Mirror Upgrades

F250 - F350 - Superduty

Mirrors - Telescoping Towing Mirrors

I bought a 2000 F250 Ford truck equipped with a 7.3-liter Power stroke diesel engine to pull our 27-foot 5th wheel trailer. When first delivered, the truck came with the standard power mirrors. These turned out to be virtually useless for visibility when towing the trailer; they just didn't stick out far enough to provide visibility past the trailer.

Ford also offers optional telescoping mirrors that replace the stock mirrors. I had the dealer change the mirrors over. The new mirrors are genuine Ford accessories and the official part number is YC3V1769BAA. Exchanging the OEM parts to these was quick and painless on the Ford pickup, but would obviously be more of a challenge on another vintage or type of vehicle, which accounts for the difference in installation charges. Owners with sufficient skills and patience could do the installation themselves and save some change.

Advantages

These mirrors telescope out three inches to improve the angle of visibility. Now let me guess what you’re saying, ”Only three inches?!?” It really was a revelation to me how much those three inches really helped. Go to a dealer and check it out for yourself.

The mirrors have two parts. The top two thirds is a power mirror, adjustable from the driver�s seat on both sides. This mirror provides a great but narrow slice of rearward visibility. The lower third of each mirror is a small, convex mirror that can be hand-adjusted to provide a different perspective. I use them to scope out the position of the trailer wheels while on the go, where viewing the road delineation marks help verify your position on the roadway. In addition, as I negotiate corners, the mirrors give an excellent view of clearance of curbs and obstacles. I also found the lower mirrors added immensely to the reduction of blind spots for the big rig. On a fifth-wheel trailer this big, there is a substantial blind spot on each side of the truck and trailer combination. These lower convex mirrors add significant visibility to these blind areas.

The mirror unit retains the OEM mirrors’ ability to be folded alongside the truck for added clearance in tight areas. This feature is especially useful in car wash facilities where mirrors tend to damage easily.

Conclusion

For me, these optional mirrors have proven to be worth the investment. These mirrors are valuable not just for towing an RV, but also when pulling other trailers or hauling vehicles of different sizes.

Mirror - Gallery