I need to get a roll-over bar, but...

[roxynoodle]

I hear you guys. I, too, need to come up with the money and get the ROPS. Yes, I realize it's cheaper than a funeral. I am thinking though if you need to jump, you'd best try to go on the uphill side. And, my (so far) only potential roll over occured with the uphill side being the right, which is quite boxed in by the loader control. Coming down a slope my left front tire went into a hole and the right front immediately came up off the ground. Luckily I was able to stop in time and debate my situation. Try to fix it? Or jump over the loader control? Well, trying to jump over the loader joystick was sure no guarantee I was going to make it. Not to mention standing up to try might have pushed the tractor all the way over. I was able to back it up and straighten it and get down without landing in any more holes. But, that was the day I knew I needed a ROPS, which hopefully I can order next month (just paid a big propane bill).

 

[piddling]

Yes, Tom, that's the way I finally figured it: cheap insurance (with no premium notices every six months). Hope we never scrape the paint on them.

 

[Tom_Veatch]

Gotta clarify something.

As I wrote that previous post, I was thinking about the testing mentioned in some previous posts. You wouldn't have to pay me anything to attempt an exit from an accidental roll-over. You'd have to pay me a LOT to intentionally subject myself to a rollover incident - especially on a tractor without a ROPS.

Have to make my proofreading a little more attentive to what I actually wrote rather than what I thought I said.

 

[kenmac]

Pidding ,I purchased 1 of the 1st. ROPS built for these tractors. I never gave a 2nd thought about the cost.My concern was my safety , safety of my son & friends that sometime use the tractor.I highly recmond anyone without ROPS on their tractor to purchase 1 & use the belt ! I see alot of people using their tractor with the ROPS down .Always use the tractor with the ROPS in the up position.

 

[CurlyDave]

... I am thinking though if you need to jump, you'd best try to go on the uphill side...

This is absolutely correct.

And, just for fun, try this out someday. Mount a chair on a piece of plywood, and tilt it ~ 45 degrees to one side. Go ahead, try to jump off the high side. This is a lot harder to do in real life than on a keyboard.

Plus, a real-life rollover is even harder than the static demonstration I suggest. The tractor is rolling downhill, so everything you have to push against is moving in the wrong direction.

Even if you try to jump off the high side, it is an odds-on bet that you will actually jump off on the downhill side and be crushed.

 

[roxynoodle]

I figured that out from the incident I already had. I was probably at about 35 degrees and wasn't convinced I could make it. And I'm pretty sure I couldn't jump far enough to go off the downhill side and be out of the path of the tractor. I will get the ROPS soon. Aside from the loader control, there are a lot of other things to get hung up on like the powershift, gear range shifter and 2wd to 4wd shifter. I also need to dish and swap the rear wheels out. It seems to me these tractors are narrow for their height. There are things I like having that clearance for but on the other hand, they seem tippy.

 

[piddling]

This discussion keeps bringing a garden tractor experience to mind. Three years ago I purchased a Craftsman GT5000 garden tractor and during our early use of it my wife noticed there were a few areas I was bypassing with the mower and going back and cutting with the string trimmer. She chuckled when I told her certain spots were causing the tractor to get a little tippy. One day when she was riding the mower I told her "turn off the deck and drive over this little hump". I knew this particular area was safe but it would give her a feel for mowing on unlevel ground - a thrill she hadn't experienced.

That was more than enough - she hasn't mowed a lick since or mentioned the areas I avoid.

 

[California]

Before I bought a ROPS I gave quite a bit of thought to how to get off of a rollover. I couldn't see any good way.

I once looped a dirt bike over backward trying to climb the terraces in this same sloping orchard. That time I sucessfully bailed to the side as the bike crashed down on its handlebars, but then found myself running downhill to get away from the bike and realized the danger now had become the chance of running downhill into a tree with the bike still chasing me. There were no injuries aside from smashed handlebars, but I decided then and there my over-50 reflexes weren't fast enough any more. I sold the bike.

Back to bailing off a tractor: as Roxy noted, I don't think there is any way to climb over the high side fast enough. And what you will encounter there, is a big revolving tire you have to climb over next before you can get to the ground. Good luck.

It seems to me the only chance of survival is to vault off the low side using the fender handbar then run off on a diagonal to get clear of whatever implement is on the back. Good luck with that, too. Buy a ROPS.

 

[TrippleT]

I would not count on being able to jump off a tractor in a roll over. Years ago in this part of the country, people farmed with 8n Fords and probably the largest tractors were M Int. Farmalls. Almost every year someone got killed by a roll over. Go to a stock car (dirt track) race and see the real advantage of protection from roll over. Get the roll bar and the seat belt, so you can continue to enjoy TBN.

 

[Adam23]

I agree! I am new to both, tractors and this forum. After reading through this forum and the saftey forum, I am convinced and so is my wife, that a ROPS will be the next investment for our family.