I've been debating on doing this.

[gwstang]

Like some of you, my parking is limited for the new L2501. I have to fold the rops to put it under cover using a shed over hang off the side of the barn, Fits ok then. No, there is no room in the barn and the door/barn is still not high enough. I have been debating on the method of cutting off the nuts that the retaining bolt goes through. I wish that Kubota in all their wisdom would not make these so dang hard to remove and fold. It seems to me that more people, in this situation with a garage etc, would actually take time to raise the rops for use, if it were easier to remove/reposition said bolt. I guess I will have to grind off the nuts and use the heavy pins that slide through and have the retaining clip on the end. I have not been using the rops since folding it and that is very bad using an fel/cutting hills etc. Is this the only solution to this equation? Thanks. I pretty much have conciseness about getting into a bad situation because of the old 8N that I've had for years. Before someone says something, I am not going to screw that stupid bolt in and out constantly as I put the tractor under cover when finished with it and that bolt is a royal pain to remove each time. :confused2:

I am also curious if other makes of tractor are this much of a pain in the behind to perform this task?

Whoops, I meant to put this under owning/operating section. :ashamed:

 

[Mysfyt]

Do you have a cordless impact? If so, just buy a couple grade 8 frame bolts (mine were 5/8-18 American thread) grease the threads good and use the impact to zip them in and out. I have to fold mine down to fit it in my shop and it only took a couple of times dealing with the factory bolts B4 I knew something had to change. I got grade 8 frame bolts with the flanged head. Don't skimp here!

 

[s219]

I rarely lower mine, but I figured that if I ever needed to do it frequently, I'd buy the right size tap and die, and clean up the threads on both the threaded boss and the stud. I have no idea why they are so tight. Lubing helped quite a bit, but still there seems like way more interference than there should be.

 

[M5farms]

buy a bottle of anti sieze. Its a graphite paste and a must on bolts you want to remove from time to time.

 

[jeff9366]

My L3560 is a year old.

I have to raise/lower ROPS to store tractor in the garage.

Pin/bolts have worn in over the first year and are now easy to spin in/out.

 

[namesray]

On my old b7800 I dremeled out the threatd on the nuts welded on the rops and then the bolts would just slide through and I would use the existing set up with clip pins.

It was simple and I figured if I ever wanted toput it back to threading bolts through again, all I have to do is weld new nuts on.

I left the orginal nuts on because I felt that they added more rigidity to the rops at the pin point in case of roll over

I got the idea from my then newer b3200, which did come stock with just pins that slid through without having to thread on.

 

[gwstang]

Thanks fellows. Some good ideas on here! :thumbsup:

I think before "modifying" anything, I will try the grade 8 bolts idea. I have an almighty 1/2" air impact that will zip the bolts in and out in a jiffy.

Kubota failed on this issue for sure. Th L2501 is a new model tractor introduced last year so they did it this way on purpose. Take heed Kubota!

 

[k0ua]

My thoughts:. Yes some other tractor use pins not the threaded bolts..Yes the bolts/nuts get easier after using them a bit. On my old L3400hst I had to put the rops down/up ever time I used it. It became a simple habit, and did not really take all that long to do. I did use a spray on lube of course (fluid film) to help make it easier. I did think about grinding off the threads at first, but after a while, it just didn't seem like a big deal and I left it stock.

I built a barn with an overhead door my tractor (Kioti now) clears with ease, and put on a canopy (really worthwhile to have) problem solved.

 

[Mysfyt]

Better double check the threads first. I found it odd that mine were American threads here and the rest seems to be metric.

 

[s219]

Thanks fellows. Some good ideas on here! :thumbsup:

I think before "modifying" anything, I will try the grade 8 bolts idea. I have an almighty 1/2" air impact that will zip the bolts in and out in a jiffy.

Kubota failed on this issue for sure. Th L2501 is a new model tractor introduced last year so they did it this way on purpose. Take heed Kubota!

Keep in mind it's just an L3200 with less HP and some minor tweaks. I bet the ROPS is unchanged, like 95% do the rest of the tractor. And it may be the same as the generation before (L2800, etc).