Decapitate my PT (ROPS)?

[Spiffy]

OK, the garage door can't be raised or lowered without major renovations.

I can't just lower it, because I occasionally wack my head getting in as it is; I do have 4 or 5 inches once I'm in there, but don't need it rubbing me bald! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Actually MR, that extendable canopy is exactly what I was thinking at first, but between the safety, and extra cost I'm putting that possibility on hold for a while. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'm afraid it's either canopy goes off, or PT get's a tarp for the winter; even with the heater, I don't want to start it at negative 25F. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[BobRip]

Could you shorten the support arms and still have enough head room?

Bob Rip

 

[KentT]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Could you shorten the support arms and still have enough head room?

Bob Rip )</font>

If not, could you shorten the arms and remove the roof? I don't like the idea of a backhoe without a ROPS...

 

[J_J]

How much headroom can you spare? If you can get by with less, a good welder can cut the ROPS down to size, and place inserts inside the tubes, and weld them back together, or leave it at the current height and cut it and weld one side to the insert , and bolt the top half with grade 5 or 8 bolts for easy removal . Some say you are not supposed to even drill holes in the ROPS, but something is better than nothing. Ask Fourteen about what fell on his ROPS while in the woods. I would keep the ROPS on for safety alone.

 

[NJBill]

Chad,
No outside picture. I was trying to figure the overhead construction of the doorway. The door looks like it has a torsional spring rather than two side suspension springs, can't tell if you have an electric opener. You spent a lot of money for your PT helper, a six to 12 inch lift of the door opening , appears more logical to me. With a pit built in it is possible that the actual headers for the doorway may be more than 7ft. and the present opening was acheived with cosmetic construction. If that is possible then it's no big job to lift the whole door opening track assembly six to twelve inches and add a section to the bottom. I don't have a Rops on my 422 but I would certainly make sure it stayed solid if I did. I don't have trees and such to contend with. That doesn't look like a very heavy door. Give it some thought carefully.
Bill

 

[toy]

I beleive I would try to get a taller garrage door to fit in there. Maybe a roll up door mounted to the outside that would allow you to raise the opening in the garrage. If the ceiling joists run parralell to the garrage door and there isn't a room above the garrage, could you run your door track through the ceiling joists and let the garrage door open up in the loft. Or like someone else mentioned make another door. Build another garrage just for the power trac and attachments. Every body needs another building.

 

[pequeajim]

I worked the 2nd half of the summer with my ROPS off when I was cutting grass. This was for a different purpose than what you were talking about, relating to your garage.

It did relieve the tippy feeling that I had working on my slopes and my 425 felt a lot more like the non-ROPS JD 445 that I used to cut the grass with. I would however, not work without the ROPS in my woods and under limbs. Those branches HURT! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I put mine back on now as my grass cutting season is over.

One thing I did do when I was trailering my 425, (I had a low motorcycle trailer that the ROPS was too high for).

I would remove one bolt from each side of the base of the ROPS and then tilt it back to get the clearance. You have to be careful that the canopy does not damage the fan in the rear, so I always put a big towel over the fan and only drove straight to get it in the trailer and then straight back out.

Drilling a second hole aft of the mounting holes might allow you to angle the ROPS back and put a pin in place to keep it up high enough to stay off of any parts that might be damaged.

 

[J_J]

That tilt idea might work for you if you want to keep your PT inside. Take out some bolts to allow tilting. That may give you enough clearance. If there is a tab on the back of the rops leg, you could cut that off to allow tilting.

If you have a back door on your garage, make it wider and higher.

Just some thoughts for you to consider.

 

[NJBill]

Me again,
For those of you still opting for tilting the Rops, Pull up PT's web site , and lokat the control panel picture of the 2445 and you will see it is bolted by three or four bolts in almost the bottom half of the posts. Not quite the same as the side mounted Rops on some other models.
Sorry I can't help you Chad . The door reconstruction is not a major project.. Don't forget the outside picture of the door and what's above it.
Bill

 

[Spiffy]

Sorry Bill, still haven't got around to snapping a outside shot (always pretty dark when I remember to). It's a strange pole construction, so the looks would be fairly decieving anyway.

But your analysis is right, torsional springs (no electric opener). On the negative side, there is no cosmetic headspace (trim screwed right to the header), despite 8ft+ ceiling.

It has the header toenailed (from every direction with the nastiest nails you can imagine) to both ends and a couple 5X6 "dummy blocks" running to the rafters. Of course, I'd have to remove the skin to get to everything, not to mention the inside OSB whose trim work I thought glue would seal better than nails alone. The long and short: it would have been easy to have 8ft doors when it was built, possible now, but a real pain in the you know what.

You're also right about the light duty doors, but I'd need a whole new door or a custom panal (not quite enough room for a whole extra panal).

So, I won't deny posible, but not a project this year (the snow will be plenty deep before I have any free time).

Thanks for the advice Bill! This became a pretty good brainstorming thread. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif