NJ-GT

For those out there towing small aluminum car trailers with their Cayennes (ie. Trailex CT-80180, Aerovault, etc).

How are you dealing with the sideview mirrors, given that a Cayenne is so narrow that I can't see anything on the sides with the enclosed trailer behind.

Thanks

f4 plt

Glad you asked as it is a problem. Before I wen t to Ohio to pick up my Trailex sports car trailer I extensively research the issue and bottom line there is no good solution. None of the after market strap on extension mirrors will work because of the shap of the Porsche mirror housing. I looked in to cordless rear cameras and decided against that because they are battery operated for one and thus you would be changing the batteries frequently as in every several hours on a trip. So I trailerd back to Texas with limited rear visibility. I did put a sign on the back of the trailer that read " if you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you' As an aside next time you are behind an 18 wheeler back off until you can see his mirrors. You will see you have to be way back as even with all their mirrors they have limited rear visibility. I found the hardest thing was judging distance in the right standard mirror to pull back into the right lane .

Now for my trip from Texas to Parade I am adding a small mirror I found at a auto store to the left outside mirror housing. I will actually drill a small hole in the OEM housing to screw this mirror in, not great but it will help. I will post pictures when I get it done. I also plan to talk to the people from Porsche AG about this. The Cayenne is a fantastic vehicle and they advertise 7700 lb towing, which it does. BUT they need to re engineer the mirrors to allow better rear visibility and the easy way would be to allow them to slide outward for towing as does the Ford F250 truck mirrors. Now the good news, I have found that most drivers are helpful and will give you extra space for changing lanes that they wouldn't if you did not have a trailer. Going through cities you do have to plan lane changes more in advance. I will take some picture with the new small mirror on, hopefully today

ltc

It is illegal to be driving a tow vehicle and not be able to see emergency vehicles behind you (~100' behind IIRC). So you are endangering others besides yourself by not having proper rear visibility. Many police will follow you and flash their lights; if you fail to see them, they will pull alongside you and issue you a ticket.

Back in the old days, there actually were towing mirrors that worked with the Cayenne. They were the large ones that had telescoping "legs" that would come down and rest on the door. You could use a small piece of VHB tape to hold it against the paint without rubbing. A search of the archives (please respect the dead while you're wandering thru) should locate the threads.

Incredibly ugly, but 100% functional. Not sure if they are still available.

f4 plt

I have checked all add on mirrors I can find and none, even with racers tape will stay on the new Cayenne mirrors.

Yes I understand what you are saying about some law enforcement ie I was pulled over in La. several months ago for passing on the interstate doing 69 in a 70 zone. The office said i was not passing aggressively. I was passing an 18 wheel and there was no one in the left lane for over 3/4 mile until the cop came out of the bushes on the side of the road an pulled me over. He did not issue either a warning nor a ticket. I guess he just wanted to check out two seniors in a Cayenne.

I did some masurements and add on mirrors would have to stick out more than 10 inches beyond the OEM mirrors to see inside 100 feet behind my Trailex trailer. As I said above I'm going to bring this subject up with Porsche AG people at Parade and I'm going to permantly mount a small add on mirror to my drivers side outside mirror... not the best but it will help and I'm open to better ideas.

ltc

Better ideas?
A proper tow vehicle. Always have the right tool for the job.

Different ideas?
http://www.jcwhitney.com/temporary-d.../p2008380.jcwx
or
http://www.repuselmirror.com/index.p...s-for-porsche/
http://www.repuselmirror.com/index.p...rsche-cayenne/


P.S. Let me know what Porsche has to say when you mention this at Parade.

f4 plt

The second one would work on the pre 2011 Cayenne's but not the reshaped new Cayenne. Yes i thought about a ford f250 but day to day that is big vehicle. Just another challenge to overcome

ltc

Pick up a used diesel Excursion.
You can use it to tow the trailer, the race car AND the Cayenne....12000# towing IIRC? Seats 8, 44 gallon diesel tank gives 800+ mile range.

Of course I am somewhat biased, since my bride's daily driver is an 05 Excursion.

I would imagine they will catch up with the new styling and offer extensions that fit. Perhaps you could email the company and ask if they are working on them.

f4 plt

Here is what I am trying now. This is a small add on mirror I got at a local auto store for about $5. It has a plastic housing and adjustment at the top and bottom of the stalk Right now I have it "sticky taped" on but if I like it I will drill a small hole through the OEM mirror housing and secure it with a 1/8" stainless steel screw painted black.

