Are rear-view mirrors a thing of the past?

[Glenn Baglo]

Years ago I tried to remove the cargo bulb on a Ford Explorer. It was soldered in place.

[Daryl and Wendy]

Regarding spare tires mounted under the vehicle; we had a nightmare experience when I couldn't lower the spare from the frame. My first experience with a 'blowout' at highway speed in decades. The cable that lowers the spare bound inside and couldn't be resolved. As it would happen there was no cell coverage. All-in-all it took six hours and a tow to get a sawzall to cut the mount and (literally) drop the spare.

A hint to the wise: Knowing that you CAN do it doesn't mean it can be done if something is broke or missing. Try and go thru the full motions of using the spare once in a while.

Another (sorta) funny story; a buddy loaned his jack handle to a camper to hammer tent pegs. The jack handle wasn't returned, leaving buddy on his own to figure out how to jack up the trailer without a handle.

[Daryl and Wendy]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Unfortunately a lot of these techy items, some of which can be great secondary tools, are dumbing down younger drivers IMHO. Can't remember once having my mirrors short out .

It is so scary to see some drivers ONLY heads down watching the in-dash while backing. Pedestrians, other cars and fixed objects be damned. Absolutely no idea of what is coming from the sides or where the front of the vehicle is. Scary!

[Glenn Baglo]

I learned one could sometimes look into shop windows at the reflection of my vehicle and the one behind. Totally freaked out a guy sitting in his BMW as he watched me reverse without looking in my mirrors . But, I could see his front bumper and my rear bumper and they never got closer than two inches.
He didn't need to repeatedly blast his horn.

[stude]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Been using my mirrors for 50 years. Would take me that long, at least, to switch to looking at a monitor.
Glance in the mirror, shoulder check, lane change.

:I'm with Glen on keeping ones side view mirrors, middle of window mirror is not much use in tow Vehicle with Trailer on back but side mirrors are very important. I have been driving about the same in years as Glenn but I Once drove big rigs and I used those mirrors all the time.
I see where Class A's, B Plus, Class C's now have along with side mirrors they now all have the Rear Back up camera and these are a blessing to see out and around for Pedestrians and others backing out of parking stalls near you when your trying to back out, not only that in the last few years they have come up with side camera's but I still go the mirror to see behind me and the back up camera.
Stude

[k0wtz]

Floyd you are back been missing you!


bob

[k0wtz]

Gordon we have tented in the alps in Europe believe me with that setting mountain to mountain a gps is worthless.


bob

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by floyd

Rear view cameras to replace rearview mirrors? heck I expect big screen monitors to replace windshields! you could even choose the season or scenery to view as long as the traffic and the road was accurate!

Now that is a good idea! Better yet, just play a video of the trip you want to take and stay home. You could even sit in the car, in the garage, and play with the steering wheel like a 5-year-old while watching the video of your trip.

Seriously though, a backup camera is a very nice tool for backing into spots and connecting to the trailer

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Seriously though, a backup camera is a very nice tool for backing into spots and connecting to the trailer

doesn't that take two different backup cams? one on the tug, one on the tow?

[Darral T.]

The newer vehicles are mostly coming standard with backup cams. So if you have that one and one in your RV... well.

I HAVE taken mine and have a hook up where I could put it on my truck to back to the trailer and then put it inside the Scamp when I'm done. But I dont run my tailgate when traveling with the trailer so I dont have any problems seeing the hitch now and dont have to fool with the cam.

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

doesn't that take two different backup cams? one on the tug, one on the tow?

[Jim Bennett]

While I love lots of technology advances, many of them with vehicles, there are some things where my years of training and experiences have lead to practices I prefer.

To disregard mirrors as a prime piece of safety equipment, and instead rely on cameras, is not something I care to do at all. I have driven all sizes of vehicles, towed with lots of different combination of car/truck/tractor and trailer of many sizes, and mirrors work great if used properly.

I do love to see images taken with cameras. I just prefer them to be photos and videos intended for viewing pleasure.

To each their own though.

