have had with most previous towing mirrors I have used is that they act as wind-socks, being easily blown back onto the car by large passing trucks and potentially affecting fuel consumption on long trips.

Only twice in 9000km did the Reich XL Extended Handy Mirrors blow back onto our Holden Colorado 7 LTZ tow car on a recent towing trip to Tropical North Queensland and I put this down more to the relatively weak retaining mechanism in the Colorado’s mirrors than to the Reichs.

Once at our destination, they could be removed in seconds and refitted almost as quickly, requiring no re-adjustment.

As to their affect on fuel consumption, consider this. Over the entire trip, the Colorado recorded an average fuel consumption of 15.6 litres/100km and this included cruising most of the way at a true 95km/h and at a true 100km/h when speed limits allows.

Considering they also cost less than $40 RRP apiece, they are indeed the ‘Reich stuff!’

Reich mirrors are distributed in Australia by Coast to Coast Caravan & Leisure.