Tradie Triton ute build: MSA 4x4 towing mirrors

After gearing up our Tradie Triton with a Pedders GVM and brake upgrade to ensure it was raring to go for towing, it was time to fit a set of MSA 4x4 towing mirrors so we could see exactly what was going on behind us.

It’s easy to overlook the significance of gear like decent towing mirrors when you’ve been focused on the bigger-ticket items like suspension and tray. The legalities here in Australia state that the driver must be able to see 20m past the widest point of the towed vehicle which, with standard factory mirrors, is not possible when towing wide trailers.

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MSA 4x4’s award-winning towing mirrors provide an excellent rear view when you need it but don’t stick out like most other towing mirrors when you don’t. This is because the mirrors simply extend on a heavy-duty extension slide, which allows them to be quickly and easily pulled out when towing or slid back in once you have unhitched the trailer.

To test the mirrors, we hooked up an excavator to the back of the Triton, then for something really wide we hitched up a catamaran, and the mirrors provided excellent visibility in both the vertical and horizontal positions.

The mirrors offer four easily adjustable positions that can be set to suit the type of towing you’re doing, because they can be rotated as well as extended. In other words, they can be retracted or extended, and set with a vertical aspect or a horizontal one. On the driver’s side, the mirror can be extended and rotated without even getting out of the seat, which proved particularly handy at the boat ramp, and when backing the excavator into the shed.

Regardless of the extension or rotation, the mirrors retain nearly all of their factory electric adjustment capability, thanks to a mirror actuator that automatically adapts to the selected position.

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The large single-lens mirrors provide a fantastic, undistorted view, and a dual-action folding mechanism minimises the chance of damage if the mirrors are bumped in a carpark or when driving off-road.

It’s easy to think of traditional towing mirrors as being great for towing but a bit of a pain for everyday use, particularly when parking in tight spaces, but the adjustability of the MSA 4x4 towing mirrors overcomes any such drawbacks.