ROPS and my apple trees

   / ROPS and my apple trees #51  
... My point is: Rules are so people don’t have to think. Or, perhaps they do think and come to the wrong conclusion...
My take on it is this. The manufacturer, in most cases, has not put a safety measure in place to protect the owner, at least not completely. Yes, the ROPS can save your life, but that is not their main concern. Their main concern is their own liability or a lawsuit that made them liable which likely resulted in some regulation that they had to install that safety feature.

Why does the coffee cup warn you that the contents are hot and could burn you? Because someone did something stupid and then sewed someone for their own stupidity. The warning is not there to protect you, it is there to protect the company from further litigation.

None of this is about having a brain and being able to think and come to the right conclusion, it's about who is liable when you don't.

If you, as the owner, disable or otherwise modify that safety feature you have removed the manufacturers liability. You are consciously deciding to take the risk and you are liable for your own actions at that point.

Now, think about the dealer or the mechanic that needs to drive your tractor. If that safety device is not in place and he knows that it is not in place and he does not fix it then he is taking the risk and he is liable for anything that happens because of that action. On the other hand, if he does not know the safety device is not in place then the owner is liable since it was the owner that disabled it. The dealer is protecting themself and the owner by putting that safety device back in place when he sees that it's disabled.

If I removed or otherwise modified my ROPS I would not be surprised to find that my dealer refused to work on it do to that modification.
 
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   / ROPS and my apple trees #52  
My take on it is this. The manufacturer, in most cases, has not put a safety measure in place to protect the owner, at least not completely. Yes, the ROPS can save your life, but that is not their main concern. Their main concern is their own liability or a lawsuit that made them liable which likely resulted in some regulation that they had to install that safety feature.

Why does the coffee cup warn you that the contents are hot and could burn you? Because someone did something stupid and then sewed someone for their own stupidity. The warning is not there to protect you, it is there to protect the company from further litigation.

None of this is about having a brain and being able to think and come to the right conclusion, it's about who is liable when you don't.

If you, as the owner, disable or otherwise modify that safety feature you have removed the manufacturers liability. You are consciously deciding to take the risk and you are liable for your own actions at that point.

Now, think about the dealer or the mechanic that needs to drive your tractor. If that safety device is not in place and he knows that it is not in place and he does not fix it then he is taking the risk and he is liable for anything that happens because of that action. On the other hand, if he does not know the safety device is not in place then the owner is liable since it was the owner that disabled it. The dealer is protecting themself and the owner by putting that safety device back in place when he sees that it's disabled.

If I removed or otherwise modified my ROPS I would not be surprised to find that my dealer refused to work on it do to that modification.
Exactly, it's about liability more than anything else.
If it wasn't a 30 second fix to plug it back in you would have probably needed to sign a waiver saying that you did not want it fixed to release them from liability if you injured yourself due to a factory safety device being bypassed or missing

Aaron Z
 
   / ROPS and my apple trees #53  
Not getting into the ROPs issue as that appears to have been addressed from all viewpoints by now.

So far as options for dealing with low tree limbs, kind of depends on quantity of trees, layout of trees, and how often you mow. We have a small (about 2 acre) field that has trees in an approximate 10’ x 10’ grid. We really prefer to mow it infrequently so we’re usually mowing 3’ grass and small volunteer trees. Not exactly ideal zero turn territory. A rear mount mower on a HST works pretty well as the rear deck hangs out far enough to get back under the trees without putting the tractor, trees, or operator in peril. Requires a LOT of back and forth so HST or at least shuttle are near required. There’s also a ditch as it’s adjacent to a public road. I leave the ROPS up to mow the ditch and fold it down for the flat part with the trees. There’s a bit of weedeating but very little. If it was 50 acres I’d need to do something different. Using a MMM it would leave probably at least two to three hours of weedeating. We also have nine fruit trees that are in an area a bit too rough for a lawnmower type mower so the rear mount takes care of that as well. As low as some of the limbs are, the rear mount mower is actually preferable to weedeating under the fruit trees.

For other chores, our steep hills make me prefer to leave ROPS intact and they’re rarely an issue. At 8’ 11.5” they’re an issue in the field of trees. We have two older tractors without ROPS. Used them for about 45 years without ever thinking about it and I’m not adverse to using them now when appropriate so I’m not exactly the ROPS police. Just my preference.
 

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