Foldable ROPS

[dodge man]

Those of you that have a foldable ROPS and a low garage door, how do you remember to lower it before you pull it in. Seems like it would be really easy to forget and leave it up.

 

[simonmeridew]

99 times out of 100 I remember, but that one time makes it interesting.: Wow, I'm tired from working and just want to get things put away when, "crunch" oh, my, another divot on my barn trim. I have made it easy to get it up and down, so it's easier to do, those 99 times.
simonmeridew

 

[jcaledon]

My son made me a sign in bright colors that hangs down from the garage door warning me to fold the Rops. When the door opens, the sign hangs down. I can't go in the garage without hitting it. So far it has worked. In the spring, I plan on planing the header on the door by a half inch. That should be enough to allow my B2620 to clear it.

 

[coreshot]

I just make sure to back the tractor in each time. That way, I have to turn around to see where I'm going and USUALLY see it before it hits.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I see where I got to close before and then remember.

 

[Evil the Weasel]

Now the ROPS didn't cause that damage on the lower left side of the opening... DID IT!???

 

[Deano]

I agree with coreshot and make it a habit to back in...

 

[vic4news]

I also always back in the garage. This worked 99% of the time.

Now, I always close the garage door when I pull the tractor out so that when
I go to put it away, I back up to the door, get off the tractor, put down the ROPs, and open up the door.

Vic

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Now the ROPS didn't cause that damage on the lower left side of the opening... DID IT!???

I figured someone would spot that. Actually the fel sticks out a bit to the front and knocked one of the cement lap siding boards off and then I think the wind blew a few off, the building is high on a hill and we get some severe winds some times. The damage in the center was actually from the top sun shade. I knew it wouldn't fit but was trying to get as close as I could. Well, I got about 4" to 6" past as close as I could.

 

[Evil the Weasel]

I figured someone would spot that. Actually the fel sticks out a bit to the front and knocked one of the cement lap siding boards off and then I think the wind blew a few off, the building is high on a hill and we get some severe winds some times. The damage in the center was actually from the top sun shade. I knew it wouldn't fit but was trying to get as close as I could. Well, I got about 4" to 6" past as close as I could.

Hehe. As long as a cherished member of Team Orange is happy in there, that's all that really matters.

 

[DickS]

This board is replete with testimony of dunces like myself who have rearranged the entrance to their garage doors with the ROPS. Will someone please help me understand the magic calculation/regulation/engineering requirement that prevents Kubota from knocking a few inches off the flippin thing so it will fit under a conventional garage door opening here in America?

 

[Matt_Jr]

Mount a bracket that holds a string with a bell about 3 ft in front of the door. Make sure the bell is what you hit. Not the string. Good conversation piece too.

 

[johan3400]

Gentlemen,
Occasionally my lovely bride looks over my shoulder when I am here on TBN. I would hate for her to realize we could have just folded the rops down and not had to build a shed. The shed was my only answer for not forgetting to fold the rops. I pulled the tractor into the garage once while the boss was gone and talked her into the shed the next day.

 

[Evil the Weasel]

This board is replete with testimony of dunces like myself who have rearranged the entrance to their garage doors with the ROPS. Will someone please help me understand the magic calculation/regulation/engineering requirement that prevents Kubota from knocking a few inches off the flippin thing so it will fit under a conventional garage door opening here in America?

There are several threads on these forums that talked about this very issue. I think it boiled down to what was required to protect the tractor from rolling over as well as protecting operators of different heights.

 

[ids]

There were 2 ways I've seen it being done.

1) Like you see at Home depot or Lowes - about 5 feet before the door, they place a 6 or 8 foot piece of PVC pipe, and it was attached to a motion sensor alarm, if the ROPS hit the PVC the alarm would go off - this requires you to build out a PVC on the outside away from the door, and on the inside the ROPS has to be further inside than the PVC to the door.

2) what I did was just to find a cheap garage door opener...added it to my garage and the remote opens and lowers the door to the correct height each time...of course, eventually if the track gets messed up or the opener doesn't bring the door all the way back, I guess I would be in a little bit of a mess.

 

[CaptPat]

I have a golf ball hanging on a string from the upper door frame, it's at head height so that serves as my reminder that the ROPS is down.

 

[Gomer]

I cut about 4 inches off the foldable piece of the ROPS, now it is the same height as a non-foldable ROPS and misses my 7 foot garage doors by about 2 inches. I just knew I was going to leave it up someday and back in to the garage and I didn't think leaving it down all the time made sense from a safety point of view. Now the ROPS police here will scream that I have somehow messed with the stability of the universe but hey it's my tractor.

 

[bandit67]

I have a few small orange cones that we used to put up in a previous neighborhood when all the neighborhood kids were small and played out on the street. The cone is small enough to fit under the tractor when I drive over it.

I set the cone up just inside the door, and when I turn around to back in, if I forget about the ROPS, the cone does a good job of reminding me. So far, at 150 hours, I haven't yet forgotten. Added incentive came when I spent all that time adding the worklights to the ROPS.

I've come very close a couple of times, but so far, no ROPS/door frame contact.

 

[BotaBigot]

I guess it's kinda like remembering to buckle seatbelt, set parking brake (and unset before driving off), engaging 4WD for hills, using low range for real work, and several other of those "tractor-only" habits we sooner-or-later learn. Now, if I could only beat this old-age "forgetfulness" thing...

 

[skunkhome]

if you like driving in forward just attach a fiberglass whip "Feeler guage" to the front of the tractor that will contact the door header reminding you to lower the ROP. It will also warn you when you venture too close under a low hanging tree limb.