Is the ROPS really needed?

[dustinfox]

I know we all know this, but remember what would happen without it.


Tractor Rollovers - YouTube

Goofus says "I don't need no stinking ROPS!" Gallant says "I always wear my seat belt and use my ROPS when running the tractor."

 

[dustinfox]

Is the ROPS really needed? I'd have to say no, it's not needed at all... unless you roll your tractor.

I agree... Leave it off until you roll over. :laughing:

 

[WaxMan]

Not sure why you would want a BX for a lawn mower anyway, unless i missed something. The Bx is a good tractor and has many good uses, but strictly as a lawn mower it's a poor use of the BX in my opinion. It ok as a lawn mower if used as a multi task machine. But only as a lawn mower?
I have one of these Tanks only without the steering wheel, 12 miles per hour low to the ground foldable rops and only one use a "lawn mower".
If you only use for the BX is mowing Sell it, buy one of these or similar and have money left over. Do all your mowing in half the time with twice the fun and safely.:thumbsup: Plus it has a good bagger set up.
CCC TANK product video fnl - YouTube

 

[Scooby074]

Don't know why they do it that way. I have a foldable on my B series and it folds down similar to the JD pictured. I find it works great so I can fold it down for working in tight quarters. Not sure why they made the BX different...

I have no idea why they do it on the BX either!!

When folded, the ROPS would provide next to no protection in a roll over. Your head is above the hinge plane.


As Evil says, pruning the trees up 6' is not only hard on the tree, but looks awful.

 

[flyingpostman]

I'm cutting a lot of hills and while the ROPS bar is annoying going under some trees (I ended up trimming a lot of low branches) I would rather have it than have the tractor roll on top of me. The seat belt also helps keep my *** in the seat when cutting hills.

 

[Ken45101]

For those who did not check out the video links above, they had three different incidents where an unexpected rollover on "easy terrain" resulted in fatalities.

The statistics they gave:
75% fatalities from rollovers without ROPS
1% fatalities from rollovers with ROPS.

 

[Jim in ICT]

I once knew a guy that sold safety shoes. A customer came in his store to complain about the toe box of his shoe blowing out when he had a piece of steel drop on his foot. My friend pointed out that the customer was able to walk in his store because the shoe did its job.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[1sadgal]

I would say ask my dad because he knew a lot about mowers and researched which ones were safest before he bought his lovely green BobCat zero radius. But you can't ask him because he ended up dead underneath that mower in the shallow end of our pond at age 62 after sliding down a slight slope and the mower rolled over on top of him. His mower did not come with a ROPs. Well everyone around this town gets a ROPS now. I bet if my dad could come back he'd suggest adding a ROPS because it might have been better to have had the mower roll on its side where he could unbuckle his seatbelt which he had on during the accident, by the way, and walk away from the mower than to be struggling under the mower, buckled into his seat and drowning under the weight of it. Yep he would be a big advocate for the good old ROPs device if he were still alive to tell.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

I was told and I believe it's already in effect that all zero turn mowers and tractors are required to have rops.

 

[1sadgal]

Well go here and check out the latest model on Bobcat's site ------- no ROPS on it. BOB-CAT Zero-Turn Riding & Mid-Size Walk-Behind Mowers | BOB-CAT Commercial Mowers