ROPS Modification and Lights

[Gomer]

Thought I would show you how I modified my ROPS and added some spots.

OK before anyone sends the ROPS police after me let me explain the reasoning.

I could not leave the ROPS up and drive into my garage. So either leave the ROPS down all the time or take it off because I just know at some point when I put it up I'm going to forget it and destroy my garage and/or tractor. Sooo.. I cut 10 inches of it off and now I can leave it up which is probably safer than taking it off or leaving it down. I could always buy the top half to bring it back to original.

I included a picture of the rubber ROPS grommets that had the blinker wires just stuffed undreneath them(bugged the heck out of me) and how I modified them.

 

[LHoyer]

Do you always wear your seatbelt?

 

[Glowplug]

That actually looks pretty good. What kind of tractor is it? Does your head stick up above the ROPS horizontal beam? Do you wear your seatbelt?

If you answered "YES" to the last two questions. . .Is your life insurance policy paid up?

Just kidding. Does look good.

 

[Gomer]

Tractor is a B2630, no and no, I'm vertically challanged

 

[Glowplug]

Tractor is a B2630, no and no, I'm vertically challanged

Good to hear. Not that you're vertically challenged. I am too!
If your head doesn't stick up above the ROPS you can go ahead and wear your seatbelt.

The B2630 is a very nice tractor. I like it a lot! If I had an unlimited amount of money I'd get the B2630 with 60" MMM and 5' 3ph brush cutter to go along with my upcoming M7040 as its little brother.

Could you post some pics of the whole setup with full view of the tractor?

BTW, welcome to the forum!!

 

[Gomer]

Here it is, just waiting for the snow to hit.

 

[Toolguy]

Nice job! I have a B3030 and asked the dealer to change the folding ROPS to the shorter non-folding style. I also knew that I would probably keep it down all the time and it would be useless. Well, they forgot to do that and delivered it with the folding ROPS. I could not get in or out of my barn without propping the 8' overhead door up with a 2X4 to get the extra clearance needed. There was no way it would fit in my attached garage without folding it. I had the dealer just bring the short ROPS to me and I changed it myself. Before I installed it I repainted it (it was scratched pretty bad) and added some lights by drilling and tapping some holes in the underside. The only problem with lights on the ROPS is the glare you get with the lights behind you. Really bad if you wear glasses like I do. Otherwise, it does help a lot as the stock lights leave a lot to be desired.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I could not leave the ROPS up and drive into my garage. So either leave the ROPS down all the time or take it off because I just know at some point when I put it up I'm going to forget it and destroy my garage and/or tractor. Sooo.. I cut 10 inches of it off and now I can leave it up which is probably safer than taking it off or leaving it down.

Somewhere there is an old thread here on TBN. It was a newpaper report about a guy who cut down the ROPS cage on skid steer. The logic was the same. He could not get in a doorway so he cut it down. He rolled over a died. The death was ruled accidental but preventable. His family is fatherless.

 

[Dascro]

All paranoia aside, if your head is below the ROPS top horizontal bar and you wear the seatbelt, I don't see an elevated safety issue as compared to the OEM configuration. If anything, (assuming head is below top of ROPS and seatbelt is worn) I would think it would make the ROPS more rigid in a rollover situation.

What am I missing here???

 

[Bob_Skurka]

All paranoia aside. . .

What am I missing here???

ROPS = Roll Over Protection System.

People who only consider the ROPS to be the big bar that is over their head are considering the entire ROPS system to be that bar. Those people are occasionally tragically mistaken.

It is an issue that can best be illustrated by drawing a triangle. The rear axle is the bottom point of the triangle, a few inches below the top of the ROPS in the second point of the triangle and front of the tractor hood (crushed down as it would be if upside down) would be the 3rd point. The area inside those points are protected by the ROPS.

The logic provided to me for those 3 points.

• Rear axle is used because if the wheels are knocked off in an accident the bottom of the wheel/tire is no longer able to support weight/impact but the axle is far more difficult to dislodge.
• The crushed point of the front of the tractor, this is something below the hood level, depending on the tractor model, the crushed level could be as low as 6" below the hood level.
• A point roughly 3" below the ROPS level because the weight of the tractor will rest upon the ROPS and the ROPS will likely be pushed into the ground. Further, in the situation of a ditch rollover the drivers head must be held above water level. Further, a body in a rollover flails around and a person's head must be protected well forward of the ROPS so the ROPS BAR is part of a SYSTEM that works with the front crushed point of the tractor to make sure that a line between the two points is above the level of your head.

