Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets?

   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #21  
for those of you with steel canopies that are catching things in the woods, you just need to add limb risers. I added FOPS and limb risers a few years ago. not sure how I ever got by without them. They are the diagonal bars running from the front of the tractor up to the FOPS. Limbs get pushed up and over as you drive into them.

The FOPS itself has expanded metal screen for a covering. I like the good visibility of what is going on overhead that the expanded metal screen gives. I don't really care that it lets snow and rain through, since I dress for that anyway. It is a bit of a bummer in the summer when I'm wearing a T-shirt and drive under a cedar tree and all the little crumbs drop down my back. I may change it to have the back half or 2/3 solid metal, and keep the front part as expanded metal for visibility above

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   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #22  
This is one of those cases where the posters location would add more info.

I had a steel canopy. Took it off because it got in the way in the trees.

View attachment 610166

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Could not imagine dealing with a full cab in the woods in Mississippi. Also cannot imagine dealing with a blizzard here. We did get a record snowfall in 2015, 7 inches plus and it took over 2 days to all melt.

But having lived for 25 years in Northern Vermont a heated cab there would be the difference between using a tractor in the winter or just storing it.

I am completely in your camp on this issue.

Just bought a very nice low time L48 with the canopy as part of the ROPS.
Took the entire ROPS off.
I won't use the machine in the winter, or in hot summer sun, and have no steep inclines needing a ROPS.
I'll store the parts and pieces in my barn.
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets?
  • Thread Starter
#23  
This is one of those cases where the posters location would add more info.

[...]

Ah, yes, I should have thought of that. I'm in Maryland, the north east corner, weather like Baltimore. For at least 25 years I've been fine plowing snow in a coat without any canopy or cab or heater (except for the tall round black glove warmer on the old Kubota). Except, of course, that if it is still snowing I get wet, which would be nice to improve.
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #24  
Some owners have bought a golf cart kit to use with a canopy. Heaters that run on the engine coolant provide plenty of heat. Mine produces 20,000 BTU's. A 12 volt electric heater would need about 480 amps to make the same amount of heat.
I use them golf cart canopy on our L3830 for a winter.
It worked well, I was able to blow snow in a sweatshirt, but it was not sized the way that they said it was in the ad, so it did not fit properly and chafed around the edge of the canopy.
It also did not come down quite far enough oh, so there was about a foot between the floor of the operators platform and the bottom of the canopy wall. That meant that my feet still got covered in snow.

Aaron Z
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #25  
I use them golf cart canopy on our L3830 for a winter.
It worked well, I was able to blow snow in a sweatshirt, but it was not sized the way that they said it was in the ad, so it did not fit properly and chafed around the edge of the canopy.
It also did not come down quite far enough oh, so there was about a foot between the floor of the operators platform and the bottom of the canopy wall. That meant that my feet still got covered in snow.

Aaron Z

get out the wifes sewing machine and stitch something on the bottom. Or worse comes to worse, hand stitch it on. It wouldn't take long.
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #26  
get out the wifes sewing machine and stitch something on the bottom. Or worse comes to worse, hand stitch it on. It wouldn't take long.
That was my plan till it started chewing through the top because the size was not as advertised.
I am planning on making one, just need time and to figure out shape and size.

Aaron Z
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #27  
Full cab with heat and A/C, all the way. As soon as you said "staying dry while moving snow during a storm..." That's the way to go.

You're welcome.

:D

I will second the cab, but not only for the heat, I love the air conditioning this time of year. I'm sure it doesn't get as warm up NE as here, but if the option exist, a cab is the way to go.
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #28  
I have a nice, fiberglass canopy on my M6040. Not so much for winter snow - nice for a little shade and keeping the sun off in the summer.

View attachment 610252
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #29  
I had a steel canopy on my previous BX25. The BX25 is too tall for a standard 7' garage door. The steel canopy was too hard to remove when I wanted to garage my tractor. I bought a BX23S and a Tuff Top tractor canopy to go with it. It is a light thermoplastic material (metal frame) and the canopy can be removed or installed in less than a minute. It has several tilt angles. I like it a lot. I have run into tree branches with it without damaging it but better not to run into them. It's not really a FOPS but will have some fall protection. Also, it's an economical buy.

IMG_2810.jpg
 
   / Do you like having a canopy or FOPS? Any regrets? #30  
I'm thinking of getting one. Main goal is staying dry while moving snow around during the storm. But I also have a very bad neck and want multiple mirrors, and I imagine a FOPS would give a nice variety of good mounting points.

There is a FOPS available from my tractor maker (NH) that is supposedly designed for this tractor. I don't think they offer a canopy as a different item. A FOPS ought to be more rigid and make a better mounting area for mirrors, I would expect. I saw a pretty similar NH tractor with the FOPS on it and it looked nice and solid and large, lotta workspace under it.

Some people say they make the engine noise louder. Any thoughts on that?

Obviously when mounting the tractor, the operator would have to duck under it somewhat.

Any other issues to take into account while deciding?

Thanks!!

Hi,
Apart from the obvious safety feature in a rollover situation there is another one that I had never considered until it happened to me. Whilst working with the FEL on my Case IH, a hose suddenly burst and a huge fountain of hot hydraulic oil sprayed the cab windscreen and the roof. I hadn稚 been looking for a tractor with a cab but it was already mounted on my second hand tractor when I bought it. However, I was grateful for it when the hose burst otherwise I would have had my head and face covered with hot (presumably carcinogenic) oil. It was a scenario I致e never seen mentioned anywhere before or since but this added safety feature along with the comfort of a dry and warm 祖apsule? suggests that a cab is the way to go.
 

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