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Old 06-21-2014, 08:04 PM   #1
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F150 Tow Mirrors

Today I switched out the mirrors on my 2013 F150. I upgraded from the standard factory XLT mirror to the factory XLT tow mirrors. My question is for those of you that have these, how do you like them? I like the way they look on the truck, but they're going to take some getting used to. They are so large that they seem to create a blind spot when taking corners. And, I could swear I had a better field of view in my old mirrors! When I got home and backed into the garage today, it seemed that I was struggling a little to see toward the floor. Almost like I had to chose to either see high or low. I couldn't find that sweet spot.
Do you think it's just because they're new to me? And, are they really that much of advantage when towing?
Thanks
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Old 06-21-2014, 08:14 PM   #2
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They are awesome for when towing. You will get used to them, they should have 2 pieces (mirrors) on each side. One of those curved ones on bottom then the standard on top. At least that what I have. I had a hard time at 1st but got used to them quickly. My only problem is I live in the city and park as close as I can to my house as I have the neighbors car right next to me. I have rubbed both mirrors off the side of my house multiple times. At least they haven't bounced off the neighbors car.
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Old 06-21-2014, 08:34 PM   #3
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I have the same mirrors on my 2011 and I love them. I agree with dorant, they do take some getting used to. The small concave mirror is nice on the interstate to see your blind spot.
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Old 06-21-2014, 10:31 PM   #4
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I agree as well. Have them on my 2013, took some getting used to, however no blind spot and super awesome for towing.
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Old 06-22-2014, 05:37 AM   #5
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I have them as well. When I test drove my truck, I thought they were awfully bulky, and didn't care much for them. Changed my mind once I got them adjusted and hit the freeway. You can see 3+ lanes of traffic from each mirror! And after towing with them in the extended position a couple of times, I'd never go back to the clip-on/strap-on towing mirrors. On mine, the top (flat) mirror adjusts electrically, with the button inside. But the bottom (convex) mirror adjusts manually. I have them adjusted up-and-down so I can just barely see my back tires hit the pavement. That eliminated the high/low viewing you talked about, and helps me avoid rubbing the tires on curbs. (Took a while to get use to the length difference between a Ranger CC w/a 6' bed, and the F-150 SCrew w/a 6.5' bed. LOL) I have found that pivoting them inward makes it a whole lot easier to pull up to the ATM machine without hitting the guard post. One other thing I discovered: they also pivot outward toward the front of the truck. I was backing up in a narrow wooded two-track last fall. I was paying close attention to clearance on the drivers side, but not so much on the passenger side. I rubbed against a tree and was sure I'd busted the mirror off. Luckily, I only pivoted it forward, and just pushed it back into place. Avoided one of those "Oh S*** Moments" that time! Maybe pivoting them inward will help out with your parking situation. Just a thought!

Don't worry. Once you get use to them, you'll love them, too!
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Old 06-22-2014, 07:28 AM   #6
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The mirrors I installed are also the power adjustable top (flat glass) with the manually adjustable fish eye glass on the bottom. I love the fish eyes, but I'm not so sure about the flat glass. So let me ask a dumb question, as I have never towed a 24' camper before. Should I always travel with the mirrors in the extended position?
And Brownie, You said you had yours adjusted so that you could barely see your tires hit the ground. I'm assuming you mean the top portion. Is that correct?
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Old 06-23-2014, 07:41 AM   #7
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I've had these mirrors on my 2012 F-150 and I love them. I won't go back to regular mirrors ever!
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Old 06-23-2014, 08:37 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by 12VOLTMAN View Post
And Brownie, You said you had yours adjusted so that you could barely see your tires hit the ground. I'm assuming you mean the top portion. Is that correct?
12VM,

No, I meant the bottom mirror. Sorry I didn't make that clear. They'll be a little stiff right out of the box, but you can adjust them up/down by grasping the outside housing with your fingers on both hands, and pushing on the mirror with both of your thumbs. Once you get them to move, you'll be able to readjust them with just one hand. You'll also find you'll need to readjust the top mirror after you hook/unhook your trailer & WD hitch bars, since the tongue weight of the trailer will lower the back of the truck. (There are a couple of posts on this subject.)

Yes, I would extend them every time I tow. I wasn't sure I'd need them with my old 18-footer, but found them to be very useful, even with that "shorty". Particularly the passenger-side mirror when passing slower moving vehicles, or making right-hand turns while towing it. And they (almost) make backing into a campsite a breeze! There again, you'll have to give them a good tug the first couple of times you extend them. But after a few times, they'll slide a lot easier. Besides eliminating the vibrations that are inherent with clip-on/strap-on mirrors, and the ability to see the entire side of your trailer, the thing I like third best about these mirrors is you don't have to pull them off and find a place to store them once you unhook the trailer. You just slide them back in, do a quick adjustment of the flat mirrors, and you're ready to roll!