Take a string and tie it to your ROPS, tape the other end to the front of your hood. Imagine a parallel line roughly several inches below that line, and that is approximately the line of protection provided by your Roll Over Protection System.

See the attached image. It shows my daughter on one of the tractors. She is sitting well forward and her back is not even close to the seat back, but the overlaying triangle of coverage clearly illustrates the above points. You can see that her head is OUTSIDE of the area of protection because she is sitting forward in the seat. Lowering the ROPS bar will dramatically alter the area of protection.

 

[escavader]

I wondered how they determined how high to build a rops,THANKS BOB.Gomer,I hate to be the one who says ,If you ever sell your tractor,lend your tractor,or let someone else operate your tractor[even on your property],and something happens,I would think you opened yourself up to a large law suit.They will overcome any argument you have,you did modify a safety device.In my opinion ,I think that lawyers might have a field day,with an accident,in which there was a modifyed safety device.That is why alot of us will not even weld light bracketts on,you have opened yourself up to LAWYERS,even if you dont own it no more.PARANOID?You can call me that,ive worked too hard ,to lose it all,because i had to put my rops up and down to get it inside.Of course now its done,it would be hard to convince you to replace it im sure.Im not a safety cop,i do things all the time,just had an opinion of what you could be up against here.
ALAN

 

[BlacknTan]

If it were not for the legal profession. ROPS and many other items could be modified safely without putting anyone at risk. Unfortunately, no one knows the lever of workmanship or the skill level involved in such modifications, so, everyone gets painted with the same brush, as an amateur.

I know welders that are probably superior to the guys or robots welding the ROPS together in the first place, but, it would count for nothing in a court of law. For that reason alone, I won't touch mine. In spite of the fact that I'm sure it could be modified safely.

BTW, my Kubota dealer informed me that the ROPS is good for three rolls. After that, all bets are off!

Blame it on our litigous society!

 

[Gomer]

All great points to be taken and I appreciate the feedback. Just supplying my humble opinion and solution to the problem. That is why I only modified the top piece as this can be purchased new as a replacement part if ever desired. Hey lawyers have to eat too!

 

[Casco1]

If it were not for the legal profession. ROPS and many other items could be modified safely without putting anyone at risk.
Blame it on our litigous society!

On the other hand if it wasn't for the legal proffession we might not have ROPS as well as many other safety items that save lives to begin with. It's all how you look at it.



I have a background in mechanical engineering and I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the lawsuit and the and the risk taker. The most important item in safety is COMMON SENSE. All designers can do is to build for the average user while acquiescing to the beancounters who insist on keeping the cost down. All we can do to stay safe is think before we act, work as intelligently as possible, stay focused and hope that when we do something dumb we survive with nothing more than a scare and a lesson. Just my two cents.

 

[Glowplug]

Hey lawyers have to eat too!

I always thought they ate their young.

 

[BlacknTan]

Casco,
You're right. We do need lawyers also. And the way things are today are as much the publics desire to make a fast buck as the lawyers they deal with. We all bear some blame.

BTW, a full roll cage would solve the problem. The rear part of the ROPS could be lower and the occupant would be MUCH safer. Depending on the welder's talents of course..

 

[escavader]

Im glad to see that we are all pretty much in agreement here on what could take place.That said black and tans COMMENT on a full roll cage might be something to consider.Since your such a good fabricator,GOMER, why not build a front roll bar the same height.Tie the two togeather, and possibly,turn it into a cab,or at least with a roof to keep you out of the weather?You would be safe,still fits in the garage,and even could keep you out of the rain and sun.Every one would be happy,and more importantly we wont be reading any BAD newspaper article on you,just your posts here on TBN
ALAN

 

[MikeD74T]

Gomer, Great looking modification, am planning to do the same on my DK45S. I also plan on keeping my tractor upright and to still own it when I die. Lawyers be damned !!! They'll have one hard time proving my family knows about any mods. MikeD74T

 

[radair]

...BTW, my Kubota dealer informed me that the ROPS is good for three rolls. After that, all bets are off!

As a structural engineer, I feel that the dealer's statement is a bunch of bull. The ROPS might be significantly damaged after one roll or undamaged after 10.

If one rolls their tractor over, they should thoroughly inspect the ROPS (or have it done for them). If they're rolling their tractor 3 times, they might want to reconsider their operating technique!

 

[LBrown59]

Hey lawyers have to eat too!

But not my lunch.