Replacing Bolts On ROPS With a Hitch Pin????

[dougtrr2]

Could you just buy a large wing nut and weld it to the bolt?

Doug in SW IA

 

[Diggin It]

Unless you roll over while sliding down a hill or with any forward motion, in which case the bolt is critical to prevent the ROPS from flipping back and letting the tractor land on your head...

Another reason to skip Jeffy posts.

ROPS up with weak, under rated, under sized pins could be as useless as no ROPS in a rollover if those weak, undersized pins get sheared off by the ROPS during the forces applied during the rollover. Whether that would happen or not is for the engineers, mathematicians, statisticians and other gamblers to figure out.

 

[3Ts]

My understanding of what you want to do is to quickly pull the bolts out or put them in without having to turn them into the nut. If none of these other answers work for you, one thing you could do is to get another set of bolts and file the threads off. That way the threads on the nut are untouched, and the bolt will slide into the nut without having to turn it and the hairpin clip will keep it in place. It is the shear forces on the bolt at work here so you don't want to affect the area where the frame tries to "pinch" the bolt.

 

[jmc]

Mine is tighter than it should be too. Someday I will:

Check the bolts for straightness to eliminate the tight spot on every turn.

Remove any paint that may be in the female thread. If taps that size are expensive, fluting a bolt with a grinder might work.

Figure out a way to use a battery powered drill when changing the rops position.

 

[AGTtactical]

My understanding of what you want to do is to quickly pull the bolts out or put them in without having to turn them into the nut. If none of these other answers work for you, one thing you could do is to get another set of bolts and file the threads off. That way the threads on the nut are untouched, and the bolt will slide into the nut without having to turn it and the hairpin clip will keep it in place. It is the shear forces on the bolt at work here so you don't want to affect the area where the frame tries to "pinch" the bolt.

That's a great idea, I considered it...its really the best option except that Kubota only sells the bolts as a kit (two bolts, wire lanyard, and cotter pin) for $47.80 EACH SIDE, or $100 out the door with tax. You can't get the bolts separately. Maybe I can buy some rear bolts from someone who never uses them anymore.

 

[CMV]

I did mine with these. While they work well and are 100x faster that the factory bolts with nylock nuts and are completely tool-less, they don't hold quite as tight so there is a buzzing noise from them at certain rpm. Good tradeoff to me since I have to fold the ROPS to park mine in the container, but I do notice the extra noise from the change.

I would get this style pin with the handle. Or one with a bent end - something to grab onto and make it easier to install & extract.

 

[Diggin It]

I did mine with these. While they work well and are 100x faster that the factory bolts with nylock nuts and are completely tool-less, ...

That's sort of the way mine are, but the OP says the nuts are welded to the ROPS frame, so this option would not work.

 

[WranglerX]

Figure out a way to use a battery powered drill when changing the rops position.

Not a great fan of HF, but the do have some useful things. Plus proper socket...

Search results for: '6399'

Dale

 

[WranglerX]

I did mine with these. While they work well and are 100x faster that the factory bolts with nylock nuts and are completely tool-less, they don't hold quite as tight so there is a buzzing noise from them at certain rpm. Good tradeoff to me since I have to fold the ROPS to park mine in the container, but I do notice the extra noise from the change.

I would get this style pin with the handle. Or one with a bent end - something to grab onto and make it easier to install & extract.

Grade 8 pin?

Dale

 

[jeff9366]

I did mine with these. While they work well and are completely tool-less, they don't hold quite as tight so there is a buzzing noise from them at certain rpm. Good tradeoff to me since I have to fold the ROPS to park mine in the container, but I do notice the extra noise from the change.

I would get this style pin with the handle. Or one with a bent end - something to grab onto and make it easier to install & extract.

There are all kinds of pins and clevis available in 1/2".
For a snug fit on a Kubota 'Grand L' you need 9/16" pin diameter.
Selection in 9/16" diameter is limited.