towing mirrors

[marticogo]

Hi people just bought a caravan and wondered what sort of mirrors
I might need for towing with. Had a look at ebay and tow sites.
Have a second gen. Any help appreciated. Wht sort of weight can I pull? etc.Also what if any difference is there going to a campsite that has electric hookup , some say 10amp 2000W and some say 16 amp is the a big difference.

[stormforce]

Hi people just bought a caravan and wondered what sort of mirrors
I might need for towing with. .

I think you may be better off with a tow hitch on the truck to tow with rather than mirrors you'll find they'll keep breaking

[da SLUG man]

big difference between 10amp and 16amp is that you'd have to watch
what you plugged in.

you couldn't boil a kettle off 10a!

on 16a you could use a 3kw appliance (kettle, toaster etc.) and have a lamp on...

your household supply will usually be 60 or 100a, depending.



How wide is the caravan?... you might get away with the std surf mirrors and a couple of "blind spot" mirrors for wide angle.

[joker??]

I think you may be better off with a tow hitch on the truck to tow with rather than mirrors you'll find they'll keep breaking

thinking along the same lines

[marticogo]

'Lectrics is um food for thought. Its 19' long and 7' ft wide
chassis gross 850kg, rec mass on tyres 919kg.
Haven't tried without mirrors. Wanted to make sure before moving off!

[The Lovely Boyo]

. Wht sort of weight can I pull? etc.

Your truck will be quoted that it can pull something like 3000kg, so your caravan won't be an problem.

Check the DVLA web site for more details - towing limits are a bit of a minefield.

A general rule is that you shouldn't tow more than 85% of the vehicle weight so you would still Be OK.

[Predictable Bob]

There's a legal requirement to have good visibilty when towing - if you've got a standard size caravan on the back of a Surf you WILL need extension mirrors.

I use Milenco ones like These - there's also a convex version available. As well as the two screw clamps there's a rubber strap that goes over the back of the mirror. If they're fitted properly they're great.

As for the power side - 10 A will suffice BUT you may want to get some low power appliances if you want to avoid either tripping the breaker or having to keep switching things off

[Maverick]

I would advise towing mirrors as they just give you much better visibility.
Not sure about hook up quality, as up until last year if it didn't run on gas or 12v it didn't go.
As your van only weighs 850kg you should have no problems at all towing, our trailer comes in at one tonne, and most of the time I don't know its there.

[marticogo]

Thanx for the feedback!

[TJG]

I use these, http://www.repusel.com/ENGLISH/index.php top quality. Not only is it illegal to tow without but if you leave them on without the trailer you are also breaking the law!

Although the Surf may be plated to tow 3 ton or more it is very doubtfull that your towbar will be rated for this. Check it out, the whole thing is a minefield. With 850kg though you wont know it is on the back if you lad it correctly. Do not exceed the 'vans weight limits, they will be on a plate probably by the door and keep the noseweight on the towhitch at between 50-80kg (don't guess, measure it, bathroom scale and a bit of wood if you dont have a guage).

The amperage on the mains hookup is important, if you blow it some sites charge to reset it! Other are a lot more laid back. To see what you can run take amperage & x by voltage gives answer in watts i.e 10amp x 240v = 2400 w (2.4kw). Some site only have 5 amps. Get a low powered kettle and remeber to switch things off if you are using more than one heavy current device.

If you have just started I would reccomend thye caravan & camping clup manouvering course, it will give you loads of general info and teach you to reverse if you can't already.