JD 3005 full cage ROPS/FOPS build

dieselcrawler · Oct 25, 2015

arrow said:
(unless you did not want to drill and tap into the loader support). Very nice project btw.

Exactly. Totally bolt on, but strong, no modification to factory brackets or ROPS.

And thanks... I like to share.

crashz · Oct 28, 2015

Looks good Greg. Mine does not look nearly as good as yours, its been weather and branch beaten to death, but here it is. I have some custom mounting arms that bolts in a similar manner to your mounting system at the ROPS.

I didn't realize your tires were loaded too. You must have some steep slopes!

dieselcrawler · Oct 28, 2015

Leo, thanks for the picture. Any chance you have any of the mounting at the ROPS?

Yes, I have some slopes... 117 ac, and the only flat spots are where the house and barn were built! Alot of steep areas too, I attempt to claw my way up as much as I can, some I can only come down. I will have to get the wife to get a picture of me in action to illustrate the angle of the grade.

All tires loaded, front end loader, 5' piece of railroad track bolted in the bucket, and rear wheels 9" wider than stock widest setting... and I'm still thinking of a belly pan made of 1" steel to add low weight!

redman135 · Oct 29, 2015

If you are going to run wheels that wide, why not run dual wheels? You will have a similar or greater width/ stability, AND the extra rubber makes a significant increase in traction. You can stick to a sidling much easier and in volcanic ash/ sand country you can climb a much steeper hill without digging holes than you think.

dieselcrawler · Oct 29, 2015

Redman: duals would be awesome. But with quite a price tag. I was able to make my spacers with metal I already had on hand, leftovers from other projects, all I had to buy was the bolts. Same is true for my cage project, the 2" box tube has black paint, because it was a ladder rack on my dually for the past dozen years! I found a better ladder rack, and reuse materials any chance I get.

But I have to agree, the extra traction from duals would be amazing.

crashz · Oct 30, 2015

Greg - next time I'm up there, I'll take a picture of the brackets. It won't be for a week or so though.

I've never seen wheels that far out before. Wow!

Gordon Gould · Oct 30, 2015

Great project Greg. I enjoy watching thing develop. Thanks for posting your ideas

gg

sixdogs · Oct 31, 2015

Duals don't have to be all that expensive. Just find used tires and wheels. Duals give more traction, yes, but their primary use around here is for flotation. The spacer arrangement is OK but I wonder about stress on the axle and shafts?

dieselcrawler · Oct 31, 2015

I factored in the added stress on the axles and bearings, then balanced that against operator stress and wife stress. I figured I could replace a few sets of wheel bearings more easily than my wife and kids could replace me.

Wife still tells me that if I roll it and live, she's gonna come out to make sure I'm ok, then kill me herself!

dieselcrawler · Nov 2, 2015

Having no 1-1/4" flat bar, I used a piece of 2-1/4" and cut 16 pieces at 1-1/4" long, thru which I drilled holes in a jig I clamped to the drill press table. These I will weld end to end, to make 1-1/4" x 4-1/2" with 3/8" holes. Few minutes Saturday, few on Sunday, not much, but progress.