ROPS Rack

[Harv]

This one is a work in progress, but maybe I could get some opinions from the board (I've seen no shortage of opinions out there). /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

In an attempt to address the ol' on-board storage problem, I've turned to the void behind the driver's seat between the ROPS uprights. Without drilling, welding or in any other way degrading the integrity of the ROPS itself, I finally came up with a way to mount a rack where it might do some good.

The rack itself is composed of angle iron and square tube. All is held together with good old-fashioned nuts and bolts, and a little rubber matting material protects the ROPS even more and provides a little traction where needed (it's always about traction, isn't it?).

A couple of 6-inch lengths of 2-inch angle iron are used to form a support bracket which can be securely clamped onto the ROPS upright, with the rubber matting serving as a cushion. With one of these brackets on each side of the ROPS, the square tubing is bolted down to form a sturdy horizontal rack (see attachment).

That's as far as I've gotten so far 'cuz I haven't decided exactly what I want to mount on the rack. Some ideas (and a little tongue-in-cheek has been used here) are depicted in these pictures.

Ideally, if I can manage it, I would make some quick-attach options so I could easily change configurations depending on the tractor project of the day.

A couple of concerns --

How will this affect visibility of the rear implement or just backing up in general (didn't think to check that out when I had the chance /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif).

What's this talk on the board of "reaching the toplink" from the driver's seat? Not sure I understand how or when you would want to do that. I guess I'm still too much the newbie.

Comments, ideas, criticisms would be most welcome.

 

[dullpain]

Harv - You missed your calling - Should have been a fabricator instead of Comp. Geek. Really nice idea & safe (no damage to ROPS) If you had that Cool Tool Compact Bender you could make U bolts to hook er up. Let's get some square plastic plugs to put in the ends of that tubing or weld em up.
That "reaching the toplink" and the 3ph leveling arm is important (essential) to me when using the box scraper. Occasionally necessary to adj. with finish mower or bush hog if I go from flat mowing to hilly mowing. Or when I get ready to pick up implement to transport. I like the barrel o monkeys or Ammo cans.
I am begining to really have lust in my heart for the Hyd. Toplink. Maybe soon.

 

[Harv]

Larry -

I wish I was closer to my tractor so I could try some of these things, but it seems like the top link adjustment would be a bit of an awkward reach from the seat and, at least on mine, it's definitely a 2-handed operation. My leveling arm is even more difficult.

Now you got me wondering -- since this is my first tractor, I had nothing to compare to. I just assumed this is normal operation and tractor guys are made of tougher stuff than I am. Now I'm thinking I should try greasing all the adjustments to see how much difference that makes. Since the previous owner only towed an applecart, these parts were probably seldom if ever used.

Oh -- and yes, I did loosen the leveling arm locknut. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[bsauter]

Great idea Harv. I've been looking for a place to carry my barrel o' monkeys and now you solved it!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Brad, Kubota L3010HST, loader, R4 tires
Pictures at http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=179207&a=9183978

 

[dullpain]

Toplink adj. with Bush Hog. It is a little awkward to reach but - just barely set the tail wheel down which will take load off toplink arm and turn. If you need more move 3 ph up or down depending on required adj in very small discrete movements screw toplink more till snug and repeat if necessary. Works same with box blade tilt (liftarm adj.) or toplink.

 

[bpence]

Harv, just a couple of quick questions.

It looks like there is, but is there enough clearance with the 3 pt. in a raised postion to keep anything that might hang over or through the rack out of harms way?

Also, how are you holding the shelf seen in one or two of the pictures in place?

Cool idea by the way. I rigged a fuel can lift pulley system last night and will try it out tomorrow. I'll let you know Sunday or Monday how it worked out.

Bob Pence

 

[Harv]

Bob -

<font color=blue>is there enough clearance with the 3 pt. in a raised postion to keep anything that might hang over or through the
rack out of harms way?</font color=blue>

This is definitely something to watch out for. I acknowledge that this kind of rack leaves the door open to creating clearance problems. Despite my barrel-of-monkeys and other variations portrayed in that picture, I will be quite conservative and hopefully careful about the dimensions and stability of anything I attach to this rack.

