ROPS message again!

[frank_z]

I have been reluctant to install a ROPS on my Yanmar because of past problems with a Kubota equipped with ROPS. The overhead bar on the ROPS caused deer ticks to rain down on me (YUK!) from the trees when I mowed in my windbreak.
I now have a different perspective on rollover protection systems when I read in the morning paper that a local orchardist got killed when his tractor rolled over.

The story:
Tri-City Herald: Mid-Columbia news

A video:
KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA | Hillside Orchards Owner Dies After Being Run Over By A Tractor

Frank Z.

 

[LMTC]

Far too many folks assume they only need a ROPS if they do a lot of work on hills. Anything that allows one wheel to drop....."powdery dirt", groundhog hole, etc. can cause a rollover. If it was predictable no one but complete idiots would die in rollovers, yet many very experienced and probably very savvy operators die or are injured that way. This article reads as if he may have been off the tractor....although I have a tough time imagining someone trying to bolster up the low side of a tractor leaning enough to even appear as if it might roll. I'd have to walk out of the fields and get other equipment.

If you want that ROPS, let us know....OSHA approved, foldable, seat belt & all hardware. Put a canopy on it to keep the debris from falling on you.

 

[svcguy]

Another cause of roll over which no one really thinks of is axle or rim failure. So many of the tractors we use have sketchy histories that we know nothing about. (Especially gray market tractors which can be used as primary transportation in many countries).

If a tractor loses a rear wheel or axle, the drop to the ground will often result in roll over on dead flat ground. The taller the rear rubber, the greater the risk. I have seen calcium deterioration on back rims that would make your hair stand on end and seen people trying to pull stumps with chains that would put hairline cracks in any two inch stub axle.

Some of the posted video I have seen of people trying out their new bucket grapples have had me shaking my head, amazed a flop wasn't part of the video as they drive around with a 14 foot log at the height of the boom reach.

There really isn't much between having a great time with your tractor and a roll over.

 

[LMTC]

Another cause of roll over which no one really thinks of is axle or rim failure.

Excellent point!

 

[Grrrr]

Another thing that can cause rollovers (which I nearly learned the hard way is having a heavy weight able to swing around on the TPH.

We had a MF135 hooked up to a hay turner. The turner can swing out when you turn left to spread the hay out evenly. This is fine when it is on the ground as the swing is controlled.

However, on one our steepest fields, I had nearly finished and was in the middle of the field. I came down the hill to the point where I needed to turn 90 degrees to the left to go along the next row. This row would go along the side slope of the hill which was steep.

The turn was tight so I decide to lift the turner up on the TPH and do a full 360 to the right to come back along. I was going about 8 MPH.

I started to turn tightly using the turning brakes, jsut as I was going across the slope the turner suddenly swung right out downhill. The TPH arms had a lot of side to side movement in them to.

This sudden weight shift to the downhill side completely overwhelmed the tractor and the uphill rear whell flew up. I thought it was going all the way over but as it continued over, the turner hit the ground. This was enough to stop the roll and the tractor came back down.

I learnt my lesson from that one

 

[Ductape]

If only there were a ROPS available for my 186D.

 

[LMTC]

If only there were a ROPS available for my 186D.

Write to Yanmar America and complain...seriously. They put up that notice on their website ripping grey market yanmars, including the claim that they come in without ROPS (which is true). Well, we now have OSHA approved ROPS for the greys we sell.....yet they sold units without ROPS initially, and I wouldn't know where to get one for those. I'd be seriously interested in what response you would get from them if you told them you can get an OSHA approved ROPS for a grey market Yanmar, but not the one you have that they sold here originally. Maybe there is a source somewhere and they could give you that information.

 

[Ductape]

I contacted US Yanmar a while back, i'd say over a year ago. They sent me to one of their US distributors (i do not recall the name of the company) who told me the ROPS that would have come on my tractor was a discontinued part. I never persued it beyond that conversation.

 

[Whiskey]

Ductape:

I have the factory ROPS for my YM187. it has a tag Manf. name and serial number on it...mabe a shot in the dark??????

 

[Ductape]

Maybe, but if you want to PM the info to me, i can follow up on it.

My thoughts are to install a ROPS for a 1510D on my tractor, even though its not certified as such. I feel a ROPS certified for an equivalent tractor is better than none.

 

[Whiskey]

Ductape:

LMTC's are foldable, the factory style are not.....deponding on where you store your tractor, foldable is a nice to have. I will get the info when I get home and pvt. it to you

 

[California]

I feel a ROPS certified for an equivalent tractor is better than none.

That was my conclusion. When the ROPS for YM2000 came out, I ordered one for my YM240. (Its US-version twin). The dealer and I were both curious if it would fit.

I asked if he would offer no-hassle return terms if I paid return shipping, and he agreed. I reported back to him that it fit perfectly and he now lists YM240 as one of the applications.

