Mirror, Mirror on the ..err.. Odyssey?

[Matthew Lyon]

Howdy all...
It looks like (weather permitting) we'll be going over the pick up our new-to-us 13' Scamp in the next week or two.

We'll be towing with our Honda Odyssey, and I'm wondering whether I'll need to invest in some extended mirrors to get it home (4 hours on relatively empty Montana roads...) The trailer doesn't have a gravel guard on the front window, so I should be able to leave the curtains open and look through it to the rear.

Is anybody else towing a 13' with an Odyssey or other similar van able to shed some light on whether mirrors will be essential or something that I won't really see much benefit from?

thanks!

[Donna D.]

I don't have an Odyssey, drive an F-150 Ford PickemUp. But I find the mirrors on my truck are adequate. As a suggestion, maybe purchase the mirrors (stay away from the ones you lash on your current mirrors...forum members say they vibrate!), keep the receipt/original packing material and use them if needed...or take them back to the store...if not.

Really, you're the only one who can decide what's "adequate" for you.

Drive safe and remember....we love to pictures!

[Per Walthinsen]

Hi Matthew:

First, congratulations on the Scamp addition coming up!

Since we tow with an Odyssey I can probably give an answer on this issue. We tow a late model Burro which is 7'6" wide, i.e. 10 inches wider than a 13' Scamp. I have one of those clamp-on-with-rubber bands mirrors (from Camping World, if I remember right). Originally I had them for both right and left hand sides but took the right side off.

My experience is that they vibrate too much, are too sensitive and awkward to position, and too small to be of any real practical value. The Ody mirrors are what I use, and the extension mirror is there for show (for the Highway Troopers). Works pretty well with the originals, but there is a widening cone of a blind spot behind the trailer which is a problem. I suspect that on the narrower 13' Scamp you will find the Ody mirrors work very well and instead of an ever-widening "cone" of blindness behind you it will be more like a "rectangle" which will be not much of a problem. Seeing through the trailer is not something I would rely on to be practical.

Therefore, the extension mirror is just to fulfill legal requirements, and I don't even know if one or two are actually required. We have never been stopped for inadequate mirrors. You may have to find out whether extension mirrors are legally required in your state for towing a 13' Scamp (6'8" width).

This is an issue with me, and I don't like the blind area behind my trailer. I don't know what's behind me and I don't know if someone is racing up behind me to suddenly swing out to pass, etc. etc.

After 6 years + I have decided to go the high tech route and I have installed a rearview camera on the tail end of the Burro with an 5" LCD screen on the dash. By playing chicken with the rain I have managed to test the camera/monitor, make and install very solid mounting brackets for both the monitor and the camera and the plan is to hook it all up soon. I will report on this forum what my conclusions are.

So, unless the police are anal about the mirrors I think you will have absolutely no problems getting it home as long as you compensate for the blind spot behind the trailer.

[Byron Kinnaman]

If the "new to you 13' " doesn't have a bathroom, with the gravel shield removed and the curtains pulled back, you can see through the trailer. I towed mine that way for 3 or 4 months. Now I use extension mirrors. They viberate a bit, but serve the purpose in letting me know if somebody is back there.

[Nancy]

No problem. We tow a 13 with an Odyssey and my husband has never wanted to even think about extensions. He is comfortable. We do not have rear view. I wanted to go without a gravel guard but we don't so I can't answer if you can see through or not.

Also we drove on a 5,000 mile trip without our brakes hooked up and had no problem there either. We do finally have the brakes hooked up but am not sure we use them the right way, but they are there if needed.

We keep the weight to a minimum and on our long hauls we average around 17 mpg. Good luck.

Nancy

[CarolnJim]

Congratulations on finding your "New to You" Scamp.

We have an Odyssey and tow our 17' Casita Liberty wthout extra mirrors.... The Odyssey mirrors work great..No problem seeing at all. Jim also turns the Odyssey's rear view mirror up so the BIG white thing behind us is not distracting him.

[BobB]

Matthew,

I agree that you probably don't need mirror extensions. To put it another way, these trailers are only 6-1/2 feet wide, not 8 feet or more like some travel trailers.

[Matthew Lyon]

Wow... thanks for all the responses! I was guessing that I probably would be fine, but it's great to get some feedback from people using exactly the same tug/toad combo. I definitely appreciate everyone's input... what a great group!

Matthew

[David & Leslie]

Hi, Matthew and congrats on finding your Scamp!

We have towed several thousand miles behind our Mazda MPV and the mirrors work just fine. We don't have a gravel guard either; we take down the front & rear curtains and we can see all the way thru ... no need for larger mirrors.

We wish you safe journeys & many happy memories. Hope to see you on the road in the future ... perhaps at the Oregon Gathering next July? Take care, L 'n D

[Frederick L. Simson]

My experience is that [b]they vibrate too much, are too sensitive and awkward to position, and too small to be of any real practical value. The Ody mirrors are what I use...

Now I use extension mirrors. [b]They viberate a bit, but serve the purpose in letting me know if somebody is back there.

I tow with an Odyssey and I use the extension mirrors similar to what Per has...

Yes, they do vibrate; but after 3 mugs of coffee [b]so do I!
I'm working on getting in sync...

[Terry G.]

I tow with an Odyssey and I use the extension mirrors similar to what Per has...

Yes, they do vibrate; but after 3 mugs of coffee [b]so do I!
I'm working on getting in sync...

love it, re getting sync, heheh

[Matthew Lyon]

We wish you safe journeys & many happy memories. Hope to see you on the road in the future ... perhaps at the Oregon Gathering next July? Take care, L 'n D

Thanks! We'll be at Oregon this summer (A10). Our 13 year old was grumbling about the long trip, but he recently figured out a good friend who had moved lives in Bandon now, see he's excited about coming.

It's my first time that far south in Oregon... we have focused our coastal travels for many years on the northern Washington coast.

Matthew

[Gerry]

[We'll be towing , mirrors will be essential ]


In the state of Maine while towing a travel trailer we are required by law to have extended mirrors on truck/cars while towing.
So check state laws you plan to tow.
I use the rubber strap-on ones while towing my 13 foot Boler and do not have any vibration or any need to readjust.
Gerry