Shortening folding ROPS on BX24

[dragoneggs]

Thanks for sharing.

I think I read this once and have always attempted to abide by it:

If the ROPS is down, don't wear your belt.
If the ROPS is up, make sure the belt is on.

I forget where I read it. I don't even know whether it's good advice.

I've heard it many times and I believe it to be sound advice. Think about it.

 

[Diggin It]

I believe the best advice is to never allow yourself to get into a situation where either would matter. Operate as if neither was there.

 

[4570Man]

I believe the best advice is to never allow yourself to get into a situation where either would matter. Operate as if neither was there.

Great idea. Air bags and seat belts are stupid too.

 

[ray66v]

Operate as if neither was there.

Many are already doing that. You need only to read all the posts about them hitting their garage with the ROPS to see it. :thumbsup:

 

[eubie5]

I started this thread and just now realized I never did a completion post. Sorry about that. I do not have a welder so I cut three inches(?) off the bottom and redrilled the holes. So you can get it shorter by either method; cut the top and reweld or cut off the bottom and redrill. I am glad I did and I don't think I have lowered it since I shortened it. And I do wear my seat belt at all times now.

Doug in SW IA

I know this is an old thread, but would love to see the finished results. With my rops up, I'm about 2" shy of clearing my garage entrance on my bx2380

 

[dragoneggs]

I know this is an old thread, but would love to see the finished results. With my rops up, I'm about 2" shy of clearing my garage entrance on my bx2380

Yeah I learned the hard way. :confused2: The good news... it took me one lesson. I don't regularly park mine in my garage so it is not a big issue to lower them occasionally when I pull her in for service. It would be a pain to mess with the ROPS on a regular basis but I hate the idea of shortening them.

 

[dougtrr2]

Sorry it took me a while to get around to pictures. But it really doesn't look and different, other than being shorter.


I did have some minor alignment issues that a little file and grinding work took care of. But keep in mind that I did this with it on the tractor and I used wooden blocks as my drill guide. If I were to do it again I would probably remove it from the tractor and use my greatly improved drill press. I have absolutely no reservations about the safety issues. My modification was pretty minor. Now that my ROPS is shortened I leave it up all the time and I wear my seatbelt every time. So overall my safety level has gone up.

Doug in SW IA

 

[check]

Yeah I learned the hard way. :confused2: The good news... it took me one lesson. I don't regularly park mine in my garage so it is not a big issue to lower them occasionally when I pull her in for service. It would be a pain to mess with the ROPS on a regular basis but I hate the idea of shortening them.

I got off easy. I had my tractor first, so that when I built my garage I made the wall studs 9 feet so that the overhead door would be high enough to accommodate the Rops on my BX25. I garage my tractor all the time, and it would’ve driven me crazy if I had built the garage first, and then found out that the clearance for the tractor was too low!

 

[Diggin It]

^^ I messed up when I added onto my shed. It had a roof with no peak, slanted from one end to the other whatever style that's called. When I added to it I thought about 12' posts but figured that 10' posts would be enough to continue that slope to the new wall. It was for the purpose at the time, before I had the SCUT. What happened is that the door allows the ROPS to clear by about a half inch. But the next rafter is a bit lower for some reason (settling maybe) and does not clear. So I can only get the ROPS in 24" without lowering it, not enough to clear and close the shed door. Had I used the 12' Posts as I originally planned, I would be fine.

It'll work out OK because there really isn't enough room for everything I had then, let alone now, so I have to change it all again.