Rear mounted snow blower viewing???

[TJP440]

Wondering if anyone has a suggestion for viewing with a rear mounted snow blower. b3200 kubota with a soft cab.
I have an inside wide angle mirror but it doesn't work that well Possibly another version would?

But when the wind is blowing along with the blower, it's sometimes a whiteout which makes it hard to see.
I don't really want to put outside mirrors on for several reasons.
I have thought about a rear camera possibly mounted on top of cab but not sure if it would just frost over?

Any input appreciated TIA

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Any camera will be just as bad as 'external' mirrors.....
You can't fight Mother Nature !
Change your snow blowing pattern to go WITH Mother Nature, whichever way she's blowint.
Lower the chute when windy, don't make 'rooster tails', unless they go 'downwind' of you.
yes, a lower chute means you'll have to make a few more passes BUT the snow will NOT be in your eyes, ears, neck , ............
Eventually you'll figure out what works for you.. and by next winter, you'll have forgotten...

 

[bird dogger]

My horizontally mounted semi-truck outside mirror is now on its second tractor....this Kubota B2650.
Mounted just above and in front of me when seated in the tractor gives a wide, undistorted , clear and full view of the 5 ft blower. Extremely easy to look in the mirror and back up while blowing. Just like backing up your car using the rear view mirror except this mirror is huge in comparison.

I only need to look over my shoulder to check for traffic at the end of the driveway. Mounting the mirror just above and close to your face gives you a very wide and undistorted view. Very intuitive to use while looking in the mirror as well: Want the blower to go left....turn the steering wheel left. Want to go to the right....turn the steering wheel to the right. For a 3 pt. blower, I find it can't get much easier than this.
Mine is mounted so it can be tilted as needed.

 

[Sidekick]

My outside mirrors work good. Have a magnetic camera but that didn't work well for me. Glass window and wiper is clear to watch in tight spots. Cold and windy today with 2 ft drifts across one section of my driveway

Blowing Snow #kiotitractors

Cleaning up after the storm. Love the cab.

youtube.com

 

[McMXi]

Any camera will be just as bad as 'external' mirrors.....
You can't fight Mother Nature !
Change your snow blowing pattern to go WITH Mother Nature, whichever way she's blowint.
Lower the chute when windy, don't make 'rooster tails', unless they go 'downwind' of you.
yes, a lower chute means you'll have to make a few more passes BUT the snow will NOT be in your eyes, ears, neck , ............
Eventually you'll figure out what works for you.. and by next winter, you'll have forgotten...

Hard not to agree with this. Fast hydraulics for chute rotation and deflector angle, and figuring out which way the wind is blowing along with rear defrost glass and a wiper seems to be the best way. A bigger cab makes it easier to turn in the seat and look out the rear window too. I tend to have a much lower angle on the deflector than some I see. I want to blow the snow away without giving it much air time which you can see in the video I took last winter. The reason why the view is so clear out the back is that I'm blowing the snow with the wind and not against it.

When I used to blow snow with a BX25 and front snow blower it was a real pain when the wind would change direction and blow a bunch of ice cold powder in my face. I sure don't miss those days.

 

[TJP440]

thanks for the replies, I'm liking the semi truck mirror idea

 

[McMXi]

My horizontally mounted semi-truck outside mirror is now on its second tractor....this Kubota B2650.
Mounted just above and in front of me when seated in the tractor gives a wide, undistorted , clear and full view of the 5 ft blower. Extremely easy to look in the mirror and back up while blowing. Just like backing up your car using the rear view mirror except this mirror is huge in comparison.

I only need to look over my shoulder to check for traffic at the end of the driveway. Mounting the mirror just above and close to your face gives you a very wide and undistorted view. Very intuitive to use while looking in the mirror as well: Want the blower to go left....turn the steering wheel left. Want to go to the right....turn the steering wheel to the right. For a 3 pt. blower, I find it can't get much easier than this.
Mine is mounted so it can be tilted as needed.

View attachment 148821

That's a cool blower. What brand and model is it? It looks like it could handle some really deep snow.

 

[Gaspasser]

thanks for the replies, I'm liking the semi truck mirror idea

Agree. Inside mirror won't get sprayed or fog up. Just have to keep rear window clear. Genius! Could you share how it is mounted. Perhaps a closeup pic? Thanks.

 

[Chanceywd]

My horizontally mounted semi-truck outside mirror is now on its second tractor....this Kubota B2650.
Mounted just above and in front of me when seated in the tractor gives a wide, undistorted , clear and full view of the 5 ft blower. Extremely easy to look in the mirror and back up while blowing. Just like backing up your car using the rear view mirror except this mirror is huge in comparison.

I only need to look over my shoulder to check for traffic at the end of the driveway. Mounting the mirror just above and close to your face gives you a very wide and undistorted view. Very intuitive to use while looking in the mirror as well: Want the blower to go left....turn the steering wheel left. Want to go to the right....turn the steering wheel to the right. For a 3 pt. blower, I find it can't get much easier than this.
Mine is mounted so it can be tilted as needed.

View attachment 148821

I used the same style in a JD 830 we mowed with at work years ago. I had a boss who had a bad hip and couldn't turn easy and I did it for him. Then found it was great for me too.
I don't have a cab on either tractor but have golf cart mirrors on them. On the L2501 I mounted them on the loader uprights. On the 8n I have a brush guard from a S10 pickup adapted on front and mirrors mounted on that. Those work nice for me and I like that they aren't curved right side like vehicle mirrors so non of that distortion.

