3-Point Hitch Trailer mover - now I want mirrors on the tracor.

[Reg]

I bought the Search Results for trailer mover at Tractor Supply Co. one for $200 (minus a few pennies) a couple of days ago.
I have a Century C42 with the Humpolec HL loader - that wouldn't lift my goose neck horse trailer off its landing gear.
I know, I know, doing that unsecured in the bucket could have resulted in the goose coupler sliding sideways and possibly tipping me over when it got to the end.
I have a little more lift on the 3 point and that doesn't have a several hundred pound bucket penalty, so I got this gadget.

I still don't have enough lift, but I can get by if I use all the lift I have, then push down on the bucket to raise the tractor's front wheels, give the 3 point all the lift I have, then raise the bucket.
This probably overloads the rock shaft, but so does adding a load to an already raised 3 point.

Anyway it worked, but has the following limitations;
1) the ROPS taps the front of the trailer when the rig is barely folded 45 degrees.
Surprisingly this isn't a TOTAL disaster since it is at the rounded corner of the trailer, there is some slack in the ROPS tower and if I keep folding the trailer's corner just passes into the ROPS hoop.
2) I can't see the trailer's wheels until the rig is folded up quite a bit - this MATTERS when trying to slot the trailer into a spot.
By the time I can see my pivot point I can see that I missed it.

IF I folded the ROPS the trailer would probably clear the remaining bottom half of the ROPS, but I have my supplementary hydraulic levers mounted on that and I didn't allow any hose loops for folding.

This is a very occasional use thing on the goose neck trailer, but for straight and almost straight backing I would LIKE to have mirrors.

My C42 has the little glass windows in front of my feet and the frames for those have sockets that look a LOT like they were intended for ...something, maybe mirrors ?

Issue:
Side to side the sockets on those window frames are just about 4 ft apart.
If I want to see both sides of the trailer when backing straight I need 8 ft 6in between mirrors - probably 8 ft 6in between centers, so 9 ft overall.
That is going to have to FOLD and the weight of mirror heads that far out is going to be whippy at best.

Questions:
Anyone done this ?
Is there a Kukje/Century/Branson mirror kit for this ? - - and is it WIDE enough ?

PS Looking back on it the trailer/ROPS interference MIGHT be solvable with a longer top link.
I can't use chain in place of the top link since I have to PUSH on it.

 

[newbury]

Have you thought of just getting some decent bicycle mirrors and mounting them with big neodymium magnets?

 

[kthompson]

I am guessing your tractor has a cab? If I am wrong do you have a canopy on it? If I were going to mount on my tractors with canopy would use the steel frame on the canopy. On my tractor with cab it has what is basically a nut welding to the frame for mirrors to mount to it on both sides. My mirrors on that tractor work well for watching the rear wheels and they do not extend much from the cab. But back up camera might be better idea for you.

 

[Reg]

No cab, but I think the back-up camera is probably a better idea than mirrors, thanks

 

[kthompson]

Reg, have not installed a camera, yet but feel will have one on fel by next year. I do have tractor with mirrors and limbs and my bumping them getting on and off tractor have to adjust them about every time I use the tractor it seems. Then I may could tighten the head but rather have them move than break. To me the camera price is not much different and is less than some mirrors and with monitor installed in front of you no need to look from right to left and back and forth. You could also get system that has two camera setup and have one for back up and other on your fel if needed for work you do.

 

[Reg]

Thanks, right now I'm thinking a 2 camera set-up, split screen, with one camera on each end of an 8 ft 2 by.
I could clamp that to the ROPS, top edge of the bucket (maybe a narrower one for there), wherever the task in hand suggests.
A really narrow one for the pallet forks too.

Yep, probably gonna DO that.

 

[Reg]

Having thought about it some more I remembered that the reason I mounted the trailer's back-up lights where I did was to see my trailer's wheels to avoid backing into - ditches, culverts, fences, whatever.
I have a rubber "tractor light" on each side right up at the front of the trailer, close to the ground, just a few inches back from the front edge of the trailer's floor. They are aimed to illuminate the trailer's wheels and the area that the edge of the trailer is going towards.
I also have the rear loading ramp light wired in to the same back-up circuit.

This works VERY WELL for seeing the trailer's wheels and I'm thinking that the trailer is the place to mount the camera(s).
I can use them in the truck, then not worry about my remote mirrors not being able to rotate out far enough.