<font color=blue>how are you holding the shelf seen in one or two of the pictures in place?</font color=blue>

Gravity and a prayer. Fact is, the "shelf" is another 19" rack-mount panel cover, same as I used for my vertical dashboard thingy. It is not fastened down at this point and was just there for the photo session. My goal, now that you bring it up, is to not drill holes in any part of the square tubes that is not directly supported by brackets. Just a structural purity thing -- don't weaken the primary support structure. I plan to use U-bolts or various kinds of clamping arrangements to fasten stuff to the rack.

<font color=blue>I rigged a fuel can lift pulley system last night and will try it out tomorrow.</font color=blue>

Cool! You're getting ahead of me on that one. Please do let us all know how it works out. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Harv - Well, since everyone else has already addressed the practical issues, I can only add meaningless drivel. But I'm used to that and won't let it interfere with me doing it anyway.

Has anyone ever accused you of having an over-developed sense of humor? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Your pictures showed some really cool ideas for what appears to be a very useful rack. I'm especially fond of (need I say it?) the Open Bar. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Well done!

MarkC

 

[Harv]

Finally got to re-visit this project over the weekend.

One major mod to the rack -- I replaced the square tube with 2-inch angle iron. This gives me more surface area to work with and seems a bit stronger.

I mentioned earlier that I was going to try and develop some sort of "quick-attach" system for whatever I put on the rack so's I can easily configure it for the task du jour. After cogitating several less-than-satisfactory methods for doing this, I finally decided to try out some of these cool magnets I got from ForceField.

I observed that a single #43 magnet could pick up one my ammo boxes containing 26 pounds of heavy-duty nuts and bolts, so I figured there was some good possibilities here. Since magnets are most resistant to a direct pull and less so to side slippage, I opted to add "feet" made from square tubing to one of my ammo boxes, which would straddle the rack, thereby eliminating any front-to-back sliding. Although it could still potentially slide sideways, it could not slide off the rack.

I then bolted, not one, but two #43 ForceField magnets to the rack itself. The gripping force of these puppies is humongous (scientific term). Even tipping the box to remove it from the rack takes a surprising amount of effort. Just the way I want it. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I drove around for an entire day with the one ammo box attached and I'm ecstatic about the results. The most bone-jarring bumps (and I did hit a few) had absolutely no effect on the box. It's like it was welded on. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

The most enjoyable thing about this whole this whole notion is that I now have a "glove box", easily reachable from the seat or the ground. In fact, on this particular day all I had in the box was a first-aid kit (which I've decided I always want with me), a pair of work gloves and some safety goggles. Matt - this may sound trivial to you, but I think the tractor folk out there can testify to how wonderful it is to be able to have such simple items with you in the field.

Picture story attached.

 

[hayden]

Harv,

You'll need to check the rack at the end of the day and collect all the change that it's ForceFielded out of your pockets. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Also watch out for watches adn bracelets or you'll find yourself handcuffed to your rack. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

 

[Harv]

On the vague chance that anybody cares, here's an update on the magnetic ROPS rack --

I was pleased enough with the magnetic hold-down concept that I went ahead and filled out the entire length of the rack with magnets. I only have two ammo-boxes set up as potential passengers, but I loaded them both up with stuff and had them on there for the entire 3 days of tractorin' over Thanksgiving.

Like the Chalkley Cup, there is no amount of bouncing or jarring that can budge the ammo cans once placed on the rack, yet by tilting them by the handle they come right off. The idea here was to be able to quickly attach whatever I wanted to bring along that day, but I also found that it's really handy to be able to pop one off and set it down somewhere at the job site for easier access to the contents.

The ammo boxes work great, but I'll probably fix up a tool box to carry back there also, since I'm starting to think about a hydraulic top & tilt kit, which will probably require mounting the controls on the fender where my present toolkit now rides.

Picture attached.

 

[JerryG]

Harv,
I think the majority of us like to see your projects. The ones that don’t are in the minority.
Wouldn’t it have been just as useful with fewer magnets? These are the 75-pound pull ones, are they not? That’s 600 pounds of magnet force. Don’t drive by any thing that is steel and mounted in the ground solid/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif.
JerryG

 

[Harv]

Jerry -

Certainly I could mount ammo boxes with fewer magnets (yes, these are the 75-pounders), but I'm finding that with tractor stuff there is no such thing as overkill. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Actually, the main reason for having an entire row of magnets is so that I can attach any size or shape doodad in the future without worrying about exact placement. Now if I toss something on the rack it pretty much has to contact one or more magnets.

