Need some advice from those who tow a lot.

Hi, I have recently discovered that since about 2010 it has been a legal requirement to be able to see an object in your door mirrors that is 20 meters behind your head in line with the widest part of the vehicle and also be able to see another object 4 meters off to the side at the same distance simultaneously. This is fine when travelling solo as the jimny has great mirrors. The issues come when you are towing a trailer that is wider than the car not so much for the wide objects but the ones in line with the widest part hence all the tupperwear mansions have the extended mirrors. This is also fine if you don't tow that often but for say a week at a time so the set up is simple and can stay in place. I am in the opposite situation in that I tow often but only for relatively short periods, so swapping extended mirrors frequently will get old very quickly. Added to that the standard mirrors are nominally adequate as they are but just as a precaution and margin for error I am thinking of buying some blind spot mini mirrors to clip on the top of the existing ones. And now for the actual question; can you get split mirror glass like on golf's where the outside edge is convex to give a wider field of view that all sits in the factory head and looks unmodified?

Sorry for the rambling on and cheers for any information.

It all depends on your trailer. I tow a Freedom Microlite caravan and you need mirrors.
I also tow a 2 bike trailer which is roughly the same base dimensions but as I can easily see over the trailer and have use of the interior mirror I don't bother with towing mirrors.
Strictly by the letter of the law it's still illegal for instance if you draw a line vertically from the outside of each wheel it would intersect the rear view but in reality if it wasn't for a bike on the back or the odd glimpse of the mudguards you wouldn't know it was there.

Yeah I know what you mean. Most of the issues is with my medium sheep trailer The body of which is 5ft wide. At the moment I can see the back corners of it so would argue it's adequate but that is with the very inside edge of the factory mirrors so I was intending to use blind spot mirrors to increase my field of view?

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationYou can get the cheap blind spot mirrors but this might be a better quality solution??
Possibly as the Jimny mirrors are squarish you could fit it vertically but there again you might knock it off going through gates etc? :laugh:

That was the kinda thing I was looking at if I can't get split mirror for the original head?

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationebay

Just note that that mirror glass is not heated and you will have to break your old glass to get the backing/mounting that the glass mounts on if doing the job correctly.
However you could just stick it on top with sticky pads??

If you can see the back edge of the trailer then surely there is no issue? The standard mirrors easily meet the 4m wide at 20m visibility requirement. If you want to change the mirrors then fair enough, but there is no legal requirement for you to do so.

All I want is to be beyond reproach in the event of a vosa roadside check or worse a collision, if I add additional mirrors even if I am already legal then there's one less thing that can be used against me, and yes I know that sounds like paranoia.

That's gotta be wrong hasn't it?? I'm not sure I could see 20m behind my work pickup wimithout towing anything God help me if I need to use that to tow the jimny anywhere!

As an ex lgv driver I know what 11/60 means. VOSA are always looking for a likely "pull".
Anything that looks slightly commercial and a bit tatty will be pulled and that includes farmers etc with trailers that don't get used much also old landrovers and transits.
Fitting those mirrors will minimise another reason to get fined or points.
Bet not many people know it's also illegal to leave towing mirrors on the car if you are not towing a caravan/trailer!!

www.lifesure.co.uk/blog/2013/06/caravan-...re-you-know-the-law/

Basketcase, I think you've interpreted it wrong. You need to be able to see a point 20m behind where you sit and inline with the side of your vehicle/trailer. At the same time you should also be able to see a point 4m to the outside of the first point. E.g. at a distance of 20m, you should be able to see and area 4m wide.

I just checked with my Jimny mirrors, and at 20m distance I can see an area 12m wide! So they far exceed the legal requirements, as long as your view in the mirrors isn't obstructed by the trailer. If the vehicle you tow the Jimny with is wider than the Jimny then there is no problem.