Bill

 

[bird dogger]

That's a cool blower. What brand and model is it? It looks like it could handle some really deep snow.

It's an older "Lorenz" brand blower. I think it was purchased about 1992 or '93.....early '90s anyway. Made in Minnesota and built like a tank. Those angled paddles will chop through the hardest wind driven packed snow. After 30 some years, I should think about replacing the outer bearings on the two chopper augers. The heavy drive chain is also ready to be replaced after this season as it's finally running out of adjustment on the idler sprocket.

I believe the Lorenz brand is still being made in Minnesota. When I purchased it, I think the price was about $1600 which included the electric chute rotation.

Edit: Lorenz offers five different ser

 

[bird dogger]

Agree. Inside mirror won't get sprayed or fog up. Just have to keep rear window clear. Genius! Could you share how it is mounted. Perhaps a closeup pic? Thanks.

\Will do. I'll get some pics for you later today.

 

[bird dogger]

Agree. Inside mirror won't get sprayed or fog up. Just have to keep rear window clear. Genius! Could you share how it is mounted. Perhaps a closeup pic? Thanks.

Here's those pics for you (and others that might be interested). Enlarge the thumbnail pics for a larger view.

Here's a pic of the mounting brackets I made for my mirror. This mirror had mounting bolts on each end so I just cut some slots in the brackets for the mirror to slip into. With some washers and nuts the mirror is held in place but can still be rotated in the slot to give the desired view.


The next pic shows the cab location where the mirror is mounted..... essentially between the steering wheel and the seat....and just above my normal eyesight height. Driving forward, I'm looking under the mirror. While driving backwards and blowing snow, I'm looking slightly upwards into the mirror.


It's impossible to take a picture that does justice to the actual "view".....but I tried. This mirror size is 7 inches by 16 inches. While sitting in the seat and looking in the mirror, I could see at least 5 feet to each side of the 5 foot wide blower without moving my head to look even more to one side. With the mirror tilted to the "sweet spot" you can see the bottom edges of the blower and quite far in front of the blower.
the sun was shining through the OH door windows and washed out the picture's background....but you get the idea. (The phone is facing forwards taking a pic of the view in the mirror....or as much of it as the camera could capture being that close to the mirror. )


Let me know if you'd like more, or different pics. That black cord entering the mirror body is actually a power cord for the mirror's internal heater. I've never had reason to hook it up as it never fogs over while inside my homemade cab.

 

[Gaspasser]

Here's those pics for you (and others that might be interested). Enlarge the thumbnail pics for a larger view.

Here's a pic of the mounting brackets I made for my mirror. This mirror had mounting bolts on each end so I just cut some slots in the brackets for the mirror to slip into. With some washers and nuts the mirror is held in place but can still be rotated in the slot to give the desired view.
View attachment 148871

The next pic shows the cab location where the mirror is mounted..... essentially between the steering wheel and the seat....and just above my normal eyesight height. Driving forward, I'm looking under the mirror. While driving backwards and blowing snow, I'm looking slightly upwards into the mirror.
View attachment 148872

It's impossible to take a picture that does justice to the actual "view".....but I tried. This mirror size is 7 inches by 16 inches. While sitting in the seat and looking in the mirror, I could see at least 5 feet to each side of the 5 foot wide blower without moving my head to look even more to one side. With the mirror tilted to the "sweet spot" you can see the bottom edges of the blower and quite far in front of the blower.
the sun was shining through the OH door windows and washed out the picture's background....but you get the idea. (The phone is facing forwards taking a pic of the view in the mirror....or as much of it as the camera could capture being that close to the mirror. )
View attachment 148873

Let me know if you'd like more, or different pics. That black cord entering the mirror body is actually a power cord for the mirror's internal heater. I've never had reason to hook it up as it never fogs over while inside my homemade cab.

Wow. Talk about a detailed response. Thank you for taking the time to provide all the descriptions and images. I'm going to check out attachment points in my cab and see what work. Nice shop setup BTW. Best regards.....

 

[mikester]

You can't beat a heated cab with glass windows and wiper blades front and back. Sometimes the wind is in the wrong direction and you get whiteouts. I always try and clean to avoid pissing into the wind.

 

[McMXi]

I have an inside wide angle mirror but it doesn't work that well Possibly another version would?

But when the wind is blowing along with the blower, it's sometimes a whiteout which makes it hard to see.
I don't really want to put outside mirrors on for several reasons.
I have thought about a rear camera possibly mounted on top of cab but not sure if it would just frost over?

I missed the point of this thread. It's really about wanting to see where you and the blower are going without having to look over your shoulder. I think that most of us that run a rear blower experience the "whiteout" phenomena, and your point was that any external mounted mirror or camera will become occluded with snow. Yep, I find the outside mirrors on the MX regularly become unusable or at least diminished in terms of visibility.

I have two factory outside mirrors and a factory inside mirror in the MX and don't use any of them to watch the rear mounted blower. I did initially, but since the remote that rotates the chute is near the rear glass, and since the cab is roomy enough, I rotate my body in the seat to look over my right shoulder which goes a long way to alleviating neck strain. I do the same thing running the flail, rotary cutter or folding rotary cutter behind either tractor. I do wish that the M6060 had an inside mirror like the MX. It was a nice touch by Kubota to offer that mirror as standard.