Chuck&Gail
In the Colorado Mountains
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Joined: 06/16/2004
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Comparing the Tow-N-See, and the CIPA Universal towing mirrors, one mounted on each side of a 1999 Mercedes ML320 during trips of almost 16,000 miles.
Installation – While both are easy to put on, the Tow-N-See is slightly easier.
Noise - Tow-N-See never made a sound, the CIPA whistled softly sometimes. Covering hole in end of knob with tape stops whistle.
Adjustment - Tow-N-See was easy to adjust as it uses the TV electric mirror adjustment. The CIPA is quite difficult to adjust, especially on the passenger side.
Adjustment Permanence - Tow-N-See rotated down about 30 degrees over the miles on the first trip, but I just left it that way. Has not done that since. The CIPA needed tightening a click a day for the first few days.
View - Tow-N-See blocked some of the view in the mirror it was installed on. Worse was the fact that the stock mirror had to be misadjusted DOWNWARDS for the Tow-N-See to be aligned. The CIPA doesn’t block anything, and gives an excellent view, better than the Tow-N-See at its best.
Vibration - Tow-N-See has slightly more vibration, and it causes vibration in the stock mirror. The CIPA does vibrate, but to a lesser degree, and does not affect the stock mirror.
Attachment Permanence - Tow-N-See mirror fell off after 7,500 miles on two trips. Fortunately it comes with a string that holds it to the TV mirror, so it was not lost. The CIPA never budged.
Reliability – This was the second trip with the Tow-N-See, so longevity is unknown. In three years I have had the attachment knob on two CIPA mirrors break.
So the bottom line is, neither is a clear winner. I would opt for the CIPA mirrors if they were more reliable. In the meantime I’ll continue to use the CIPA mirror on the drivers side, and the Tow-N-See on the passengers side. I’ll wait and see how these hold up over the next few years.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded)
Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories.
I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
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Mike Up
NW Indiana section of Chicagoland
Senior Member
Joined: 05/29/2005
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My Review from Camping World:
"To start the vehicle's mirror can't be used at all. I had to adjust my mirrors very far in, pointing at the side of the truck with nearly no vision anywhere but the side of the truck. The reason is that the Tow-n-See mirror extension shaft must clear the vehicle's mirror's BODY. To do this, the mirror has to be adjusted so that the mirror surface is flat and aligned with the body edges. Actually a bit above the body edges is recommended so that the Tow-n-See shaft doesn't rest on the mirrors body or lip. This isn't a problem with power adjustable mirrors. Having manual mirrors will be a bit frustrating when adjusting for the use of the Tow-n-See mirrors, then re-adjusting for the use of only the vehicle's mirror. The loss of use with the vehicle's mirror isn't a problem as the mirrors large viewing area makes the vehicle's own mirror not needed. The down side to this large view, is the old saying, Vehicles are closer than they appear! This demagnification on the mirror's glass is needed to get such a large view in such a small surface area. However, you see everything you need plus more! The mirrors were very stable, absolutely no vibration that blurred the Cipa strap on mirrors!! The mirrors do shake a little, probably less than the Cipa Universal mirrors. However everything is crystal clear. Driving using the Tow-n-See mirror only, let me see the side of the Pathfinder, yet going beyound the 2nd lane into the grass area! The vertical orientation allowed me to see the bottom of the Pathfinder's tire and allowed me to see the very top of the Pathfinder! Oh yeah, one side benefit, ABSOLUTELY NO BLIND SPOT! This is remarkable! This mirror is very stable with a huge viewing area. I wish I would had bought them long ago. This mirror is fantastic! This review is for the convex mirror. I can't recommend the flat mirror because of the mounting limitations and limited view. The Convex Tow-n-See mirror is simply the best in my opinion."
Besides, I've read some reviews here and there on the web where the McKesh mirrors have damaged the paint on the doors. Besides, if those McKesh mirrors get clipped by another car, drive up window  , or an animal, they don't give like an add on mirror attached to your folding vehicle mirrors. I could honestly see some good dents caused by these mirrors and is the main reason why I didn't want them.
I honestly could see a person or child not paying attention, run in to it and BAM, there's a nice big dent in my door. No thanks. There are better options and the Tow-N-See is one of them. Go to my signature links to find the mirror and the video of how it installs.
I guess I should respond about my Cipa Universals which are NOT so universal. First of all, none of the clamps would fit on my Pathfinder since the mirror lip was thicker. The mirror was also painted so the clamps did scratch the paint. BUT since they couldn't fit onto the lip, I couldn't use them. Scratched the paint for no reason.
However they fit well onto the previous Titan. However they were junk IMO. BTW, gorilla or crazy glue (super glue isn't strong enough imo)the foot pads on as they fall off and then the feet don't really stay well at all on the mirrors back.
With the Cipa Universal Mirror's pads attached firmly to the feet, the mirrors walk. At every gas stop, I had to readjust the mirrors back to their original position and tighten them back down. This was for both mirrors. The trip from Indiana to Arkansas was a bit frustrating because of this. The biggest problem to these mirrors is their VERY SMALL and "FLAT" (not convex) mirror glass. They did allow the side view of the camper fine with very little vibration. The Tow-N-See has less vibration. The problem with the Cipa was that I couldn't see the next lane to see if passing was safe. Luckily I could use the vehicles own mirror but the constant guessing of which mirror to use wasn't in my opinion, the quickest and safest way of driving when I needed to see the view immediately.
The Cipa Universal mirrors wasn't to my liking but it was the best alternative I had at the time. However the view was way to small, and the constant walking of the mirror took away even more of my viewable area.
The Pathfinder couldn't use these so I went to the Cipa Clip On (strap on) mirrors. The view was alright but they didn't extend out as far as I would had liked. I couldn't see behind my camper like I could with the Cipa Universal and Tow-N-See Convex Mirrors. These Clip On mirrors were junk. The straps were cracking and ripping and you can't buy them separately. I was forced to buy another mirror within their first year of use. The mirrors vibrated and shook wildly. Everything was a blur but you could see if vehicles were on the sides of you. I absolutely hated these mirrors and is why I took a gamble on the Tow-N-See and found I loved them.
Other's experiences may differ but these are mine.
I've had 3 models of mirrors, Cipa Universal mirrors, Cipa Clip On mirrors, and the Tow-N-See. Rating from 0 - 5, with 5 being the best. Cipa Universal mirrors receive a 2, Cipa Clip On mirrors receive a 0, and Tow-N-See mirrors receive 4. A rating of 5 is reserved for OEM replacement (none attaching but replacement) Telescoping mirrors with 3/4 flat mirror above and 1/4 convex mirror below. These are the optional tow mirrors that come with Dodge Rams and Ford F series trucks.
Have a good one.
* This post was
edited 05/03/08 08:25pm by Mike Up *
2008 Jayco Jay Flight 19BH
22.5' bumper to hitch, 3900#s dry
2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4.6L V8 4X4
7000#/730# rating, 131" WB
Tow-N-See Convex Mirrors
Prodigy Brake Controller
Reese Strait-Line 800 lbs Trunnion Bar Sway Control
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yorkgm
York Beach, Maine
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Joined: 03/26/2007
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I would buy the convex for both sides.
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