never liked the ROPS now i have a reason

[EastTexCowboy]

I fully understand the logic behind a ROPS and in some cases a seat belt, depending on the situation and equipment. That said, and I know I'll catch flak over this, the first thing I do with a new ROPS tractor or mower is completely remove the ROPS. I've had plenty of injuries when they first added ROPS and none without, with almost 60 years of operating equipment. I'm not recommending this to anyone else, but we're all responsible for our own safety and decisions regarding it.

 

[tjus77]

I don't know where you would put them, but I've knocked off my turn signal lights at least three times each by ninja limbs. I finally stopped buying new ones and just zip tie them back onto the ROPS. But I always leave the ROPS folded down.

 

[Gord Baker]

I was nearly flipped over backwards by the too high ROPS on a Zero Turn. I didn't realize the limb would catch it. Now it remains folded.

 

[charlessenf]

We keep the ROPS down 100% of the time on our eXmark mowers because if a tree limb grabs the ROPS it'll flip you over in a split second. Extremely dangerous.

You blame the tree? You blame the ROPS?
If you read the manuals, I suspect you'll find several points in them that remind you to "be careful."

I would not be at all surprised to find advice similar to "Be aware of your surroundings," or "Watch where you're going" between the covers.

 

[Gord Baker]

You will note that I did not assign blame. Operator error would fit.

 

[charlessenf]

"You will note that I did not assign blame. Operator error would fit."

My apologies, I was responding to the general 'feel' of many of the anti-rops comments over the pages and pages of comments engendered by the guy driving into a tree and indicating it was a ROPS ISSUE.

I had an uncle kill himself on a simple 42" riding mower by driving too close to a recently pruned bush, a limb of which pierced his thigh and femoral artery. He made it onto his porch, sat down and bled out.

Damned lawnmower!

 

[Gord Baker]

"You will note that I did not assign blame. Operator error would fit."

My apologies, I was responding to the general 'feel' of many of the anti-rops comments over the pages and pages of comments engendered by the guy driving into a tree and indicating it was a ROPS ISSUE.

I had an uncle kill himself on a simple 42" riding mower by driving too close to a recently pruned bush, a limb of which pierced his thigh and femoral artery. He made it onto his porch, sat down and bled out.

Damned lawnmower!

So sad. My Condolences.

 

[CliffordK]

Is speed an issue for dangerously whacking into things?

There was a recent post under Safety about a couple of zero turn mower fatalities, presumably without ROPS.

Zero turn fatality

https://www.wmur.com/article/winchester-accident-lawn-mower-fatality/60769686

www.tractorbynet.com

The first with the mower falling over an embankment, and the second with it falling into a ravine.

If you have a manicured flat lawn or field then perhaps the ROPS isn't necessary on the zero turn.

There is an element of torque flipping a tractor over backwards that a zero turn may be susceptible to, but also likely hill, or perhaps obstacle related, or doing something stupid like trying to power out of being stuck.

 

[WinterDeere]

The issue with the ROPS on a zero turn is that it creates a half dozen new hazards, while attempting to eliminate just one. You could argue severity versus frequency, and I’m sure several already have, but it’s just a terrible, unimaginative, and frankly poor solution to the problem.

Manufacturers are going to do the bare minimum of what is required, in most circumstances, and thus we have the standard ROPS. It really doesn’t take a genius to imagine better but more costly solutions to rollover protection.

 

[ray66v]

There is no perfect solution.

Being aware of your surroundings is one of the most critical steps, if not the most critical step, in safe operation of equipment.

I'm willing to bet the ROPS program has done far more good than harm.

 

[ultrarunner]

Be aware of your surroundings is good advice in life…

I probably wouldn’t be here but for the fixed ROPS on my CAT dozer.

Going along in transport mode and a very large tree on the high bank picks that moment to fall and land squarely on the ROP corner from behind… never saw it coming and found my self enveloped in a sea of green and the dozer wasn’t going forward or back…

Gathered my senses and crawled out to survey the situation.

