apex26

Just bought a 8.5x24 ft car mate trailer for track days, and for a while will tow it with a 2002 F150 xlt. Does anyone have such a setup? Are the mirrors out far enough to see down the sides of the trailer? Thanks!

trackboss

I've never had "towing" mirrors and never complained.

c4cruiser

Check with a Ford dealer to see if they have factory towing mirrors that can replace the stock ones. There are also aftermarket towing mirrors that attach over the stock mirror housings.

These types of mirrors stick out just far enough that you can see down the sides of the trailer. They are a big help for freeway driving and for backing up.

I have the **** mirrors for my '08 Silverado. It takes just a minute or two to attach them and they stay in place with no trouble.

Bill Dearborn

I agree. A few years ago I added the extension mirrors to my Tahoe. Even though I was towing the car on a 16 ft open bed trailer I couldn't see cars that were directly behind me. One time I was sitting at light waiting to turn and didn't realize there was a trooper about 30 ft behind the trailer with his flashing lights until after I started to turn and was watching the trailer wheels to make sure I didn't run over the curb. He just wanted to talk to me but was a little upset I hadn't pulled over before. I just said I couldn't see you behind the trailer.

The extension mirrors made a huge difference.

Bill

Han Solo

That's a pretty big trailer for an F150. I have considered trying it but my 18' open trailer with 3300 lb car is about all my 03 XLT wants. It does a good job but not sure it would handle a trailer that big.

Scooter70

I use the **** mirrors for my 2013 F150. It's much better using them than without and I'm not stuck with the elephant-ear OEM trailer tow package mirrors the 95% of the time that I'm not towing.

Last C5

I had towing mirrors on a series of trucks for over 30 years and I just changed to a 2014 Chevy with standard mirrors. No problem with my Featherlite open car hauler. Wish I had changed earlier.

JerryTX

Definitely need bigger mirrors to tow an enclosed. I've done well towing open with standard mirrors. On my 2011 F150 (I've owned numerous F series trucks) again the standard mirrors for an open were good, required **** extensions to tow an enclosed and even then it was barely adequate: adding the max tow mirrors solved that.

apex26

Thanks for the input--i'm convinced that even if there is clear vision dead straight that extended mirrors are cheap insurance, even though the truck will be updated within a year.