Canopy G3038H ROPS/FOPS and fiberglass canopy on top

[flingwing1969]

I'm looking for thoughts and suggestions from the gallery.

I have the roof section from an old fiberglass runabout of '60s vintage. It is about 20 inches wider than the ROPS but still a few inches inside the rear wheelbase. It is very well constructed and in great condition.

I have about 6 1/2 acres of mountain pine/fir/cedar/black oak forest/woods on which I have two houses, one 36/48 foot metal barn and a couple of 20/24 foot metal shops and various out buildings. The nature of my trees means I have to do quite a bit of cleanup and trimming of dead limbs for fire safety and I do most of it with my tractor with forks and an attachment I made for picking up brush. I want to make an extension to go over one of my forks to allow me to snap dead branches off trees up to about 18' or so. Doing this will cause branches and other debris to rain down on the tractor (and me) so I want to put a FOPS on like I had on my old B21 Kabota.

What I have in mind, therefore, is to attach two vertical front posts of the same dimensions as the ROPS and weld up an angle iron framework roof covered in expanded steel welded on as a roof over the tractor seat, with a piece of stout angle iron to connect the new FOPS to the existing ROPS with u-bolts. I don't need to put my ROPS down but I also don't want to weld or drill it out. Then, I want to put the remodeled boat top onto the FOPS framework as a sun/rain/snow shield that will provide another element of protection.

I currently plan on welding the front posts of the new FOPS onto the vertical portion of the FEL mount - making an accommodation for the FEL Controls where they mount on the right. Aft of the circled section below (yes, I know it's not a G3038H).



I will then put a horizontal stiffener between the posts to later use for mounting an over-hood shelf for hauling stuff. The FOPS' roof will be removable, except for the front posts (if I weld them on).

Thoughts - especially on doing the right side FOPS vertical support and how to handle the FEL controls relocation? Thanks.

 

[flingwing1969]

Oh, I will be mounting two work lights fore and aft mounted onto the canopy lip.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I built a full cage for my JD 3005, fully bolt on, no holes drilled. I only have plywood on the top now, but plan to put 11ga aluminum sheet in the future. 2 limb risers attach to a new brush guard I built as part of the project, the legs that come down at the loader mounts attach to the loader brackets, not the loader masts, as I want the loader to come off as designed without removing cage. The back of the roof hoop bolts into the bolted ROPS side-to-top bar bracket. I built it this way so it can be removed if I ever sell the tractor.

 

[flingwing1969]

Nice. Yes, I also don't want to cause problems in the event of a trade-in or sale.

 

[3Lfarms]

Dieselcrawler’s thread about his cage is a good one. Lots of good pictures.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Dieselcrawler’s thread about his cage is a good one. Lots of good pictures.

Too bad most of the pictures are un-viewable due to Photobucket and their a$$inine change of 3rd party hosting policy. But yes, there is a detailed thread on the build. I can repost some of the pictures on a case by case basis if requested.

 

[flingwing1969]

Too bad most of the pictures are un-viewable due to Photobucket and their a$$inine change of 3rd party hosting policy. But yes, there is a detailed thread on the build. I can repost some of the pictures on a case by case basis if requested.

Having a complete thread is always valuable DieselCrawler - I'd love to see your project so I can steal your concepts. Thanks.

 

[flingwing1969]

Too bad most of the pictures are un-viewable due to Photobucket and their a$$inine change of 3rd party hosting policy. But yes, there is a detailed thread on the build. I can repost some of the pictures on a case by case basis if requested.

Having a complete thread is always valuable DieselCrawler - I'd love to see your project so I can steal your concepts. Thanks.

Is there a particular reason you did not attach your front posts to the top of the FEL masts? I see you use that spot for a mirror and I do as well but mine are full sized adjustable golf cart mirrors and I will adapt those to my new FOPS mounting point, unless I am convinced to do something different. LS has a goofy mount for the FEL controls, it is mounted to the right FEL mast - and it's in the way of getting into and out of the tractor on the right side, not impossible, just not very easy to do it without hitting the FEL control stick. If I attach to the FEL Mast, I will, of course, have to re-position the FEL controls.

While I like the idea of the brush guards, I don't really need them and so will likely not use that part of the idea. They might be in the way of the tote shelf I will be putting onto the cross-bar between the two front posts as well. It is like the one I built for my B21, except the hinge will be on the aft end due to the hood opening to the rear on my LS.


You will notice in the photos that Kubota mounts their FOPS front post to the FEL mast via welded brackets and grade 8 bolts. I may use this method as well. Sure like to see your photos - did you drill and bolt to the ROPS?

 

[dieselcrawler]

Here's a link to the thread...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/346672-jd-3005-full-cage-rops.html?highlight=


I'll look for relevant pictures to post... finding them is a the trick. I'm working all weekend, so it may be a few days....

 

[flingwing1969]

I'll look for relevant pictures to post... finding them is a the trick. I'm working all weekend, so it may be a few days....

I have a bunch of postings on various forums that went third party through Photobucket. I don't know if they are or are not visible - probably not. I wonder if you can go to your PB account and see the photos since it appears that PB has only disabled third party? I just checked and all of my pix are still in PB, I haven't checked to see if the postings are still on the forums though.