When washing your truck by hand, don't forget to slide the mirrors out into towing position so you can wash any mud/dirt/salt off the shafts. They'll slide a lot easier if you do. Of course, if you're going through a car wash, you'll want to pivot the mirrors inward toward the windows. Car wash dumpsters are just full of mirrors that weren't retracted and ended up on the carwash floor.

Don't worry; I can almost guarantee after you've had them for a couple of weeks and you've towed with them a couple of times, you'll wish you'd gotten them sooner!

Happy camping . . . and towing!
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Old 06-23-2014, 10:26 AM   #9
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I love mine and dislike driving without them. The only time I see a blind spot is when someone is walking towards the mirror in a parking lot and their head is hidden by the mirror, I have almost taken out 3 old ladies this way by not seeing them, well 2 old ladies one ran into the mirror when i was stopped. And somehow that was my fault.
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Old 06-23-2014, 06:06 PM   #10
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Well, it's only my second day driving with the new mirrors and they're already starting to grow on me. It was a bit of a shock at first, but I think I'll make the adjustment. The curved glass is a big advantage over the original mirrors I had. Can't wait to try them on the highway!
Thanks again for help!
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Old 06-23-2014, 06:21 PM   #11
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I love my big mirrors on my F150! With my 23B I really can't tell much of a difference in vision between retracted and extended except my truck looks way cooler when they are extended.
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Old 06-23-2014, 08:17 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 12VOLTMAN View Post
Today I switched out the mirrors on my 2013 F150. I upgraded from the standard factory XLT mirror to the factory XLT tow mirrors. My question is for those of you that have these, how do you like them? I like the way they look on the truck, but they're going to take some getting used to. They are so large that they seem to create a blind spot when taking corners. And, I could swear I had a better field of view in my old mirrors! When I got home and backed into the garage today, it seemed that I was struggling a little to see toward the floor. Almost like I had to chose to either see high or low. I couldn't find that sweet spot.
Do you think it's just because they're new to me? And, are they really that much of advantage when towing?
Thanks
Curious what it cost to change the mirrors? I have the standard mirrors, which were fine with my 19H, but thinking of an upgrade with the 28DSBH now.

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Old 06-24-2014, 06:53 AM   #13
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I'm curious Derek, your signature says you have the max tow package on your F150. Doesn't that come with the tow mirrors?
In any case, I paid $398 for the Ford OEM XLT telescoping tow mirrors. They have heated glass, power adjustable, with turn signal and puddle light. My original mirrors did not have the puddle light, but you will gain it as it is already wired into the harness. There are power retractable versions available also, but they are very expensive. The install was VERY easy. Except for a typo in the instructions for the torque on the mirror nuts I did not have a problem. The instructions said 12Nm (106 ft lbs). Well, if you do the math, that conversion is not even close. When I called Ford for a clarification, the guy said "maybe you're in over your head on this". Seriously? I'm over my head tightening a nut? What an ass.
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Old 06-24-2014, 07:06 AM   #14
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I'm curious Derek, your signature says you have the max tow package on your F150. Doesn't that come with the tow mirrors?
Surprisingly, no! The big "Mickey Mouse ears" are an upgrade. Should definitely be part of a "max tow" package though.

I have heated, power mirrors now, so am wondering if I should just get the dealer to install them anyhow. Still another year of warranty and don't want to give them any excuses to void parts of it.

Thanks for the info.
Derek
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Old 06-24-2014, 07:21 AM   #15
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The dealer said they could do it in about fifteen minutes per side. So, it probably wouldn't cost you that much for the install. After I did the first one, the second one took me about fifteen minutes. It wasn't bad at all.
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Old 06-24-2014, 10:01 AM   #16
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The telescoping tow mirrors on my 2012 F150 came with the Max Tow package by default. Some in Canada said that they were sold as an option up there.

I loved those mirrors. These are the same as what comes on the Super Duty. From my experience I consider them better than the telescoping tow mirrors I have on my Chevy 3500. The Ford's are slightly bigger so you have more vision, and they don't vibrate as much as the Chevy.

I would highly recommend for anyone with an F150 towing a TT.
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Old 06-24-2014, 12:54 PM   #17
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I would highly recommend for anyone with an F150 towing a TT.
2X

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Old 08-21-2015, 09:57 AM   #18
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I just found this thread. I recently picked up a 2013 F150 with max tow pkg. It has the standard power heated mirrors. I am looking at a set of after market towing mirrors. They look identical to the factory version and have the same features (power, heated, turn signal and also the puddle light). I was wondering if any of you have after markets and if so how do you like them? The cost is about half that of the factory mirrors.
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Old 08-21-2015, 10:20 AM   #19
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Yeah, factory mirrors are ridiculous money. Ever think about clip on's?
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