Are radar detectors line of sight or more like FM signals? Regarding towing trailers

[Chris Rettig]

I am in the market and I am leaning toward getting another V1 with all the goodies they offer. My concern is that I tow my work trailer and 5th wheel a lot. In fact I could say my truck is hooked to a trailer 90% of the time.

How much if any will my detector be limited with a 40ft 5th wheel behind my dodge. There is nothing but trailer in my rear view mirror, an I am unsure what my protection will be like. My work trailer I have about 40% line of sight up higher so I figured that it would be okay as long as I mounted it up by the mirror.

Also tint? does after market tint effect the range? if so how much? I did search and could not find any useful information about towing.

Thanks
Chris

[yellowcab]

Great questions Chris.

The V1 is a great radar detector. You will lose some effectiveness of the V1's rear antenna, but it will still work especially for radar sources that are not directly behind you.

Another option would be the Escort Redline. Although it doesn't have a rear antenna, it is very sensitive and can detect radar signals that originate behind you via reflections of the signal off of surfaces in front of you.

[RedRocket]

Yes,radar has similar properties to FM signals in that they propagate thru the ether line-of-sight,but like FM can be reflected & refracted off objects large & small,too.Most encounters come from the Front as you approach the source,however many LEO's play dirty & will shoot you in the back after you've passed by.
This Forum in the past was seriously infected w/ LE who read here & thus gained improved training tactics by reading the tricks many members used to avoid getting a speeding citation.Therefore,I'm very reluctant to say much more in a Public thread that can be read by anyone.

As you live in the wide open spaces of the Western U.S. I would say you should look for a Top Tier very sensitive RD.First,you should spend some time reading in the RD sections here,doing some due-diligence as this will make you a smart/informed shopper BEFORE you throw down your benjamins on an expensive model to meet your needs.

There's a wealth of knowledge here if you'll just spend a lil' time looking for it.Informed questions rather than asking someone to serve you a quick choice answer on a silver platter in the long run will serve you best.

[North Alabama]

Something that you should think about. Does the trailer(s) have a rounded front like a horse trailer or blunt square metal that will reflect the front signals? With the rear antenna of the V1 looking at a large reflective square chunk of metal, it will confuse the arrows to some degree like metal tint on glass, but could be very minor due to the footage distance from the V1 to the front of the trailer(s). The rear antenna has a very wide outlook and a metal film on your windows will have a larger effect making the V1's arrows confused. Rear distance detection is not that important, what is, the arrows pointing out the correct direction of the source and not mess up ghosting due to front/rear combo antenna signal strengths altered (reflected)by metal or metal tint. Being in the city on flat land, I would also look at other RDs like the Redline, or maybe the Max with helpful options that you may want, and this is from a V1 user.....