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Old 06-05-2017, 05:53 AM   #1
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Tow Mirrors vs. Clip On Mirrors

We need to upgrade our mirrors on our 2012 RAM 1500 long bed. We have found a nice set of tow mirrors by K-Source on etrailer. They are $266 for the set (a decent price). We have also found some nice clip on sets for $50-75. We have no doubt that we need better mirrors for towing. We are a good length with our long bed and 26'TT. We also use the truck as a driver. It will be a driver for another year before we retire it from daily use and make it a designated TV.

Do we go for the the larger investment on the direct fit/OE spec mirrors, or do we go the less expensive route and use the clip on mirrors when towing? The KS mirrors are an exact fit product designed for our truck. Our mirrors are manual, and so are these K-Source mirrors. Our TV is a "babied" stock work truck with a strong drivetrain. We like it very much for our purposes right now. We do plan on keeping the truck for another 10 years or so, as we hope to get a lot more towing out of it until we make our next "RV transition." These mirrors would also make the truck safer to drive as a daily driver. We drive it primarily on the freeway to work each day. That is our main reason for adding the mirrors, safety. Ease of parking and maneuvering is our second consideration.

Thank you for your input! Here are links to the mirrors we are considering:

https://www.etrailer.com/p-KS60181-82C.html

https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Towi...id=20124185558
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Old 06-05-2017, 06:05 AM   #2
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I had some slip in mirrors on my 1500 and they were OK. The mirror head is small and it vibrated a bit but it wasn't terrible. I have the large OEM tow mirrors on my 2500 now and love them for every day driving because they completely eliminate blind spots. One down side to the larger head is...well, they have a large profile in the vertical position and occasionally they will block your viewing area behind them.

I would definitely go with the K-Source OEM style mirrors. I see them on Amazon for a little cheaper so it might be worth it to shop around.
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Old 06-05-2017, 06:55 AM   #3
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I would not waste money on the clip on mirrors unless there are no other alternatives. If you are considering something like that look at Cipa custom fit mirrors. They are about $40 on Amazon. I have a set for my Sierra and had a set for a past '95 Suburban. Easy on, easy off, large enough viewing area, they don't bounce around, and they won't break the bank.

On the flip side you are keeping your truck for a very long time and have a use for the extended mirrors beyond just towing. $266 and little time to mount makes a pretty good case for direct fit mirrors.
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Old 06-05-2017, 07:04 AM   #4
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I had been using slip on mirrors on my F150 for a while. I recently upgraded to an F250 with actual tow mirrors and can't believe the difference. I was in a very tight spot over memorial day weekend where I had to navigate a few tight turns. I can honestly say I would have had a problem trying to do it with the slip on mirrors.
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Old 06-05-2017, 07:12 AM   #5
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Placed a set of the K-Source Mirrors on my 2010 GMS Sierra. Best upgrade on the truck. Helped tremendously with Towing and All Driving. Of course I have Towing Mirrors on the F-250.

Why not be safe all the time! They help with all driving and Backing up.

Also concurr to check Amazon for pricing
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Old 06-05-2017, 09:03 AM   #6
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The generic clip on ones are junk. I tried a pair on my last truck, paid about 100 bucks from Canadian Tire, and they were terrible. Hard to install, wouldn't stay on, didn't really do much in terms of visibility.

My dad uses a pair of slip on ones that were specifically made for the F-150, and they are pretty good. If I didn't have the factory tow mirrors I would get a set. They slip over the factory mirror and then a screw clamp keeps them secure. They don't flutter and provide decent visibility while towing. They were about 1/10th the cost of having factory tow mirrors installed.

I love my tow mirrors but have to be careful to fold them in when parked in certain places (at full extension the truck is 9' wide) and they do make a bit of wind noise at highway speed, and some folks claim they cost you about 1/2 a MPG due to their drag.

Still, nothing beats factory tow mirrors.
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Old 06-05-2017, 09:18 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyBound View Post
The generic clip on ones are junk. I tried a pair on my last truck, paid about 100 bucks from Canadian Tire, and they were terrible. Hard to install, wouldn't stay on, didn't really do much in terms of visibility.