Ended up get my saw to cut my way out.

Mom just happened to be bringing me a sandwich and saw the entire thing…

 

[WinterDeere]

I'm willing to bet the ROPS program has done far more good than harm.

I'd bet your correct, with regard to tractors. Same with some other equipment, such as ultrarunner's dozer. But I'd like to see actual data on ROPS pertaining to zero-turn mowers, before I accept that statement as applicable to them.

I suspect that when focused solely on ZT mowers, they're so problematic that, even if they could save a few from a serious rollover injury, their effectiveness is all but entirely eliminated by the fact that their too-frequent problems has everyone riding with them in the down position. A safety device that is so problematic that it's almost universally unused, is not a safety device at all.

 

[ray66v]

I'd bet your correct, with regard to tractors. Same with some other equipment, such as ultrarunner's dozer. But I'd like to see actual data on ROPS pertaining to zero-turn mowers, before I accept that statement as applicable to them.

I suspect that when focused solely on ZT mowers, they're so problematic that, even if they could save a few from a serious rollover injury, their effectiveness is all but entirely eliminated by the fact that their too-frequent problems has everyone riding with them in the down position. A safety device that is so problematic that it's almost universally unused, is not a safety device at all.

Because a lot of operators leave them down, regulators have considered requiring a "self deploying ROPS" that will, like an airbag, deploy in the event of an accident.

The one they were testing when I read about this ten years ago, did not fold. It was behind the operator, and the system would extended it.

This is one that is currently for sale in Europe: AD-Rops: Automatically deployed Rollover Protective Structure | Air-rops

It is of course, expensive. And, if required here, was likely to have a mandatory replacement interval, (some speculated 10 years), when used for commercial use.

 

[DaBear3428]

I don't know where you would put them, but I've knocked off my turn signal lights at least three times each by ninja limbs. I finally stopped buying new ones and just zip tie them back onto the ROPS. But I always leave the ROPS folded down.

I have been really happy with the turn signals on my 5145 they are well protected and very well built, and now i have found out they are not that expensive to replace. I cannot fault the design for this loss in fact the drivers side most likely saved me from serious injury by taking most of the impact.

 

[Blue Mule]

You blame the tree? You blame the ROPS?
If you read the manuals, I suspect you'll find several points in them that remind you to "be careful."

I would not be at all surprised to find advice similar to "Be aware of your surroundings," or "Watch where you're going" between the covers.

Me? Yes, I assign 100% of the blame to the ROPS. I bought a zero turn mower to mow grass up close to obstacles. If I was going to stay 10 feet away from the bases of trees I'd just use a tractor with a wider deck.

So like I said, put the ROPS down and roll on.

 

[DaBear3428]

"You will note that I did not assign blame. Operator error would fit."

My apologies, I was responding to the general 'feel' of many of the anti-rops comments over the pages and pages of comments engendered by the guy driving into a tree and indicating it was a ROPS ISSUE.

I had an uncle kill himself on a simple 42" riding mower by driving too close to a recently pruned bush, a limb of which pierced his thigh and femoral artery. He made it onto his porch, sat down and bled out.

Damned lawnmower!

First off sorry for your loss.
I think you need to re-read this thread and my posts, never faulted the ROPS, Don't like them but use them, they do create issues so one more thing to be concerned with. and by the way how would your uncle have been saved by proper use of the ROPS? or any other safety device? cabbed lawn mower maybe?
Also clearly indicated that my issue was my fault so stop putting words in my mouth (or thread). and BTW ROPS have a folded position for several reasons, one being to not use them when not needed.
the point of this thread was not to bash ROPS but to highlight the fact that the use of the ROPS system brings hazards of its own to the mix and needs to be evaluated when using the tractor.

 

[tradosaurus]

I drive my tractor with the ROPS always up as I rarely am going more than 10 mph. Usually at a snails pace when in the woods.