Yet Another Set of ROPS Lights

[rswyan]

I wanted some additional lights for snow removal so while I was at Harbor Freight awhile back I noticed that they had these 55w lights on sale for $8 a pair, so I picked up four of them. The only good thing I can say about them is the low price - the bases and housing very cheap and rather of poor quality - which makes aiming them precisely an almost impossible task - but they work good enough. I needed a way to mount them so I picked up a pair of small orange magnetic ground clamps (you can just barely see them at the top, behind the bar the lights are mounted on) while I was there as well. For the mounting bar itself I used a piece of old aluminum threshold from a recently replaced door which I cut down on the bandsaw. A little Kubota ROPS grey and it blends right in, more or less. I have to say that I managed to knock the lightbar off the ROPS when clearing the driveway and wasn't paying good attention to some branches that were hanging real low due all the ice - and the lights were none the worse for it.

 

[rswyan]

For the switches I picked up a NEMA waterproof plastic box, three 20 amp waterproof switches, and three rubber boots for the toggles (double protection. I used some plastic loom to hide the wires in and attached it with cable ties to some cable tie mounts, which attached to the ROPS with double sided adhesive foam (holding up good so far.) The loom was routed down below the switch box so that there would be a drip loop. The hole in the switchbox that the wires pass thru has a rubber grommet in it and all the wires are encased in heatshrink tube at that point - hopefully it will be fairly waterproof. There's one switch each for the front and rear lights, the third switch is for a cigarette light accessory plug that I mounted at the rear of the tractor.

 

[rswyan]

I wanted the light bar to be easily removable, in case I needed to use the tractor in heavy brush or the woods. I had an old flat 4 conductor trailer plug that had been lying around the shed for about 20 years but was brand new .... seemed like a good way to get rid of it. First wire carries the current for the front lights, second for the rear, the third is a common return for both pairs of lights and the fourth is currently unused (just in case I get the hankering for one of the flashing yellow popcorn poppers) Makes it easy to remove - just pull the trailer plug apart and pop off the light bar.

 

[rswyan]

The cigarette lighter accessory receptacle. I picked this up at Autozone, supposed to be waterproof. I used a blank plastic cover for a 4" electrical box for the mounting plate. (It's blue and it still needs to be painted ROPS grey.) It's mounted through an exisiting hole which I believe is for the Kubota rear work light. I used a grommet in the hole and then passed a bolt through that, to avoid chewing up the paint. The electrical feed and ground wires, which you can see coming out of the rubber boot on the bottom of the ROPS are heatshrinked to avoid wear, there's also a piece of plastic loom that goes there that's off in this picture. The feed wire is connected to the exisisting wire which Kubota provides for the rear work light, it's on it's own circuit with a 20 amp fuse.

 

[rswyan]

Another shot from the rear.

 

[JimR]

Nice clean setup you got there. I used a bed rail for mine. I think I will do as you did with the trailer plug as a quick disconnect. That's a great idea.

 

[Bowhunter]

Great work! I'm going to print this post and pictures to help me in doing something similar to my tractor. Thanks!

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I think I will do as you did with the trailer plug as a quick disconnect. That's a great idea. )</font>

I made a quick install/ remove tail gate for my 6 x 8 utility trailer.
I used hitch pins and clips to attach the gate to the trailer.
I installed a 3Rd. brake lite in the center of the tail gate and used a trailer plug for a quick connect/ disconnect for the light.

 

[PineRidge]

Nice clean looking installation rswyan. I hope the Harbor Freight lights work out better for you than they did for us. We put a set of the same lamps on our ROPS and immediately took them back off. They didn't really seem to throw enough light for our tired old eyes. Even if you should decide that you do need more light you have all the hard work done and lights themselves are easy to change.

