Bummer

[Deerlope]

I bent the ROPS on my tractor and Kubota won't sell the first piece that mounts to the axle. That is the part that is bent. Kubota feels that the whole structure has been compermised. While doing some grading/leveling I nudges a large branch on a white pine tree. I didn,t hit it at a high rate of speed but nudged into it. I guess that I am lucky that no housing (cast parts) on the tractor got broken. Looks like I am going to have to buy the whole thing.

 

[riptides]

Can you bend it back in the opposite direction? Not familiar with the mount.

-Mike Z.

 

[Bird]

I can understand the manufacturer, for liability reasons, wanting to replace the entire ROPS, and I guess I'd have to agree with them. However, if it were mine, I'd probably take it off and straighten it (might have to heat it to do so, repaint, etc.) or have someone with the right equipment straighten it if necessary. But I'm not recommending that you do that.

 

[N80]

You got pics of this thing?

 

[milkman]

I can see it coming now, there'll be references to bus loads of nuns and orphan kids before this thread is over.

 

[RobJ]

Can you bend it back in the opposite direction? Not familiar with the mount.

-Mike Z.

Wouldn't try this...there is another thread where the whole gear case broke.

For grins I checked my parts manual. Nope, all 1 set. the P/N is 32330-48010 but does not pull up a price or indicate a valid number on tractorsmart.com.

Good Luck,
Rob

 

[RonR]

I won't recommend this, but you could check with an aftermarket supplier of ROPS. (some advertise here).

It's whatever your pucker factor will support.

ron

 

[Bob_Young]

I'm with Bird. Take the thing off and do whatever you need to to straighten it. I wouldn't give Kubota or anyone else another danged nickel for something that CAUSES many more problems than it prevents. If you can take it off without removing anything critical, you'd be wise to leave it off. I know for a fact that it's possible to tractor safely for decades without any ROPS at all. Heck they didn't come along until the late '70s or '80s.

After 3 near disasters in the 1st hour of mowing, the ROPS came OFF my new B7610. It'd be off my L4300 now if it didn't provide the anchor points for the 3pt. stabilizers. Instead it's always folded and STILL gets into trouble occasionally. I have LOTS of White Pine and Lots of low limbs. You can't watch where the wheels are going and watch overhead at the same time.

What kind of men have we become? If we're going to let busloads of nuns, orphans and their lawyers tell us how to do everything maybe we deserve to be run over by a tractor. The Jihadis have figured this out about us and, on this count, they are right.
/rant
Bob

 

[RobJ]

If we're going to let busloads of nuns, orphans and their lawyers tell us how to do everything maybe we deserve to be run over by a tractor. Bob

I thought you were going to say you have to watch out for nuns and orphans while mowing in the pines. hehe.

 

[8226hamer]

I can see it coming now, there'll be references to bus loads of nuns and orphan kids before this thread is over.

I wouldn't recommend doing any type of welding or heating, there are nuns and orphans out there. Follow soundguys advise on ROPS repair, he does know what he's talking about.

 

[riptides]

I'm with Bird. Take the thing off and do whatever you need to to straighten it. I wouldn't give Kubota or anyone else another danged nickel for something that CAUSES many more problems than it prevents. If you can take it off without removing anything critical, you'd be wise to leave it off. I know for a fact that it's possible to tractor safely for decades without any ROPS at all. Heck they didn't come along until the late '70s or '80s.

Bob_YoungGrrrrrr....... grrrrrr.......

Not going there......

Deerlope
Find out how to bend it back, take it apart, go to a metal shop. Get some other engineering advise.

-Mike Z.

 

[N80]

I know for a fact that it's possible to tractor safely for decades without any ROPS at all. Heck they didn't come along until the late '70s or '80s.

Oh, you mean the good old 40s, 50s and 60s when many, if not most, tractor rollovers were fatal? Back when cars had single layer glass windshields, metal dashboards and no seatbelts? Back in the good old days when men were men and women were....widows?

My grandfather rolled a bulldozer in the 1960's. It only cost him a leg.

 

[n8wrl]

I'm with Bird. Take the thing off and do whatever you need to to straighten it. I wouldn't give Kubota or anyone else another danged nickel for something that CAUSES many more problems than it prevents. If you can take it off without removing anything critical, you'd be wise to leave it off. I know for a fact that it's possible to tractor safely for decades without any ROPS at all. ...

