B7800 ROPS Question

[narcnh]

Greetings,

First, thanks to everyone, who provides such useful information in this and other forums. Surfing, I found this site invaluable in assessing my options for upgrading my tractor. I've joined in the hope that I might, eventually, be able to help someone else in their decision making process or in solving some problem with their tractor. And, I do have a question.

In the end I traded in my old 1750 for a new 7800, which I've had for about two weeks. It is an awesome tractor, and I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely considering it. I've ditched and graded my driveway with it with a Woods RB72, moved sand from the sand pit on the back 40 (I've always wanted to say that), to fill potholes in my farm road, and hauled split wood for the past couple of weekends from timber pile to wood crib. The power this tractor has in such a small frame is amazing. I could never have ditched with the old tractor (about 500 foot of driveway up a steep hill). In the spring I'll be mowing and brushhogging with it. Some guys go middle age crazy and buy Harleys. Others buy Kubotas. But, on a crisp, fall day, tooling down the farm road with a loaded bucket, in my insulated Carhartts and with a cigar in my mouth, I'm an Easy Rider.

Anyway, on to my question. I have to drop the ROPS to fit the 7800 into my barn. So, every time I take it out I rescrew the ROPS into position. When I'm done playing, I mean, working and have to drop the ROPS, the right screw is always jammed solid and can't be budged by hand. I have to use a small piece of angle iron through the top hole on the screw to loosen it. It is always the right screw and it does it no matter how tightly or loosely I set both screws. I can live with it, but it is a mystery to me why it happens. Any ideas?

Again, thanks!

 

[GregJ]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Some guys go middle age crazy and buy Harleys. Others buy Kubotas. But, on a crisp, fall day, tooling down the farm road with a loaded bucket, in my insulated Carhartts and with a cigar in my mouth, I'm an Easy Rider. )</font>
Personally, I can't think of a better way to have a mid life crisis.

I have had exactly the same thing happen with the right bolt on my B7500. Finally I lightly greased the threads and haven't had the problem since. As far as why it happens...... Could it be one of those Northern Hemisphere things???

Greg

 

[art]

I'll go with Gregs thoughts on the lube at this point. Another attempt would be to run a tap or anouther bolt on past where you might be going at this point. Good Luck with your new B there is a good difference between the two.

 

[RayBee]

I wrestled with the same inconvenience /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gifand simplified the process by drilling out the nut with a 5/8" drill bit and substituted a 5/8" pin,flat washer,compression spring and retaining clip /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif , now it's only half of the pain /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ..RayBee

 

[art]

Looks good! I can feel the frustration of having to put it up, take it down.

 

[cbh]

RayBee, I have the same style folding ROPS on my B7500 and have thought about using a pin, but got to wondering... Did Kubota use a bolt because they need the strength of a threaded fastener to keep the hinge from spreading open in a bad rollover? Or is it just for redundancy in case someone leaves out the existing safety pin? I sure would like to know before I start drilling, which I probably wouldn't do until my tractor is out of warranty.

 

[art]

Offically speaking, the modification would fail a osha test! That is a illegal modification, same as drilling rollbars to mount lites. At least I've seen that written up with explanation.

 

[RayBee]

Art: .....I agree with you, /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif and there are those who would not tamper with matress tags, for fear of being turned in to the bedding police /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I only offer my modification as my solution to the annoyance and certainly each owner should deal with it in a manner that is consistent with their opinion on safety issues. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Best regards, ...RayBee

 

[bcarter]

narcnh,

I occasionaly get the same problem... I found that if I wiggle the top section of the ROPS front to back while I am trying to back the bolt out, I can usually get the bolt to move without resorting to "additional leverage".

I got frustrated with the amount of time it took to back out the bolts before I could fold my ROPS. ...the the nut that is welded to the inside of the ROPS is about a 1/2" think and the bolt went about another 1/4" past the nut (so one could install a pin in it)... This meant that I had to turn about 3/4" of threads to get the bolt in and turn 3/4" of threads to get the bolt out again. What I did was to grind off the threads on the last 1/2" to 5/8" of the bolt. This allows me to push the bolt through the nut most of the way and then catch some threads to hold it in.

