I did a bad, bad thing to my BX22

[drcollie]

I installed a rear work light mounted off the ROPS, and <gasp> drilled two holes at the top of the bar to mount a light and get wire access. The Kubo Safety Police will no doubt be looking for me, but since it was at the top of the bar in the middle of the frame, I'm confident the bar will not fold up should I go [censored] end over teakettle one day on the BX.

This was actually a very easy project. I grabbed a basic 'rough duty' sealed beam light at Trak Auto, a push-pull switch, an inline fuse and some wire. Once I mounted the light onto the bar proper, I snaked the wire through the ROPS to the folding joint, then nylon zip-tied it off from there as I didn't want to drill access holes down low in the ROPS.

There's a wiring harness that runs under the seat to the rear lights and such and the red wire is hot when the key is on. Tap-a-line to that red wire, connect the inline fuse and then wire to the switch (which I mounted near the seat, above the rear PTO controller - and PRESTO ! A really decent work light for backhoe work when the sun is setting and you haven't finished the job just yet. Total cost was bout $ 30.00 and it took about an hour and a half to install, working slowly I might add.

I can photo it if anyone would like to see it.

-Duane C.

 

[Taz]

Sounds good Duane. Pictures are definitely welcome. It's nice to see how others have mounted.

Don't tell anyone but I'm planning on doing the same thing to mount 4 lights up on the ROPS and 2 more at the midpoint where they fold. On my last tractor I clamped them on, this time it will be 4 little holes in the ROPS. Shhh.

 

[k8ny]

I posted this one about a week and a half ago. Seems to describe the same thing you did:


Hey guys. I have wired my 2 off road lights (which I use to illuminate the area while I'm removing snow and mowing at night). They draw 7 amps each (14 amps total). The wire under the seat is the wire the dealer pointed out to me to use. I made a nice connection and FUSED the line right there with a 20 amp fuse. Then I mounted a switch box on the lower section of the ROPS to control the lights (2 switches). The lights are mounted on the top of my ROPS.
It all worked very well for me. Don't know what the warranty ramifications are but that line is to be used as an Accessory line.

Here's a photo:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/2-154397-Kub_l_2.jpeg

 

[Taz]

If I put the lights on TOP of the ROPS they wouldn't last 5 minutes. Much of my seat time involves running through woods and the ROPS gets hit quite a bit (especially since I haven't widened my B2910 trails to accommodate the L series).
I wish I could put them up on top. The space between the top of my head and the ROPS is actually less with the L than with the B! Go figure.

 

[bellweather]

The holes shouldn't weaken the ROPS, assuming they're not huge, but instead of drilling holes, did you consider using a bracket with stainless steel hose clamps?

 

[Knight9]

Here's a shot of my lights where I had the dealer do the same thing. I don't think it weakens the ROPs at all.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/35-149060-CustomLights.jpg>Custom Lights</A>

Kevin

 

[Gomez]

Nice, but if a rollover does occur, you'll need new lights ! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

 

[Knight9]

Gomez,

If a rollover occurs I'm going to need more than new lights! I'll likely start with new shorts!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Seriously though, I don't have low hanging branches I need to get under. If any grow that way down the road, I'll just trim them (even I didn't have lights there). The lights fit easily into a standard garage door that way. With the extra height, the lights shine very well and unobstructed.

I have toyed with the idea of flipping them beneath the ROPS, but until I have a reason to do so, I won't.

Kevin

 

[Trev]

My solution was pretty simple. I wired up a couple of cigarette lighters to the proper wires beneath the seat, and now I can plug in whatever lights I want. Flood lights for night snow plowing or mowing, a bright amber rotating light if I need to be out on the road, etc.

Amusing aside.. one night I hooked them all up and drove around the orchards and fields, just for the fun of it. The next day a kid came over and told me his mom thought she had seen a UFO land in the field that night! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Really, this isn't a bad system. There are all kinds of lights to be had that plug into cig lighters, and most of them can magnetically mount to the ROPS without any modifications at all. Just a thought.....

Bob

 

[Darren]

I'm thinking about doing something similar but building a light bar instead. Because I have the same low branch problem many do, I was looking at clamping a tube on top of the rops. The tube would be long enough to extend past the uprights and provide enough space for the lights below the bar on each side.

I figure with the lights below the bar, I'd have some protection which could be supplemented by a welded on piece of bent metal in a squat U shape surrounding the lights on the sides and bottom. FWIW, Hella makes a double bulb unit for construction equipment that lights up a huge area.