OMG! Call me the safety police, but for anyone looking for a tractor, or tips on using a tractor, this is scary-ridiculous. I am all for personal responsibility but it does not extend into defeating a safety feature that works. Get your ROPS fixed properly. Will it cost money? Yes. Is it worth operating without it? NO. Check with your insurance agent - maybe they'll cover some of it. Your family will thank you.

-Brian

 

[Deerlope]

Sorry but I have been busyer than a one arm paperhanger all day and just now getting on here. What I plan to do is see if my dealer will let me borrow the part off a new Rops and take both pieces to a machine shop and see if we can press it back as it was. Thanks for all the suggestion. I have to wonder that if it bent that easily would it have saved a life in a tip /roll over.

 

[redharley]

I'm with the try to repair what you got,I would recomend taking it off.If you purchase a new one and you install it most likely kubota would not stand behind it in the event of a rollover since they didn't install the thing.You might as well try to repair it if your doing the change over.

 

[Shimon]

Here's the post that RobJ was talking about which deals with a similar mishap...although the other guy cracked the rear axle (trumpet) housing. That ROPS sure is a large lever out there looking for trouble.

 

[Bob_Young]

Guys.......Something neat happened today. Went back in time. Spent the morning clinging to the side of a drumlin (long, steep sided hill; like an overturned canoe...to youse non-NYers) raking hay for the neighbor with an old high-wheeled, narrow front Farmall H. Between bouts of terror I suddenly remembered: I was doing that same thing on that same drumlin with that same tractor (!!!) 45 years ago in 1962 as a Junior in H.S. trying to earn $ for college.

What's the point?

In places I could barely hold it on the hill, front wheels were scrabbling downhill with every turn. Had to turn it into the hill to hold it on. Same thing for the other guy out there raking with a Super C. My heart was in my throat until I recalled that this tractor had been doing this very thing for nearly a generation....and it had NOT been rolled and no one had ever been pinned under it. Same thing for the many old high-wheeled ROPS-less JD's and Ollies that had come and gone from that place over the years.

What you did have to watch for was the surprises....the chuck holes, the runoff ruts, the big rocks. If you missed seeing those you were in trouble so you ABSOLUTELY DID NOT MISS SEEING THOSE...even if it meant dropping a gear to slow down. On other jobs, the hazards could be hidden stumps, downed limbs or a forgotten implement.

The dangers that will roll you are found where you put your wheels. If you're watching over your head for limbs, leaning trees, garage doors or low-flying aircraft, you're not watching where your wheels are going. And the more often a ROPS gets you into trouble the more time you will spend looking up. That's not where the real danger is.
FWIW
Bob

 

[riptides]

Guys.......Something neat happened today. Went back in time. Spent the morning clinging to the side of a drumlin (long, steep sided hill; like an overturned canoe...to youse non-NYers) raking hay for the neighbor with an old high-wheeled, narrow front Farmall H. Between bouts of terror I suddenly remembered: I was doing that same thing on that same drumlin with that same tractor (!!!) 45 years ago in 1962 as a Junior in H.S. trying to earn $ for college.

Bob,

I appreciate your input, but we are talking modern tractors here. We sort have taken the lumps from all those years of experience. We now have devices and features to mitigate those risks. So, in this instance, the factory equipped ROPS is bent. Factory equipped.

Why tractor with a lump in your throat or fear in mind. Other have done that in the past. No thanks.

-Mike Z.

 

[Bob_Young]

OK, I'm not going to win this. Thought I might be able to bring some perspective to the discussion, but apparently not.

I'd have no argument with the ROPS whatsoever if they weren't creating problems for people. I thought they were a great idea until I had to live with one. Apparently, whacking garage doors and limbs, causing expensive damage, distracting the operator from real dangers and giving a false sense of security are ROPS features most are content to live with.

As for nostalgia, I was out on the same hill with the same tractor again today. Got a bit tired of it. Glad they baled their hay.

As for fear; it's a powerful motivator. Feeling secure in a dangerous situation is not healthy. A tractor getting ready to roll is dangerous whether it has a ROPS or not. Fear that keeps you on your toes is OK.

But since we're on the subject:
What do you make of antique tractors that serve for over a half century on steep hills being operated by all and sundry without ever rolling? Were they better designed to avoid rollover than what's being built now? Were they designed to give more warning of impending disaster? Is the ROPS a bandaid for some modern design shortcomings?

If the ROPS really is critical to safety, wouldn't Kubota be happy to give Deerlope a free replacement for his damaged ROPS? Wouldn't they like to know why a minor accident caused serious ROPS damage? He IS their valued customer.

Just askin'
Bob

 

[DUMBDOG]

The older tractors are heavier and wider than the cut.