(FOPS)FALLING OBJECT PROTECTIVE STRUCTURES

[dmccarty]

Hmmm, Rick aka Mr. TiltMeter, mentioned FOPS as a opposed to ROPS, to provide protection in the woods and when using an FEL.

What do these things look like?
Are they four posts?
How do they attach to the tractor?
How much do they cost?

Thanks,
DanWhoIsWorkingInTheWoodsWithAnFEL

 

[RBManufacturing]

Hi Dan,
According to "Guide To Agricultural Tractor Rollover
Protective Structures" (A publication of the National Farm
Medicine Center) FOPS are a canopy designed to protect
operator from overhaed falling object, but not all
canopies are FOPS. They attach to ROPS and look like most
canopies, however they are stronger and designed to
withstand overhead falling objects. According to book,
most dealers have access to them. Light fiberglass or
plastic canopies are not usually FOPS. Rick

Rick Hedgecock
R&B Manufacturing

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Just another call for info.

I've got woods-work to do also... people are killed every year-or-so in the NW by falling trees/limbs etc.

Anybody know anything about these things? Sources?

Thanks,

Larry

 

[RBManufacturing]

Larry, I believe any knowledgable dealer will have info.
on availability of FOPS. Call your dealer and ask. If you
have no luck with that, Let me know. I will see what I can
find for you.Rick

Rick Hedgecock
R&B Manufacturing
http://www.tiltmeter.com
(816)587-9814

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: (FOPS) / Tiltmeters

Rick

I'll ask at the dealers. of course, sometimes there is good info to be gained there. But as a general practice, I've found it wise to be as educated as you can BEFORE you talk to dealers/salespeople. (That's why I've been attending tractor-school at TBN for the past year or so/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif ). I'm going to try a websearch... should have already done it!

By the way, I received my 2 tiltmeters ( 7489-C ) in good order. Very nice! They are just what I had hoped. Solid-looking "equipment-quality" appearance... not cheapo "K-mart" auto-dept stuff.

Thanks for the quick service and for making these available.

I recommend them to anyone who wants to get above the seat-of-the-pants level to actually knowing what you're doing... I'll bet you'll be surprised more than once/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif!

Larry

 

[Billc]

Re: (FOPS) / Tiltmeters

Dan, I have a fiberglass canopy that is designed to keep the rain and sun off only. It has a big sticker that says something to the effect "Will not protect from falling objects". I can tell you that I've had several limbs hit the top of it pretty hard and it's held up BUT I KNOW IT ISN'T DESIGNED FOR THIS, guess I takes mys chances. If I was doing a lot of work in the woods I would get a FOPS without question. As I've said, my sun canopy has saved my butt once or twice, but I know it's designed for it.

Bill Cook

 

[MarkV]

Dan,

To get an idea of what a FOPS looks like, check out the B21's or L35 Kubota's. On my B21 there are four post that attach to a square tube frame and metel roof on top. My tractor work is in the woods and the FOPS was one of the reasons I bought a B21. With all the stupid mistakes I make, it makes me feel better having that extra beef above.

MarkV

 

[RBManufacturing]

Re: (FOPS) / Tiltmeters

Larry,
Glad you like your meters. Thanks for your comments.
I too attend TBN university. Made alot of friends here.
Would love to see a bunch of TBN students get together,
with an unlimited supply of parts, etc. And they ask us to
build the ultimate tractor. I can see it now. On board
coffee pot, cell phone, tool boxes out the wazoo, color t.v.
stereo,power to pull a freight train, switch activated
ballast shift, and of course tiltmeters. I'll get right on
it. We could have one built by spring. Rick


Rick Hedgecock
R&B Manufacturing
http://www.tiltmeter.com
(816)587-9814

 

[Pauchik]

A FOPS would have prevented a serious injury I sustained from a round bale coming off the loader pallett forks. I recently saw that both Vermont and New York have a rebate program in place to help encourage the installation or retrofitting of ROPS or FOPS in tractors. In NY the number is 1-877-767-7748.

 

[BruceWard]

A B21 has a FOPS. It has ROPS style roll bars at the front and back and a substanial roof to stop falling objects. The FOPS on my B21 has saved me from logs rolling down the FEL twice.

 

[blueriver]

A FOPS would have prevented a serious injury I sustained from a round bale coming off the loader pallett forks. I recently saw that both Vermont and New York have a rebate program in place to help encourage the installation or retrofitting of ROPS or FOPS in tractors. In NY the number is 1-877-767-7748.

I hope you are alright ... how serious was that injury? I have read about this killing folks ... Be carefull using pallet forks.

 

[Pauchik]

Better to be smart (you, with FOPS factory installed) than lucky (me, now looking to install one after the fact). These should be included in any tractor with FEL.

 

[eepete]

Because of the front and back posts, the FOPS also helps when the tractor is parked at an extreme (and not recommended) angle... Between the FOPS, loader mounts, wheels, loader bucket, and backhoe stabilizers my B21 made a 7 point landing, nothing broken but my pride.

Sure makes sense to me to have a FOPS on anything with a FEL.

Pete

 

[BruceWard]

Maybe this thread should be titled "Hay bails are dangerous".

 

[troutsqueezer]

Because of the front and back posts, the FOPS also helps when the tractor is parked at an extreme (and not recommended) angle... Between the FOPS, loader mounts, wheels, loader bucket, and backhoe stabilizers my B21 made a 7 point landing, nothing broken but my pride.

Sure makes sense to me to have a FOPS on anything with a FEL.

Pete

The ground looks fairly flat there, what caused it to flip? I've taken a screen capture of that shot to remind me.

-T

 

[Duffster]

A FOPS would have prevented a serious injury I sustained from a round bale coming off the loader pallett forks..

So would have the use of a proper tool for handling round bales. Pallet forks is not one. :confused2:

 

[eepete]

And to add to Duffster's comment, neither is a backhoe.

There is a sharp drop off just behind the tractor. I was grabbing a round bale with the backhoe when my rear tire dropped down. The round bale slowed down the tip over, and that helped with the no damage. The area was not mowed, the grass was about 18 inches tall, that hid a lot of the terrain. The position of the hay bale made me have much more of a angle/slope than I would normally have.

So lots of stupid mistakes, I walked away, learned a lot.

Don't use a backhoe to man handle a big round bale.
Do use a proper bale spear.
Don't go into areas where you can't see the terrain.
Sideways operations on a slope are a bad idea.
Have a cell phone with you on the tractor.
Calibrating you internal inclinometer can be rough on you and your equipment.

Pete

 

[BethesdaEC]

I am going to be doing a lot of work in heavy woods and would love to have a FOPS for my JD2520 tractor, but there does seem to an aftermarket source for these. Any idea where to order one from?

 

[Pauchik]

I'm looking for an aftermarket source. Probably will have to go to a fabricator and have it special built.

 

[TripleR]

You might want to check with a salvage yard or tractor auction site if one is near, we got ours off of an old IH and did a little modification.