most likely a controversial mod.

[Billrog]

Since I bought the Kioti I haven't liked the height of the ROP ( 8' ). Yesterday was the day I'm not a professional welder ( fabricator) so had a little apprehension not that it wouldn't be solid but that it would still fit and not look top bad. I've learned from welders in coffee shops and building a goose neck trailer and a no. of backhoe buckets and anything else that came along over the last 30 yrs. BTW constructive criticism is always welcome & this isn't a mod. I'd go out of my road to recommend.

 

[Billrog]

Continued.







Well I guess what I did was a little more than drilling a hole in a ROP . I never tried to grind the welds smooth except on the back where the soft top I make will be touching.

 

[runharley52]

Would love to do the same... Great job. Looks clean

 

[gladehound]

Good job and good for you! It's your tractor. Do what makes it work for you. IMHO people make too big a deal about cutting ROPS. BTW - my FOPS isn't certified!!! But I've tested it 4 times with trees between 40 and 70 feet tall so I know it works :thumbsup:

 

[Coyote machine]

Why? Just to have the tractor fit your shed?
What does this mean? "this isn't a mod. I'd go out of my road to recommend".

 

[CalG]

Good job and good for you! It's your tractor. Do what makes it work for you. IMHO people make too big a deal about cutting ROPS. BTW - my FOPS isn't certified!!! But I've tested it 4 times with trees between 40 and 70 feet tall so I know it works :thumbsup:

Great!

Way better than I, The ROPS is too tall for the barn, so it's folded down almost always . "just tall enough" unit would stay up.

The tall ROPS does provide a good mount for the LED light however ;-)

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I mostly interested in that welder with "1000 yrs on it."

 

[Jim Timber]

You probably want some fish plates on those joints since the plates you used don't have the same strength as the tubing did.

Been tempted to chop mine down to fit in the cargo container, but I think I'd regret it when I built the FOPS.

 

[gladehound]

Been tempted to chop mine down to fit in the cargo container, but I think I'd regret it when I built the FOPS.

I actually had to cut mine to make it fit in the barn with the FOPS installed. I only took 2" out of it but it made the difference between scraping and having 2" of clearance. If I didn't cut the ROPS, I could not have the FOPS and still store the tractor inside. I could have changed the FOPS design but putting the FOPS on top of the ROPS is the strongest. I wasn't going to sacrifice strength just because its taboo to cut ROPS.

 

[newbury]

There goes your first excuse for a bigger shop!

Looks good.

I had to take the canopy off my M4700







But that was just to squeeze it in my smallest shop.

 

[Jim Timber]

My container is temporary. I hope to be building a garage within a year. 9' door will clear the hoop upright. Until then, the FOPS is delayed.

Do you find yourself ducking around the FOPS, Ron?

 

[PeterK]

So it fits your shed, but does it fit your head (the reason for a ROPS)? Got a photo of you sitting on the seat with the new ROPS?

 

[gladehound]

My container is temporary. I hope to be building a garage within a year. 9' door will clear the hoop upright. Until then, the FOPS is delayed.

Do you find yourself ducking around the FOPS, Ron?

Regarding the 9' door. My door and clear span beams were specified as 9' clearance in my building drawing. However, when the building was complete the door was 8'11" and the beams were 8'9"! My FOPS was 8'9 1/4" when on the tractor. I lowered the tire pressure and could scrape under. the tractor would squat a little as I went under. I wanted clearance for soft top on top of the FOPS for winter so had my cousin's shop lower the ROPS 2". Had the building been as drawn no mod to the ROPS would have been necessary. So my lesson learned and comment to you is make sure you have more than just a few inches between the spec on your building and the top of the ROPS! That is unless you are building it yourself. If I built it myself it would have been exact.

My FOPS is still almost tall enough to stand straight up in front of the seat and I'm 6'3". I often operate the tractor in the standing position for fine loader work and I actually like to press my head against the mesh roof to keep my body from swaying with tractor movement. If I lean forward a little, straighten my legs and press my head into the mess I'm kind of locked into position. So for me it is perfect height. I don't even notice or think about it when getting on and off the tractor. I've never even come close to hitting my head on it. As long as you're not making your FOPS really low, I wouldn't worry about it. My previous tractor had the FOPS a foot lower and I had no issue with that one either but I could not stand with that one. On the previous one I only had ~8" of head clearance when seated.

 

[Utopia Texas]

There was a reason the ROPs were made as tall as they were at the manufacturer.

 

[gladehound]

There was a reason the ROPs were made as tall as they were at the manufacturer.

Yes, that reason is called liability! Heaven forbid it be the operators responsibility to duck in the event of a role over. IMHO, factory ROPS are not typically very good. They meet minimum requirements and due to cost containment rarely exceed those minimum requirements. They often are not built to handle the extra weight of attachments that might be on the tractor, filled tires etc. By shortening the ROPS you actually reduce the leverage on them in the event of a roll over which should result in less bending and reduced chance of total failure. My point is, don't be too secure with factory ROPS. And don't assume modifications to them, if done right, don't make them better. Obviously, there are both pros and cons to shortening ROPS and I don't think there is anyone who doesn't think long and hard before cutting factory ROPS.

 

[s219]

I think that if it had to be done, you did about as good a job as could be expected. I might have wanted some gussets across the welds, but without specific engineering we can't say if that's any better.

I guess my only concern would be how effective the ROPS is at preventing a rollover now, at the new reduced height. They are intended to prevent certain scenarios of a full on rollover when there is some momentum to the roll, and the more height the better in that regards. It's not just about protecting the head of the driver. Still, it's got to be better than a folded ROPS or no ROPS in many cases.

 

[bdog]

Do you wear your seatbelt? I don't. I think my tractor has one but I have never put it on - not once. I am not sure how beneficial a rops is without wearing the seatbelt. Looks like you did a good job but if it was in my way I would have probably just taken it off but I know the safety police wouldn't like that.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Great job. Good to see someone overcome the 'taboo' of ROPS modifications. How do you sleep at night? Many people here would toss and turn forever feeling like they had just killed their spouse and be afraid they're going to get caught.

I solved the ROPS vs door problem by buying a tractor that fit thru my 7 foot opening. I brought a tape measure to every dealer and measured everything... height, width , length with/without implements, and attachments.

I have 1/2 inch height to spare going thru my doors.

Again, great job.

 

[dusty3030]

Great job. Good to see someone overcome the 'taboo' of ROPS modifications. How do you sleep at night? Many people here would toss and turn forever feeling like they had just killed their spouse and be afraid they're going to get caught.

He probably hauls it with less than 6 grade 70 1/2" chains without a CDL too and runs it without hearing protection on top of that!

 

[gladehound]

I guess my only concern would be how effective the ROPS is at preventing a rollover now, at the new reduced height. They are intended to prevent certain scenarios of a full on rollover when there is some momentum to the roll, and the more height the better in that regards. It's not just about protecting the head of the driver..

Great point! both pros and cons to shortening ROPS... In my particular case, with the FOPS I don't think I gave up anything from a safety perspective. However, I can't simply fold my ROPS anymore, which for me is not an issue.

My zero turn also has a ROPS and I have never put it up due to low branches. I think if someone has a tractor with foldable ROPS and they need to routinely fold it for some task, chances are, folded will become the permanent position for the ROPS. If that's the case, probably better off shortening them.