My dad uses a pair of slip on ones that were specifically made for the F-150, and they are pretty good. If I didn't have the factory tow mirrors I would get a set. They slip over the factory mirror and then a screw clamp keeps them secure. They don't flutter and provide decent visibility while towing. They were about 1/10th the cost of having factory tow mirrors installed.

I love my tow mirrors but have to be careful to fold them in when parked in certain places (at full extension the truck is 9' wide) and they do make a bit of wind noise at highway speed, and some folks claim they cost you about 1/2 a MPG due to their drag.

Still, nothing beats factory tow mirrors.
There are several slip-on or snap-on mirrors for the RAM's available. I have a set of Longview slip-on from etrailer.com. I believe both K-Source and CIPA make them as well. The Longview are solid and stable - no vibrations. I can still fold the mirrors with them in place and they don't block the puddle lights either. I would have preferred the factory tow mirrors as well, but for some reason none of the 1500's in our area with the factory tow package had them included which I thought was strange....
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Old 06-05-2017, 09:52 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ttavasc View Post
I would have preferred the factory tow mirrors as well, but for some reason none of the 1500's in our area with the factory tow package had them included which I thought was strange....
It's the same here -
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Old 06-05-2017, 01:01 PM   #9
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Yes CIPA mirrors, that's what he has.
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Old 06-05-2017, 02:30 PM   #10
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I bought a set for my truck, and they did not fit right. Very disappointed
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Old 06-06-2017, 10:33 AM   #11
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These are the ones I have for my F-150 from eTrailer. Good tight fit and no vibration. This link should be for the ones that fit your Ram: Longview Custom Towing Mirrors
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Old 06-06-2017, 10:40 AM   #12
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I bought $29- clip-ons for my F-150 for 2 reasons... First, the more expensive mirrors don't add any value at trade-in time so that money would just be gone... Second, the clip-ons worked well enough for towing and were out of the way for regular driving.

And... I sold the clip-ons for $20- in a garage sale...
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Old 06-06-2017, 10:52 AM   #13
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I have the Ram clip-ons on same truck and have been satisfied with them locally, on east and west coast trips since truck was new. The only problem I have is that it is difficult to get the passenger side mirror adjusted. I fold the mirrors in when parking to prevent walkers from messing up my set up. These are the only ones I have had so I can offer no comparison to others.
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Old 06-06-2017, 11:13 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RPreeb View Post
These are the ones I have for my F-150 from eTrailer. Good tight fit and no vibration. This link should be for the ones that fit your Ram: Longview Custom Towing Mirrors
These are the ones I have for my 2014 RAM and they work well. As RPreeb indicates good fit and no vibration.
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Old 06-07-2017, 04:24 PM   #15
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We tried about 20 different kinds of slip-on, clip-on, stick-on mirrors for our '97 F250... nothing worked well. We got a new truck.
The '08 F350 had GREAT mirrors!!

We traded that F350 in on our Seneca... we'll probably be in the market for another truck before long.
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Old 06-16-2017, 06:22 AM   #16
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We have clip ons for the Tundra (Amazon here). They work pretty decently - will echo the others comments about shaking, but I can see vehicles behind me and they're much better for backing up. We got them for the price (super cheap). They don't compare to actual tow mirrors, but are much better than none.
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Old 06-16-2017, 07:13 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schrederman View Post
I bought $29- clip-ons for my F-150 for 2 reasons... First, the more expensive mirrors don't add any value at trade-in time so that money would just be gone... Second, the clip-ons worked well enough for towing and were out of the way for regular driving.

And... I sold the clip-ons for $20- in a garage sale...
I replaced my old F250 OEM regular paddle style mirrors with some true tow mirrors designed to fit the truck. I used them for two years then at vehicle trade in time I swapped back to the originals.

https://www.1aauto.com/search?q=mirr...002&model=2162

I paid $250, used them 2 years, then sold them for $175. At least to me these dedicated mirrors were well worth the cost.

YMMV.
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