It still "sticks" occasionally, but generally its much faster to install and remove.

 

[AV8R62]

"a cigar in my mouth" THEIR'S YOUR TROUBLE
is it in the right side of your mouth or the left ?
just a guess /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Art, regarding "illegal" and "OSHA" and modifying a ROPS, I do hope you understand that those types of words and worries only come into play when the tractor is commercially used by a business with employees operating the "modified" piece, and even then, the modifications may not be illegal under OSHA guidelines even if it is against the recommendation of the manufacturer.

For anyone who personally owns a tractor and chooses to do things like drill into the ROPS to mount lights (my dealer actually told me to do that despite the warning in the manual he gave me) it is perfectly legal to modify bolts, ROPS, etc. Heck, you can even choose to take the entire ROPS unit off and sell it for scrap. I live on hilly property and choose to keep mine on, but there is no law or regulation that prevents it. If I roll over and the tractor lands on my head, my widow would not have a very good chance of suing the tractor manufacturer and winning any award, and I might void my warrenty with some tractor modifications, but I can do what I want with my own equipment.

 

[narcnh]

Hey AV,

Like other parts, it hangs to the left. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Many thanks to everyone for the great ideas. I'll probably start low tech and use some grease this weekend. Heck, I got so much on me from playing with the 3PH, I could probably just lube the pins by rubbing them on my Carhartts.

 

[art]

I know what you are talking about on the roll bars as far as what your individual concerns are. When you trade your unit it in, that leaves a trail thru the dealer back to you. You know what you have to do to get by but don't tell the dealer that you didn't Know. The dealer might not allow you what you like. This is real life and i just want to let you boys know what the other side of your use is. I'll tell you both sides like them or not! I'm just giving you the facts of the issue.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Art, I totally agree with the trail back to you. The best protection against any future liability is to disclose modifications when you sell the tractor, it can be written on the bill of sale stating the buyer understands these modifications are not recommended by the manufacturer and may cause a safety issue and the buyer accepts full responsibility and waives all rights against the seller. It is pretty simple and pretty standard, not unlike when a "hot rod" is sold.

In any case, none of it is illegal in any way and OSHA's only involvement would come into play if the unit was sold for commercial purposes and the modification CLEARLY defeated the purpose of a safety device, but OSHA would probably have no problems with 99% of all the modifications to the tractors I have seen on this website.

Understand, OSHA doesn't even require a ROPS, or a seatbelt or a PTO shield to be on a tractor. However, a commercial operation that intentionally REMOVED an existing safety device would probably be liable for any injury that should occur if it operated the equipement without the safety device.

 

[chim]

Check this................chim

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10957

 

[Bob_Skurka]

chim . . . that proves my point.

The only ROPS needed, according to OSHA website are those that were originally on the tractor when the tractor was manufacturered and then the ROPS must meet their certification standards, further any ROPS that was REMOVED must be REINSTALLED (as per the OSHA clause in (b)(5) and then ONLY on commercially used equipment and then it is EXEMPT when the tractor is used inside a barn, greenhouse or out in a vinyard or orchard or when using equipment that interfears with a ROPS, none is necessary on privately owned equipment used by the owner for non-commercial purposes.

 

[chim]

Must have misunderstood your statement that "OSHA doesn't even require a ROPS....". It looked like a blanket "none ever required" statement. Sorry. They do get involved when there are employees, and let Harry Homeowner do as he pleases.


Years ago we had a project where the inspector was going to have us stop trenching work because the subcontractor's backhoe didn't have a ROPS. The excavation was being done in a courtyard, and access was through smallish OH doors through a corridor. There was enough trenching to be done that it eliminated "toy" diggers. When we were able to prove the hoe was manufactured prior to the ROPS requirement, everything was AOK...................chim

 

[Kelvin]

I also have a B2910 (probably the exact same folding ROPS as your B7800) that is sometimes difficult to turn the bolts by hand.

As was mentioned already, I find that moving the top half of ROPS back and forth will intermittantly take the pressure off of the bolt such that it can be turned by hand. More times than not I can find a point to hold the upper portion of the ROPS where I can turn the bolt continuously and freely.

I have not used any grease.

Kelvin