RTV ROPS - beware

[bdog]

We rolled our 1120 today. Driver was not seriously hurt. He as thrown from vehicle which probably was best. The ROPS didn't fare too well. A buckled in passenger would be in bad shape.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

But the tires are nice!

 

[bdog]

They are nice. We have three RTV's with them. Cumulatively they have about 9,000 miles. We are very pleased. They are not cheap but are worth it if you are prone to flats / sidewall cuts and can't afford downtime.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I hadn't seen these on anything but military vehicles. All I know is - I get really tired of airing up the tires on my Cub Cadet!

 

[bdog]

A lot of commercial guys around here have them on zero turn mowers. I bought them pre covid for $600 a piece. No idea what they cost now.

 

[Langanobob]

Sorry about the rollover. Are you going to repair it? Did they call that frame ROP? Seems like sometimes they make a point of calling them names like light bar.

 

[Torvy]

A lot of commercial guys around here have them on zero turn mowers. I bought them pre covid for $600 a piece. No idea what they cost now.

My classroom currently overlooks a construction project on campus. The rental telehandler they are using has the same type.

First, let me say I am sorry that happened and am glad no serious injury resulted. Hopefully, that will help us all be more careful. How old is the unit...was the steel pre or post covid? Structural integrity of a rops should be better...not like designed collapse on front end impacts. Yikes!

Warning, attepted humor follows; continue reading at your own risk. Using the reactionary approach, Kubota needs to be out of business. At the very least we need to require 30 hours of classroom training and licensure before allowing operation of these devices. Also, annual retraining. Before all of that we will need a committee to study it and confirm my solutions as vitally important. To prevent rollovers in the future we need to have out riggers attached to all off-road vehicles. Or would that be cultural appropriation? We'll form another committee to study that.

 

[Diggin It]

If that's really intended as roll over protection and not just a roof/canopy support, 'Bota corporate needs to examine it and see why it failed.

 

[RoyJackson]

I hadn't seen these on anything but military vehicles. All I know is - I get really tired of airing up the tires on my Cub Cadet!

They're optional on Deere zero turn mowers...maybe other mowers too. This is the first time I've read about other uses, such as a UTV

 

[RoyJackson]

If that's really intended as roll over protection and not just a roof/canopy support, 'Bota corporate needs to examine it and see why it failed.

Yeah, that shouldn't have collapsed like that
Looking at the first pic, looks like the frame is bent too...probably only good for parting out at this point

 

[RickB]

I agree that Kubota needs to see that.

 

[Birdhunter1]

How fast was the nit going and what did it hit in the rollover?

 

[Paystar]

Looks like it did more than just roll over. That looks like it was barrel rolled a few times.

 

[bdog]

It was going less than five mph. It didn’t hit anything but did roll down a hill. It landed right side up and we drove it approx four miles back to the trailer.

 

[PuffyC]

Kubota doesn't seem to say anywhere that it's a ROPS so it's probably just something to hold a canopy up and mount lights on. And the tires are called "tweels".

 

[RickB]

Kubota doesn't seem to say anywhere that it's a ROPS so it's probably just something to hold a canopy up and mount lights on. And the tires are called "tweels".

The parts catalog calls the structure a ROPS.

 

[jwmorris]

If that's really intended as roll over protection and not just a roof/canopy support, 'Bota corporate needs to examine it and see why it failed.

They are not, really just a place to attach a roof.

I have seen Kawasaki‘s fold up like that too. The wall thickness on the tubing is closer to exhaust tubing than what is used for roll cages, made from DOM mild steel.

 

[riptides]

I would suspect, that no ROPS is going to fair any better with multiple rolls going down hill.

So, how many times did it actually roll?

 

[s219]

It is most definitely considered to be a ROPS, with stickers all over identifying it as such. And it's also an anchor for the seat belts. If there were no modifications/drilling/etc then Kubota definitely needs to look at this. If there were modifications/drilling then it gets into a gray area but still should be examined.

 

[PuffyC]

The parts catalog calls the structure a ROPS.

Right you are, I stand corrected. I guess I either don't know what a ROPS is supposed to actually do or Kubota's is terrible.