Is the ROPS really needed?

[CobyRupert]

You're right!

 

[yelbike]

Yup, Rops does not discriminate who ever is strapped to the seat with the Rops up there is a 99% chance they will walk away, Modify or remove and it's a crap shoot.
Smart or Stupid people, in a roll over, Rops saves either.

Years ago it used to be just farmers that bought tractors, And without Rops. So I can see how some would view them and I see why they disagree with me.

Today with all the BX's, B etc. being sold in record numbers, many people other than farmers are buying them. For most it's their first tractor. If you have to guess a few 100,000 tractors out there by now? I don't know the numbers. How many get tipped each year? I'll bet it's quite a few. How many die? very few.

As a made up example to make my point.

This young couple buys a house. The guy tries talking his wife into buying a 3 year old used Kubota with the money they were going to use for the driveway. He says he can do all the landscaping and would not have to pay anybody else and in the end keep the Kubota..(against her wishes) He finally wins out and gets the Kubota.

They have it for a few months, did quite a bit of work around the yard, even got his wife to start using it. The Rops is always up and the seat belt is alway on, they were very careful with it. One day while his wife was using it she had the loaded bucket up too high and while on a slope the tractor rolled over twice down the hill. The first time the Rops just bent and the second roll over the left side of the Rops broke off causing the tractor to break her neck.

It was later found that the Rops have been cut and welded and because the heat was too high it burned through in a few spots. It was covered up with some bondo to make it look nice, it also had a great paint job, it looked new.
So the wife is paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of her life. Should the previous owner be held responsible? or should it be chalked up to Operator error? Or buyers fault for not asking if the new like Rops was messed with?

So just because it's your tractor now, it won't be forever yours. Make other Mods to your tractor keep your Rops intact. Or remove them when selling. A removed Rops is better than one just for looks giving the young couple above a false sense of safety. At least with the "mess with" Rops off, the buyer knows he should put one on the tractor or take a risk.

This is why a Video should not be made showing everyone "How To" cut down a safety device, make the factory Rops shorter and re weld it on a very popular tractor.
Because there are a lot of HACKS out there and just a few good welders that would put their name on it.

"These tractors just don't die they will be around forever with many new owners over the years."

Now whenever I get like this trying to make my point and convincing my wife of something, She always ends up says these two words to me that always shuts me up, You're Right
Now, I'm not really sure if that means she agrees with me, or after 35 years she found a way to shut me up.:confused3: I guess I'll never really know.

No different than buying a used car. You don't know the history. If you want to be sure, like 100% sure, so you can sue Kubota if your wife dies than buy brand spanking new!

I had it modified professionally, I wasn't there when they did it. Pretty sure there wasn't bondo.

Just like anything, sacrifice everyone's freedom for the few stupid hacks.

BTW I think your right too!! .

 

[ultrarunner]

If in doubt have an independant inspection...

It wasn't that long ago that a home inspection was rare... now it is SOP.

I'm a certified welder from a different life and would not hesitate to have Paul do any work for me... it's not only his passion it is his business.

Heck.. Paul puts his name on everything he does and then makes a video of it for the masses... just how much more can a guy do?

 

[DarkBlack]

I've known many local/garage welders, including do it yourself'rs who do finer fabrication and welding than the OEM offshore factories.
In fact some of the most faulty welds I have ever seen, have been of OEM.
It's a misleading premise, suggesting that these modifications will be by default, of inferior quality.

 

[WaxMan]

If in doubt have an independant inspection...

It wasn't that long ago that a home inspection was rare... now it is SOP.

I'm a certified welder from a different life and would not hesitate to have Paul do any work for me... it's not only his passion it is his business.

Heck.. Paul puts his name on everything he does and then makes a video of it for the masses... just how much more can a guy do?

I think your missing my point. Not talking about 4shorts work, I'm talking about all the others followers after watching the video.

 

[murphy1244]

If in doubt have an independant inspection...

It wasn't that long ago that a home inspection was rare... now it is SOP.

I'm a certified welder from a different life and would not hesitate to have Paul do any work for me... it's not only his passion it is his business.

Heck.. Paul puts his name on everything he does and then makes a video of it for the masses... just how much more can a guy do?

Then certify the ROPS and remove all doubt.:thumbsup:

 

[DarkBlack]

Why do we need to try so hard to save stupid people?

Stupid people have money that sellers want to take. If you push for 'dumb' safety, then you have a larger buying market. ( in the interest of safety of course, it's not about money )

 

[WaxMan]

I've known many local/garage welders, including do it yourself'rs who do finer fabrication and welding than the OEM offshore factories.
In fact some of the most faulty welds I have ever seen, have been of OEM.
It's a misleading premise, suggesting that these modifications will be by default, of inferior quality.

There default because they lack certifacation and would not be allowed on a tractor, I would not want my son or my wife be the test pilot to see if it holds up in a roll over.

 

[WaxMan]

Stupid people have money that sellers want to take. If you push for 'dumb' safety, then you have a larger buying market. ( in the interest of safety of course, it's not about money )

Do you even know what you're talking about or do you just throw stuff out there?

 

[DarkBlack]

Go to local racetracks and see all garage/hand built roll cages, with most of high quality. Joining multiple round tubes at various angles for high speed protection pretty much makes welding a simple ROPs tube child's play in comparison.