TC-40D SS web pictures click here

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I wanted some additional lights for snow removal so while I was at Harbor Freight awhile back I noticed that they had these 55w lights on sale for $8 a pair, so I picked up four of them. The only good thing I can say about them is the low price - the bases and housing very cheap and rather of poor quality - which makes aiming them precisely an almost impossible task - but they work good enough. I needed a way to mount them so I picked up a pair of small orange magnetic ground clamps (you can just barely see them at the top, behind the bar the lights are mounted on) while I was there as well. For the mounting bar itself I used a piece of old aluminum threshold from a recently replaced door which I cut down on the bandsaw. A little Kubota ROPS grey and it blends right in, more or less. I have to say that I managed to knock the lightbar off the ROPS when clearing the driveway and wasn't paying good attention to some branches that were hanging real low due all the ice - and the lights were none the worse for it. )</font>
~~~~~~~~

Thanks for your post and pictures.
Your first picture gave me the solution to something I was trying to resolve about placing lights on the ROPS.
I was looking at the picture wrong when suddenly I saw the answer to the problem I was trying to solve.
Had I not looked at the picture incorrectly I would have missed my answer.
Who says you don't learn from your mistakes. LOL

Great job on the light installation.
With some modifications to suit my taste I believe it will work out well for my application.

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The cigarette lighter accessory receptacle. )</font>~*~*~*
What are you going to use the receptacle for?

 

[Bowhunter]

Not speaking for rswyan but for myself, I may install one on my tractor also because I have an electric seeder and an electric sprayer that I currently use on an atv and they plug into a cigarette outlet.

 

[rswyan]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Nice clean setup you got there. I used a bed rail for mine. I think I will do as you did with the trailer plug as a quick disconnect. That's a great idea. )</font>

Jim,

Thanks, glad to be of help. It's interesting ... my viewpoint on old bedrails (and other scrap) has changed considerably since I got my welder. Having banged my shins on bedrails more times than I care to think about I find myself actually hoping I'll run into some whenever I'm out and about. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[rswyan]

Bowhunter,

Thanks, glad this was of some use. You are correct on the aux power outlet - one of the primary reasons I wanted it was for a sprayer, which I plan on building later this winter (provided I get some of the other projects completed first /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Aside from that, I'll probably throw a lighter element in the toolbox, just in case I find myself without matches or a lighter and wanting to light up.

 

[rswyan]

Mike,

Thanks. I suspect you are entirely correct on the HF lights. Aside from the junky quality, I've since noticed that the lights apparently are available with several different beam patterns - spot, flood, and trapezoid. I remember when I picked them up reading the package and trying to determine which ones they were - and going into a confusion because of how they were marked. I suspect that they might be trap's - or even worse, spots - I really wanted floods. I've tossed the package insert awhile back so I can't look at it again, but next time I'm down at HF I'll have another look.

I could probably live with the pattern if the mounts weren't so poor - they are just worthless as far as trying to aim with any precision. I can slide the bar to angle it side to side, since it's a magnetic mount - it's the tilt angle that's the really big problem.

So what did you finally end up using ?

 

[rswyan]

LB,

Thanks. Yeah, it's funny how a difference in one's viewpoint can render things in a whole different light - glad you were able to see your solution in what I posted. Be sure to post some pics of yours when you have it complete. Always looking for the better mousetrap. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[JimR]

Here are my lights made up on a bed rail. I attached mine using u-bolts that I made up.

 

[LBrown59]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Mike,

Thanks. I suspect you are entirely correct on the HF lights. Aside from the junky quality, I've since noticed that the lights apparently are available with several different beam patterns - spot, flood, and trapezoid. I remember when I picked them up reading the package and trying to determine which ones they were - and going into a confusion because of how they were marked. I suspect that they might be trap's - or even worse, spots - I really wanted floods. I've tossed the package insert awhile back so I can't look at it again, but next time I'm down at HF I'll have another look.

I could probably live with the pattern if the mounts weren't so poor - they are just worthless as far as trying to aim with any precision. I can slide the bar to angle it side to side, since it's a magnetic mount - it's the tilt angle that's the really big problem.

So what did you finally end up using ? )</font>

<font color="orange">it's the tilt angle that's the really big problem </font>

Tilt the bar not the light.

 

[rswyan]

Jim.

Ah yeah - I caught that post where you were using the ROPS/canopy as a lift. I had been trying to find square u-bolts around here - seems like most of the places only carry the round ones. Then I had occassion to go down to TSC day before yesterday - went to a different one than I usually go to - found out that they had just moved into a new location which was about 10 miles closer. They had them there.

Looks good - the front facing lights look like some big honkin' units. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rswyan]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Tilt the bar not the light. )</font>

LB,

There's a couple of problems with doing this:

1. The bar the lights are mounted to is fixed parallel to the top of the ROPS tube (which itself is inclined slightly to the rear) by virtue of being bolted to the magnetic mounts. Reworking the magnetic mounts so that they allowed a tilt adjustment on the bar probably could be done but even so it doesn't solve the second problem:

2. I have two front facing lights and two rearward facing lights and the tilt angle will never be the same for both and I don't want to readjust them every time I change from using one set to the other.

Basically I would like to get them aimed where I want them and then leave them set. If I pull the lightbar and reinstall it later I will probably have to slide it around a little to get them pointing correctly (forward/rearward) but that should be minimal and pretty easy to do.