Added a bobcat to the herd

[lilranch2001]

The first time I operated a Bobcat was in 1983, working in a old brass foundry digging a new pit for a Hunter molding machine. I was removing the spoils that a much more experienced operator was digging, through very narrow aisles to the outside.

I was working for a boss who expected you to jump on the equipment and know what to do with it whether or not you had ever ran it before or not.

I guess I wasnt smart enough to know how much I didnt know......

Never hit anything that week and never got my @ss chewed out and we got the job done on time.

 

[MESSMAKER]

That seems like a fantastic price.The tires look new. That is 500-600 bucks. Does the previous owner have the old ROPS? You could probably get them welded back on for $50 or so.

 

[tjkubota93]

I'll bet you even drank from a water hose in the yard and rode in the back of pick up trucks. What a tragic childhood you must have had. I am surprised you survived.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, the only aforementioned safety disaster I didn't participate in was no seatbelts.

 

[lilranch2001]

As a child of the 50's and 60's drinking from a garden hose was the preferred way to get a drink of water in the summer

 

[fatjay]

I grew up in the 80's and 90's and only drank from the hose.

The previous owner didn't remove the ROPS, it was the guy before him.

Managed to clear out the garage and get it pulled in. The pedals need adjustment, the handles are very loose, fuel pump loses it's prime, there's an oil leak from somewhere on top of the engine. Once I get those issues ironed out I'll get on the ROPS. I'll get some 2" square tube and fab something up. Anyone have a line on that steel mesh by the sheet?

 

[ddbackhoe]

I grew up in the 80's and 90's and only drank from the hose.

The previous owner didn't remove the ROPS, it was the guy before him.

Managed to clear out the garage and get it pulled in. The pedals need adjustment, the handles are very loose, fuel pump loses it's prime, there's an oil leak from somewhere on top of the engine. Once I get those issues ironed out I'll get on the ROPS. I'll get some 2" square tube and fab something up. Anyone have a line on that steel mesh by the sheet?

McMaster-Carr is a pretty good place to source your control parts.

 

[chas0218]

I've been spoiled with only joystick control SS. They are one efficient way of working, super nimble and can do the work of 5 guys with shovels. For what the joystick models cost I could almost buy 2 tractors but they sure are nice. I've ran a SS for 8 hours/day for weeks on end it isn't too bad once you start working. If you want to any upgrade look into one of those plush comfy seats. Best thing we ever did to any of our equipment.

 

[fatjay]

The current seat is actually pretty comfortable and in good shape. i'm going to add a dash with oil pressure, fuel pressure, and voltage. I think there's a sending unit for temp as well, since it origionally had one but has since been removed.

For now it's breaking free the arms that control the foot pedals. The foot pedals are angled to far back so I can't toe/heal them, i have to move my toe to the heel position to bring it up. There is an abnormal amount of play in the sticks as well. And I may look into switching the hand and foot controls. i think controling movement with the feet and bucket with the hands would feel more natural.

 

[flyerdan]

If you're fortunate enough to have a scrapyard that also does retail sales, that can be a good way to get odd or specialty material at good prices. Just down the road I've got Cherry City Metals and they have all kinds of goodies. I needed some expanded metal and they had all sizes, including the woven hog wire style that the Bobcat ROPS were born with.
Changing the hand and foot orientation seems to be a rather monumental task...

 

[fatjay]

I have Hoover Steel right up the street that has a lot of stuff at really good prices. I just picked up 10' of 1" square steel at 1/8" thickness for $20. They have the square bar that I'll use for the ROPS frame, but as far as the mesh, I'm not sure that they'll have that.

As far as changing hand/foot orientation, it's just a matter of linkage. I'm fairly certain I could do it without much trouble if I can make the plans on paper. Making linkage from the pedals to the levers shouldn't be to hard, then it's just a matter of making something for the bucket. My concern is not being able to weld to the frame since the frame is also the hydraulic fluid reservoir and gas tank. I'm pretty sure I'd catch the hydraulic fluid on fire.

 

[radios1]

I have Hoover Steel right up the street that has a lot of stuff at really good prices. I just picked up 10' of 1" square steel at 1/8" thickness for $20. They have the square bar that I'll use for the ROPS frame, but as far as the mesh, I'm not sure that they'll have that.

As far as changing hand/foot orientation, it's just a matter of linkage. I'm fairly certain I could do it without much trouble if I can make the plans on paper. Making linkage from the pedals to the levers shouldn't be to hard, then it's just a matter of making something for the bucket. My concern is not being able to weld to the frame since the frame is also the hydraulic fluid reservoir and gas tank. I'm pretty sure I'd catch the hydraulic fluid on fire.

I'm sure the original ROPS used much thicker steel for the ROPS. and maybe chrome moly steel at that, you don't want a false sense of protection!.. personally, if a ROPS is cut off, the value is $0 to me, because I value my life much higher than risking it on a true hazard, which is a bobcat with the ROPS cut off. look at what they use at a bobcat dealer!!..

 

[aczlan]

I'm sure the original ROPS used much thicker steel for the ROPS. and maybe chrome moly steel at that, you don't want a false sense of protection!.. personally, if a ROPS is cut off, the value is $0 to me, because I value my life much higher than risking it on a true hazard, which is a bobcat with the ROPS cut off. look at what they use at a bobcat dealer!!..

I agree.
OP, if you are a farm, you might look at the your state's ROPS programs, some of them will pay for a new ROPS with $500 out of pocket.

Aaron Z

 

[fatjay]

THe ROPS isn't completely removed, just cut off. I can see the origoinal steel, it measures 2" square and 1/4" thick. I figured if I can match that, I might be ok.

I heard of kubota having a ROPS system where they give you a cage basically for free. I haven't been able to find anything for bobcat yet though. And I'm not a farm, I'm just a guy with land.

 

[flyerdan]

My rops is made with 2x2x.250 angle, at least the front uprights. Regular mild steel; I had it off and in the shop to straighten one of the legs that had acquired a pretty good bend in it sometime during its life. The sheet steel is a bit thinner if I recall.
The replacement side panels have the same part number in the 600-610 and 700 parts books, 6552487, and are spec'ed as punched steel. I have some round stock woven into kind of a hog panel on mine, probably an early version. If I had to build them from scratch I'd probably used flattened expanded metal.

 

[chas0218]

The current seat is actually pretty comfortable and in good shape. i'm going to add a dash with oil pressure, fuel pressure, and voltage. I think there's a sending unit for temp as well, since it origionally had one but has since been removed.

For now it's breaking free the arms that control the foot pedals. The foot pedals are angled to far back so I can't toe/heal them, i have to move my toe to the heel position to bring it up. There is an abnormal amount of play in the sticks as well. And I may look into switching the hand and foot controls. i think controling movement with the feet and bucket with the hands would feel more natural.

Switching it shouldn't be much harder than moving a few hoses on the Dist. block. At the most you might need to get some new hoses made up to reach a little further but still shouldn't be too hard.

 

[fatjay]

Switching it shouldn't be much harder than moving a few hoses on the Dist. block. At the most you might need to get some new hoses made up to reach a little further but still shouldn't be too hard.

Unfortunately it's not a hydro drive, it's gear/chain driven. The levers on the side go to gear boxes in the body. Nice idea though.