As it is now, I think if I drove the tractor into a steel barn, the rear wheels might just come off the ground. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[RobS]

Harv, I hope you're not keeping your digital camera in one of those boxes with all that magnetic flux floating around!
/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Rob

 

[RobS]

Harv, I hope you're not keeping your digital camera in one of those boxes with all that magnetic flux floating around!
/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Rob

 

[WVBill]

Harv (and others) How DO you guys find time to do "ROPS Racks" and all your other "tinkering"!

Like you, Harv, I only get to play on my Tractor on the weekends and there's just barely enough hours in the two days to get my honey-do list done!

I bought a bunch of those magnets with dreams of following in your footsteps and doing all kinds of neat things and as far as I got was sticking a couple of them on the fenders to make nut/bolt/pin/misc. small parts holders. It works great: pull out a lynch pin and toss it onto the fender anywhere near the magnet and it sticks! No more groveling in the dirt for dropped hardware. Not nearly as elegant as your inventions - but functional.

WVBill

 

[bpence]

Harv, this recent post on your ROPS rack explains a lot of things for me. I was out hunting last week in the wilderness of Michigan's UP and had to navigate quite a bit with map & compass. The number of magnets in the center of the ROPS rack definitely explains the change in magnetic declination to the West I experienced last week!!!! No wonder I kept ending up miles from where I thought I should be.

Actually that looks like a cool set-up. If you like, I'll loan you my B7100 and you can attach it via those magnets to the ROPS rack. Just in case you need a spare tractor when working out in the boonies.

In response to a post you made on one of the B7100 pictures......screen, garden hose, baling wire, etc.....I thought those items, along with an industrial size supply of duct tape, were the staples of any decent repair shop. If you can't make what you need with that stuff, I don't think you need it.

Bob Pence

 

[Harv]

Rob -
<font color=blue>I hope you're not keeping your digital camera in one of those boxes with all that magnetic flux floating around!</font color=blue>

Don't think I haven't thought about that. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif I actually have the glimmer of a plan for carrying the camera and tripod in a shock-absorbing mount attached to the loader frame. So many projects, so little time...

WVBill -
<font color=blue>How DO you guys find time to do "ROPS Racks" and all your other "tinkering"!</font color=blue>

I share your frustration with this "weekend warrior" routine. In fact, I'm lucky to get up there twice a month.

Like you, I hate to waste any of my precious tractor time on tinkering, so I do most of the tinkering at home here in the 'burbs. I take lots of measurements and pictures so I can do most of the fabricating without the tractor. I also try to design attachments in such a way that there are few, if any, critical tolerances. Occassionally I have to save the final drilling of mounting holes until I have it clamped on the tractor, but that doesn't eat up much time.

Bob -
Sorry 'bout messing up your compass readings. I should have realized there was a problem when I sucked that satellite out of the sky.

I agree with you about the baling wire and duct tape. I always keep a good supply of both around. The magnets are the newest addition to my inventory of tinkerer stuff. I think between the two of us we could pretty much build a tractor from scratch, no? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[bpence]

If we were going to build a tractor from scratch, I think we'd need to get hold of Mark C to handle all of the hydraulics and such. He's talking about things relating to hydraulic flows, valves, and spools that the guys at NASA aren't even up to speed on yet.


Bob Pence

 

[gerard]

Harv,
I don't know how I missed this post before but the similarity between what you did and what I did (Independently) is uncanny!!. I have to get a digital camera. The back of my tractor looks like a mirror image. I did the same thing for a rops rack, angle iron bolts, and 45 mil rubber sheeting for cushioning. Only difference was for the shelf I used a piece of 3/4 plywood and drilled through the bottom of the ammo boxes (taller than the ones you used) and secured with bolts. like yours better since the removal is a nice option and the wood will rot out eventually but since I garage it that'll probably be a LONG time. I also have another toolbox but I have it on the left fender mounted with some velcro. (In fact I probably could have used velcro to secure the ammo boxes too......... hhmmmmmmmmm) PS It looks like you painted the angle iron after cutting/welding - this si twilight zone material!!