Photo, before ROPS. I got off the tractor to see if I could safely move this blockade out of the terrace and drop it off the right side. I was concerned that if I lost my grip on it, I would be catapulted over the edge:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...t-additions-your-tractor-435269-dscn4555r.jpg

 

[arthr31]

Hey all, is Jagmandave around these days? If I recall correctly, he fab'd up his own ROPS for his 1610- Ductape, might be a decent start to you if the other options don't work out.

I still need to get one for my 1601. However it isn't doing much these days up on a block waiting for a tire.. LOL

 

[LMTC]

I used to think that as long as our fabricator could make a structure heavy enough not to break, I could work with it as a ROPS. I now know differently. The forces involved are complex. Read This Article if any of you have any thoughts of building your own. It is not pleasant.

 

[marcinzk]

Far too many folks assume they only need a ROPS if they do a lot of work on hills. Anything that allows one wheel to drop....."powdery dirt", groundhog hole, etc. can cause a rollover. If it was predictable no one but complete idiots would die in rollovers, yet many very experienced and probably very savvy operators die or are injured that way.

This is SO TRUE. I was brush hogging our land yesterday and I almost rolled the tractor on part of an old GE lawn mower that I "inherited" from the previous owner.

I was mowing along at a good clip and I had the FEL slightly raised as it dug into the ground a few moments before. All of a sudden the tractor violently lurched to the right, left rear wheel came up. The lurch threw me hard to the right and the only thing that stopped the tractor from rolling was dumb luck as I somehow had the foresight and strength to quickly grab the left fender handle and throw all my weight (250 lbs.) on the left side while quickly pressing the clutch down. The tractor teetered while I completely lowered the FEL and hit reverse - disaster avoided.

When I got off the tractor to collect my thoughts, check my shorts, and figure out what the heck just happened I found that the front left wheel had gone up and onto the old mower deck from the GE mower that the previous owner left out in the field to rot.

Let me tell you that was the single scariest moment in my life, and it happened so fast: one minute I'm plugging along on nice level ground next minute I'm nearly thrown off the tractor with the tractor following me down to the ground.

Moral of the story: GET A ROPS!!! I know I will be getting one installed before the next time I use my tractor.

 

[kenmac]

I don't know how many times I've said this . If you own a tractor , get a ROPS . I purchased 1 as soon as they came out A roll or a flip can happen to anyone at anytime . A $800.00 ROPS is cheep . How much is your life worth ??

 

[Jagmandave]

Hey all, is Jagmandave around these days? If I recall correctly, he fab'd up his own ROPS for his 1610- Ductape, might be a decent start to you if the other options don't work out.

I still need to get one for my 1601. However it isn't doing much these days up on a block waiting for a tire.. LOL

Yep, still here Arthr31...........

But, if I had it to do over agian, I'd buy one ready made for my 1602D. At the time there was none available commercially, and I was operating out of ignorance when I made mine. That said, I feel a certain amount of confidence in it as it's very strong and well anchored, but like LMTC says - I'd be so much more confident if I had one that had been tested thoroughly...........

 

[arthr31]

cool thanks. Yes, I'm thinking this is one DIY project I won't be doing. Just saving up money to get the kit for my tractor.

 

[EFC]

I know I am going to catch real h**l for this and please dont interpret what I say as saying ROPS isnt worth every penny. But your first line of defense is your own common sense. By the way, you cant purchase that for any amount of money so if you dont have any, DO NOT buy a tractor. Hire it done. ROPS is designed to give you a fighting chance in a rear flip over not a guarantee that natural selection wont kick in. Out of 2000+ customers I have lost 2 to rollovers. Both had ROPS, were properly wearing their seatbelts and the ROPS did not fail in anyway.

I think what I am trying to say is with your ROPS purchase have a serious sit-down with yourself and realize it is far safer to learn how to fly the plane properly and safely than it is to bailout and trust your parachute. Save the parachute for when it is the last resort.

Buck

P.S. yell away

 

[LMTC]

Yell at what Buck? All I understand you to be saying is that having an air bag doesn't mean you shouldn't still drive defensively. There is no substitute for prevention....forethought, preparation, and so on. The ROPS should be there for that hopefully-never-to-occur time when all those things have been done and something still happens. I would never view a ROPS as license to do something on a tractor that I would not do without a ROPS, nor should anyone else view it that way. I have fire insurance, but I still take all the precautions I can against having a fire.

You'd be surprise how many customers react negatively when I inform them that they have to buckle the seat belt to test drive the tractor. I usually hear something like "what could happen driving it around on the lot?" I usually ask them "Of all the people who had accidents yesterday, how many do you think woke up and said to themselves 'Today is the day I have a serious accident'"? None of course, and that's the point. We simply do not know.