ROPS= look out for the garage door!!

[crazylare1]

Well it finally happened after only a couple of months of owning a new tractor, the 13yr old put the rops into the garage door. I've been teaching the boy how to run all of my equipment slowly but surely, been teaching him how to drive vehicles around on the property, etc. Well today I was teaching him how to use the fel and how to get a full bucket of snow, he done so well that I said go head take it to the garage and put it away for the night, well I forgot one important thing,,,,,lower the rops before you go in....opps. He knows how many times I've almost put it in without lowering it,,,,,,scares me half to death but somehow I've been lucky (so far) to remember right at the last second. I really haven't figured out a way to make myself remember, I tried a string around my finger but then forgot why it was there, I tried a sign around my neck but the rope bothered my neck, just kidding. Well anyhow he got the door tonight, sure doesn't do a door much good when you hit one. It almost made the bottom panel unrepairable. We started working on it a 5pm and finished repairing it the best it's going to be at 8:30pm. Bolts, nuts washers, and metal plates, a hammer, some other tools, and a lot of luck got it back in working order. It's an 18' metal clad industrial strength door and it broke two of the ribs and seperated the foam from the steel clading. It also ripped one hindge off, the one that is attached to the cable, and put a major whoop in the middle. Did I yell at him,,,,,heck no, like I was saying I've been really close several times. He felt bad and then stayed out there in the cold and helped fix it until we were done, with no complaints. He's a darn good kid! But the purpose of this post is to warn everyone that's just getting a new tractor with a rops on it for the first time, watch out for the door! I think that I will invent away to keep it from happening again, maybe something like a new pole building just for the tractors and equipment (well it was her idea). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif We'll see ya all later!
Larry

 

[kennyd]

Sounds like a good kid all-right, Thank God the door did not come down on top of him and hurt him badly.

This sounds like the perfect time to plan a taller door as the first major spring project.

 

[ronjhall]

You haven't run the FEL bucket into the side of a building yet. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Glad your son did not get hurt and you were able to get door working again.
Here is what one TBN'er did for his tractor and garage door. Click Here

 

[Woody_NH]

After a few close calls (remembering the ROPS just in time) I have taken to always backing the tractor into the garage. That means having to turn around and look back which so far has caused me to notice the position of the ROPS. Should I ever fail see what is the obvious, then backing usually has the advantage of slower speed. Of course the danger of whacking the door frame with the FEL is higher (backing in) but is then lower when driving out.
I know that over time the door frame is going to take a hit, I do have one small FEL ding so far, more to come.

 

[RalphVa]

One of my criteria in buying a tractor was a fixed ROPS that would fit underneath my garage door. Both the 2210 and 4010 fit, but only after I adjusted my garage door to go up all the way by moving the bracket up a couple notches. Recently though, the door opener had to be disconnected. Initially, I didn't get it proped open enough. Hit it going out. Caused the door to bounce up to its highest point where it should have been. No damage done, luckily.

The fixed ROPS also fit underneath the double regular doors in the basement, too.

Don't think it'd fit with other than turf tires though.

Ralph

 

[Hydraman]

100 to 1 odds that your young'un won't need to tie a string on his finger, ever, to remember to look up!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I did something very similar to this when I was a lad; only I took out the header over the door when I tried to drive a truck with a rack on top into my dad's garage!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Was almost 50 years ago, and I STILL remember to look up!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Don

 

[crazylare1]

Hey kennyd, I got lucky enough to find a girl friend with 3 boys, all of them get along with me great and visa versa. They all are great kids, and will do what I ask of them, and in return, they all now have dirt bikes and other fun stuff. Been teaching them to earn their toys and it's worked so far. The door luckly didn't fall off on top of him and that's the most important thing. Thanks for the post!
Larry

 

[crazylare1]

Thanks for the info Ron! The boy was a little shaken up at first, (worried that he was going to get his butt chewed) but after he found out that he wasn't in real big trouble he was ok and that's more important than a door. It sure would have been a mess though if we couldn't have got it fixed, the wind was blowing and the temp. is right down there. Everything worked out ok, and now he has learned how to repair a garage door /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif.
Larry

 

[crazylare1]

Hello Woody, funny but when I was thinking about it, backing the tractor out or in the garage I seem to notice the rops sooner (still forget it's up until the last second) and you're right about going slower in reverse. I used a die grinder yesterday morning to reem out the holes on the rops so that the pins work really easy now. The big thing was I had to beat them out and in, so it was easier to leave the darn thing down (unsafe but easier) so I did the holes so that I would use the rops. That's why almost all of the pic's of my tractor have the rops down in them. From being a retired mechanic and running equipment in and out of the repair shop at work (esp. the articulated one's) I've learned to watch out for the loaders and rear attachments so I usually am focused on them and thus,,,,,oh crap the rops is up! Thanks for the post!
Larry

 

[Michael_Porter]

Great story! This is the one of the great fears of RV owners. It's really easy to forget the height of your rig, think like you're driving your car, and plow into something.