[War Eagle]

Several things change (logically) in our 2016 F-150 when we plug a camper into our 7-pin receptacle, such as the tailgate camera stops working (don't need it anymore because the view of the trailer never changes) and the cross-traffic alert stops working (otherwise it would constantly beep). One thing we didn't like was the blind-spot warning (for traffic coming up on either side of us) stopped working. I wondered why it turned off until I read in a Ford forum that the problem dealt with the blind-spot system not knowing how wide the trailer is that you're pulling, so it couldn't calculate how close to something else was too close. Apparently, Ford has a new blind-spot system that can account for how wide your trailer is, so in newer Ford truck models, the blind-spot now works while pulling a trailer - or so I've heard. Good improvement, in my opinion.

[ATHiker]

Not sure why it has to be one or the other. Personally, I'll take advantage of all the help I can get, back up camera and mirrors.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by ATHiker

Not sure why it has to be one or the other. Personally, I'll take advantage of all the help I can get, back up camera and mirrors.

I'm sure the automotive designers would answer that mirrors are so passe, and those who think they still want them are nothing more than current day "Luddites". Designers can't win industry recognition and awards (and increase their paycheck) by doing the same old thing. So they have to design something new and different, that you don't want or need, then let marketers and salesmen do their job by convincing you that you not only want it but you NEED it (to stay ahead of the Jones's).

[Jon in AZ]

There have been concept cars with technology replacing mirrors for decades. Of course they want a clean design.

We are a lot closer to reality than 20 years ago, but I'm skeptical the federal regulatory agency responsible for writing the rules will let it happen easily. Change is slow.

That's fine with me.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

There have been concept cars with technology replacing mirrors for decades. Of course they want a clean design. We are a lot closer to reality than 20 years ago, but I'm skeptical the federal regulatory agency responsible for writing the rules will let it happen easily. Change is slow.

Just wait another decade or two when these millennials, who stare into their smart devices 24/7 (the so-called "glow kids" because their face is always illuminated by their smart device screen), will be in charge of those regulatory agencies. They'll make it so you can drive your vehicles by app alone.
By the way, I heard something on the news the other day that the birth year 1996 officially ends the millennia era. Not sure what label we should be using to refer to people born since then.

[Gordon in Idaho]

Don't look back....don't ever look back.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Gordon in Idaho

Don't look back....don't ever look back.

If we've resorted to song lyrics now ("Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry), then movie lines are fair game, too. I don't recall the movie or the actor, but he character he portrayed went through life like the proverbial "bull in a china shop", and his recurring line was, "What lies behind is of no concern." Unfortunately, I don't think that really applies when driving through traffic or when backing a camper into a camp site.

[SteveGP]

I saw a video of the recent announcement of next-gen pickups from GMC, that will be shipping this year. The rear-view mirror has a feature for when you have a load in the bed that blocks the view out the back window. When you flip the switch, the whole mirror turns into a display that shows the view from a camera mounted on the back of the truck. The perspective/field of view is similar to what you normally see in the mirror.

That's a case where I think the camera is an improvement.

The pickup also supports a camera mounted on the trailer, and has a plug (separate from the seven-pin) for connecting it. I don't know if the truck is smart enough to display the trailer cam view on the rear view mirror.

[Jimrules]

Originally Posted by SteveGP

I saw a video of the recent announcement of next-gen pickups from GMC, that will be shipping this year. The rear-view mirror has a feature for when you have a load in the bed that blocks the view out the back window. When you flip the switch, the whole mirror turns into a display that shows the view from a camera mounted on the back of the truck. The perspective/field of view is similar to what you normally see in the mirror.

That's a case where I think the camera is an improvement.

GM already offers this on the Chevy Bolt EV. The camera view is great! it's a wide view and helps with blind spots. By the time the back of a car leaves the rear view camera the front is showing in the side view mirrors. It's not perfect in all conditions and can get dirty, but they did point a spray nozzle at the camera lense so at least you can clean it as you go. If that doesn't work you flip the switch back to the regular mirror.