Mirrors - Mckesh vs Tow-n-see

[grill-n-go]

Since the Mckesh (I own and use McKesh) mirrors are so ugly i'm always looking for an alternative. I bit/bought the Tow-n-see mirrors.

They look better but you see a lot less.
They are about 40% (visibility) the size of a Mckesh.

If you've never had McKesh mirrors you will probably be happy with the tow-n-see. If you own Mckesh, don't bother, save your $$s.

Upside of the tow-n-see:
-Easy to install and easy to adjust.

Downside:
-The "pocket" of your vehicles mirror may be too deep, such that you can't adjust the tow-n-see
-A blindspot the size of Texas.
With the McKesh you retain your vehicles mirrors and gain the added visibility of Mckesh. With tow-n-see you compromise your vehicles mirrors to get the tow-n-see mirrors pointed in the right direction. If you don't understand this feel free to e-mail me, It's important. I think that with "tow-n-see" you see about 30% of what you get with McKesh.

I own both sets of Mirrors. I'm keeping the tow-n-see for an emergency but will continue to use McKesh/ugly as my first choice.

You pretty well said it all. I needed some mirrors for towing the TM, after stepping down from a motorhome. If they increased the size of the mirrrors they would be a very valuble tool. Adjusting is great and they are easy to install. I'm using them and very happy with them overall.

Trailer life has another mirror ad for a Power Vision Mirror at www.powervisionmirrors.com They are pretty pricy, over $500.

john
3023 TM 2004
Montana AWD 2003

I have CIPA Custom towing mirrors which just slide over your original mirror housing, so you have your original mirrors and the additional independently adjustable mirror. They don't look bad either. http://www.aztrucks.com/category.asp?product=80 will give you an idea what they look like. I bought mine at our local ACE Hardware, but Schucks also had them, just not the one I needed. Cabela's also has them for about half again the price! Maybe their's are made of gold instead of plastic.

This weekend was our second trip out. This was also the first time that my wife drove with the TM.

The most annoying thing about the McKesh mirrors is the amount of time it takes to re-adjust the mirrors every time you change drivers.

There are three tensioning screws at the bottom of each mirror. If they are too tight (factory setting) you will break the glass attempting to adjust them. If they are too loose then the wind and vibration move them around, requiring periodic adjustments.

How does everyone else handle this? If I was the only driver I could just get them adjusted and then tighten the screws.

I have looked at GM extended adjustable mirrors but they don't seem to go out far enough. I'm willing to pay the approximately 500 dollars for adjustable mirrors, if I can just find some that extend out far enough. Presently I have the McKesh out far enough that they do not block the factory mirrors. This setting is such that the center of the mirror is 18 inches out past the window. Anything less and I can not see the lane behind me.

Someone must make some after market mirrors that extend out far enough. I see that the powervision mirrors extend 5 inches, but they don't say from where. 5 inches past the side window is not enough. I need 18 inches past the window.

TV is 2002 Chevy Silverado crew cab 1500 hd

This might be a little over the top for you but this is what I used in the 50's -70's.


http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/...atalogId=10101


They are now called west coast mirrors, back in those days you could get them from the pickup dealers, mostly free if they knew you would be towing. Boy, have things changed!

Thanks for the link, but they only adjust out to 14 inches. About the same as the GM power adjust extended mirrors. That is only enough to just see down the side of the TM, but not at all behind it.

Perhaps I am just overly picky about being able to see the lane behind me.

When my wife was driving yesterday, on a two lane road, all of a sudden a very small sports car zipped past us, doing 80+. It had come all the way up to us before pulling out to pass. Because she was mostly looking in the factory mirror and not the McKesh mirror she was surprised. She just wasn't looking back far enough or often enough. She was slightly startled. Now she knows why I look back in the mirrors so often.

The powervision look like the best option, but I sure am uncomfortable shelling out 500 dollars sight unseen.

For the moment I'll settle for the McKesh, but that means I have to do all the driving. Good thing I enjoy driving.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

The most annoying thing about the McKesh mirrors is the amount of time it takes to re-adjust the mirrors every time you change drivers.

There are three tensioning screws at the bottom of each mirror. If they are too tight (factory setting) you will break the glass attempting to adjust them. If they are too loose then the wind and vibration move them around, requiring periodic adjustments.

Hmmm. I have not experienced this, so I went out to the garage and looked at my set of McKesh mirrors. On the bottom of the mirror head, I see two Phillips-head screws and one 1/2" hex head bolt. These must be the three tensioning screws you refer to.

For me, the hex-head bolt sets the tension for the horizontal rotation of the mirror head. That is, I can adjust the line-of-sight in and out (toward and away from the tow vehicle) at this junction. For my wife and myself (roughly the same size people), this is all we have ever needed.

I have never had to tweak the Phillips-head screws. They seem to set the tension on the mirror head's ball-mount, right? I do occasionally adjust the viewing-angle up or down by moving the mirror head forward or back, but doing so has never been a problem with the factory tension. If there were a problem, I guess I would loosen the two Phillips screws, put a drop of oil or white grease on the ball mount, work the ball-mount around to work the lube onto all the mating surfaces, and tighten it up again. If the ball-mount surface (aluminum?) is a bit corroded, it will turn roughly, or seize-and-release, which is certainly not good. Lubing it and working it will rub off some of the scale, and prevent new scale from forming.

As I looked at my mirrors, and thought about it, it suddenly occurred to me that ALL of the adjustment was probably intended to happen at the ball mount. The fact that mine adjusts at the hex bolt, in just the way I need, is just luck, I guess. But I don't think you should be having the problems you are experiencing.

Good luck with it, and please report back when you solve it.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

Hmmm. I have not experienced this, so I went out to the garage and looked at my set of McKesh mirrors. On the bottom of the mirror head, I see two Phillips-head screws and one 1/2" hex head bolt. These must be the three tensioning screws you refer to.
Bill

Bill,

They must have made a design change. My mirrors are only a month old. I keep the 1/2 " bolt tight, although it too loosens with vibration, even with a lock washer. In addition to the 1/2" bolt there are three Phillips head screws where the mirror pivots.

These screws do a poor job of applying tension. I am finding that they either "lock" the mirror in place or "unlock" it so that it swivels so easily that the wind will turn it. When I loosen these screws I turn each one around 3-5 degrees.

I can probably solve the problem with the 1/2" bolt coming loose by adding some locktite. I don't have any brilliant ideas about how to change the granularity of the adjusting screws.

I haven't pulled the screws out, but a wild guess is that older mirrors use fine threads and newer mirrors use coarse threads. This would explain why such a small turn (3 degrees) causes a substantial reduction in friction.

Short term I will replace the broken mirror. Maybe the factory will cover that. Long term I am still looking for "good" mirrors, as the McKesh are barely adequate.

Good points about the McKesh:

1. Easy on and off of TV.
2. Stick out far enough to see behind TM.
3. Don't block use of existing factory mirrors.
4. Spot mirror on driver side is useful.

Bad points about the McKesh:
1. Difficult to adjust with change of driver.
2. Vibrate more than the stock factory mirrors.
3. Don't fold back, must be removed.
4. If removed, must be readjusted when reattached.
5. Spot mirror on passenger side is useless as it hits the mirror arm before it is adjusted inward far enough to be useful. It won't see a sports car in my blind spot, but will see a sports car two lanes over.