work light brush guards - new and improved

[boughtaJD]

When I purchased my 2320 back in March I went with the front & rear work lights as part of my deal. Brush guards for the rops-mounted turn/warning lights are required since that's what JD mounts the front work lights to. What I found from experience (either by one of my teenage sons or myself) is that 1) the unprotected worklights are easily damaged if a errant tree branch decides to pick a fight; 2) the rather wimpy steel JD brush guards don't measure up in my wooded areas either; 3) like others have posted about the JD worklights - the glare in your eyes when you look a little off center is harsh.

 

[boughtaJD]

Solution: hit the junk pile, find heavier steel & start welding. I considered magnet-bases for the lights like some guys have, but I already paid for the JD work lights and needed better protection for my turn signals.

 

[boughtaJD]

This picture shows the final product. Along with the fire extinguisher & 18" of pvc pipe with drain cemented in the bottom that I mounted to the SMV triangle mounting bracket. I moved the SMV triangle behind the seat. The pvc pipe holds my 5/16 20' chain perfectly.

The work lights are set back a little bit in the new and improved brush guards so the glare is cut down some. The work light on the left is cracked so I used a little clear tape for now. At $50 to replace the light the tape will do until I splurge for HID or LED lights down the road...

 

[boughtaJD]

just for fun.. a pic of the komatsu D39 I used for 40 hours leveling out some pastures around one of our ponds. 4x the hp of my 2320 was a good time...

 

[OhioKyle]

Those guards are a great idea. I'm tired of my lights getting knocked out of position every time I mow. If they do a good job of keeping the glare out of your eyes maybe you could post the dimensions for those that want to make some.

 

[boughtaJD]

I think they're about 13" tall, 6" wide and 4" deep, but I'll get out the tape tonight.

 

[Nuru]

Gee, not bad at all.

 

[boughtaJD]

Ok for anyone interested - actual measurements are 12.5" tall, 6.5" wide, and 4" deep.

 

[ragkar]

What is the diameter of that pvc pipe that holds your chain? A picture would be nice.
When I received my new JD I found that the dealer had mounted my SMV right over my rear light so it shaded it.

 

[mcnitt]

I think the work light brush guards mounted to the side of the ROPS is clever: How are they fastened?

 

[boughtaJD]

What is the diameter of that pvc pipe that holds your chain? A picture would be nice.
When I received my new JD I found that the dealer had mounted my SMV right over my rear light so it shaded it.

It's 4" pipe with the slotted pvc drain plug cemented in the bottom. I'll try to get a few detailed pics up.

 

[boughtaJD]

I think the work light brush guards mounted to the side of the ROPS is clever: How are they fastened?

The JD turn signals are threaded. The ROPS have 2 holes drilled for bolts and 1 larger hole just on the outside of the ROPs between the bolt holes that is used for routing the wiring.

I drilled the bolt holes in my guards and cut a small slit for the wiring (instead of a larger hole) so I wouldn't have to mess with taking off the plugs for the lights and/or cutting the wires and splicing. I ended up getting slightly longer bolts (about 3") due to the thicker steel I used.

 

[gbw]

I use mine (4320) around a lot of brush sometimes. I'm thinking of relocating the lights to the inside of the ROPS, and let the ROPS act as a guard of sorts. Any reason(s) this would be a bad idea?

 

[johnzski]

after breaking 3 or 4 lenses I made a similar guard for my 4310. I bent an ear on the top and bottom then drilled and tapped a 1/4" hole in the ROPS to bolt them on. Also added expanded metal to the front and back to keep the brush out of the lenses

 

[boughtaJD]

What is the diameter of that pvc pipe that holds your chain? A picture would be nice.
When I received my new JD I found that the dealer had mounted my SMV right over my rear light so it shaded it.

Ok, here's a poor quality cell phone pic, but you can kind of make out the 1/8" angle that both my chain box/tube and fire extinguisher are attached to. This angle is what JD uses on some of their CUTs now to mount the SMV triangle on (and not cover up the nice JD logo on the back of the seat). I always thought it was a pain positioned there & wanted to attach a chain box so it was done. Credit for the chain box goes to another TBNer who I saw in a pic mounted one to FEL mast. The angle is simply drilled to match the bolt holes through the ROPS for the turn signals.

 

[boughtaJD]

I use mine (4320) around a lot of brush sometimes. I'm thinking of relocating the lights to the inside of the ROPS, and let the ROPS act as a guard of sorts. Any reason(s) this would be a bad idea?

Lower cost/labor alternative & I think you'd have some additional protection by moving them to the inside, but if you notice on my pic of the final product I have my rear work light mounted on the inside and once & a while it'll get bumped so I have to re-aim it. Not so worried about damage but just re-aiming. The downside, again looking at the final product front view pic, is that you'll lose some light coverage because of the operator position - the farther out or higher the light fixture the better the coverage. Didn't take to long to fab these up.

 

[boughtaJD]

after breaking 3 or 4 lenses I made a similar guard for my 4310. I bent an ear on the top and bottom then drilled and tapped a 1/4" hole in the ROPS to bolt them on. Also added expanded metal to the front and back to keep the brush out of the lenses

An expanded metal retrofit to this setup will be quickly added if a stick gets into the lights that I recessed back a bit from the front!