Observations: the way I have it mounted it is about the same width as the trailer and I confirmed that with a tape also measuring from the center of the Cayenne and the center of the Trailex. It does improve rear visibility and I will do more tests later this week with the trailer attached. Anything larger or heavier might be too much for the OEM mirror housings. The mounting position was chosen, to put it as far out as possible and yet have the most semi- flat surface possible to get maximum mounting contact patch

ltc

Rather than drill, why not just get a small piece of 3M VHB tape?
That would hold it on quite nicely and not require any holes.

As for the safety of these mirrors while towing ..

f4 plt

I like your icon, 3M tape is what I am using now and it holds at 55, I have not been on the interstate yet. Issue is also the heat in Texas may weaken the tapes grip

Some other facts. As for distance you want to see behind.

The National Highway Safety Agency uses the 3 second rule for following in good driving conditions. A vehicle will cover 96 feet in one second traveling at 65mph and 111 feet per second at 75MPH ( yes we can legally go that fast on the interstate west of San Antonio. Using those figures the minimum following distance at 65MPH (3 second rule) is 288 feet and if you use 2 seconds it is 192 feet At 75 MPH it is 222 and 333 ft respectively. If you use the old rule of thumb some of us were taught years ago ( yes they had electricity and cars back then) it was 1 car length for every 10MPH which would mean 140 ft at 70. Now we all know that people follow closer than that but for mirror purposes If I can see a car at 100 feet I feel that is the best I can do to see a vehicle as in midsize car closer I would have to have mirrors that extend considerably beyond the width of the trailer and then I would be oversize and unsafe without an escort. Of course none of this logic will work with the Law officer that just wants to make an example of you. Bottom line do the best you can and drive safely and in the right lane

Jack

ltc

If you think that VHB won't hold properly, then I would suggest 3M UHB...pretty sure that will hold.

I also questioned your proposed solution, in light of your previous statement:

"I did some masurements and add on mirrors would have to stick out more than 10 inches beyond the OEM mirrors to see inside 100 feet behind my Trailex trailer"

it would not appear as though the add on mirrors you show stick out more than 10 inches.

I'm just stubborn I guess. When it comes to towing, I like torque, wheelbase and visibility (not necessarily in that order). Unfortunately, the Cayenne offers none of these 3 items.

f4 plt

All things in life are tradeoffs. I looked hard at a F250 but my wife doesn't like really large vehicles, I don't tow that often long distances and we needed a nice vehicle that would seat 5 adults and could be used regularly in traffic. Would have rather had a Cayenne diesel but the S actually tows well and is comfortable to drive. As I said in real life all things are tradeoffs

Would have rather had an F16 over North Vietnam so I could be small, smokeless and sneaky like the Mig 21's but the F4 did the job rather well even though it was originally designed as a fleet interceptor for the Navy. At least we put a gun on it. Now that whole response was off topic sorry

amfp

No experience with these, but know someone with Touareg that uses these with some success: http://www.campingworld.com/category/mirrors/43

Know Cayenne is different mirror, but seems to hold from mirror glass.

Spot on that life are tradeoffs.

pdxjim

luvair, the link no workee for me anyway. F4, happy you are here to talk about that smokey F4!! Had a couple Navy friends that did not return.

amfp

Strange, seems to work only if cut and paste the URL http://www.campingworld.com/category/mirrors/43 directly to browser. Not as hyper-link.


If still does not work, pls go to: www.campingworld.com

You searched for Catalog Item # 53921,Tow-N-See Towing Mirror - Flat

and

Eagle Vision Portable Rear-View Mirror
Catalog Item # 14887


>



NEW
XLR Ratchet Clip On Tow Mirror


President's
Club Sale: $31.99
Sale: $35.55
Reg. Price: $39.99


NEW
Tow-N-See Towing Mirror - Flat

(3 reviews)
President's
Club Price: $23.99
Reg. Price: $26.66


Eagle Vision Portable Rear-View Mirror

(4 reviews)
President's
Club Price: $51.99
Reg. Price: $57.77




Clip-on Tow Mirror with Convex

(2 reviews)
President's
Club Price: $21.99
Reg. Price: $24.44

Not to go off topic. I can related to you guys. Try keeping our wheels up.