RV FEATURE
EASY POWERFOLD INSTALLATION!
Clip them on. And don’t forget to take them off
after unhitching, lest the police decide to issue
a fine. I’m talking tow mirrors, specifically the
clip-on variety.
For many years, I’ve laboured with clip-on mirrors,
and I admit that I’ve towed without them simply
because I’d forgotten to fit them. I tow caravans
almost constantly, so ‘converting’ to Clearview
has been a revelation.
In 2018, Clearview Mirrors improved its standard
design by incorporating an automatic folding
function. The Clearview Powerfold mirrors will,
as the name suggests, fold inwards at the push
of a button.
In vehicles with existing folding mirrors, the
Powerfolds are a ‘plug and play’ installation;
however, they can still be fitted to other vehicles
with the addition of some wiring and electrics.
Since fitting a set of Powerfolds to my MU-X, I’ve
had an excellent field of view to the rear when
towing and when unhitched, thanks to the large
mirror faces. Each mirror housing incorporates a
standard upper mirror and convex ‘wide angle’
lower mirror designed to eliminate blind spots. The
upper mirror can be adjusted using the vehicle’s
existing mirror controller, while the convex mirror
requires manual adjustment.
As with the standard Clearviews, it’s just a matter
of sliding out the extension arm on both mirrors
to create a ‘built in’ tow mirror.
While it took a while to become accustomed to
them, I’m much happier with the rear vision they
afford. I tend to use the Powerfold function in
tight carparks and on narrow tracks – Clearview
mirrors are designed to provide as much rear
vision as possible and as such, they jut out
more than a factory mirror. In fact, they have
an outward reach of about 200mm more than a
standard vehicle mirror.
When towing, having a single point of focus –
rather than flicking my eyes from standard mirror
to clip-on tow mirror – has been a major benefit,
both in terms of safety and convenience.
/ 39