Lower ROPS

[tcreeley]

I have a 2 piece rops on my NH TC30 that is joined and pinned above the seat. I want to lower it 5-6 inches so I can drive it into my barn without a worry- 1.5" clearance now. I thought to cut the rops on either side, remove the unwanted length, and insert a piece of square tube, pin it, and slide the top of the rops down onto these pinned square tubes. Then pin the top to that. I don't worry about warranty- tractor is 11 years old. Will this work and still keep the rops functional?

 

[dougtrr2]

Picture would be nice. If it is already pinned and joined why can't you remove the pin, cut it down and then repin it. That way you are using all original parts except new pins?

Take Care,
Doug in SW IA

 

[tcreeley]

This might work- parts diagram of my ROPS. I would cut it at the 6 and the 7. Cut out 5-6 inches and put in a piece of square tubing and pin it all together.

 

[kebo]

I guess you've looked at it really close to make sure that cutting out 5-6 inches won't put the horizontal bar right at the top of your head?? I would be concerned that an unexpected bump in the ride might bounce your noggin right into the bar!!

 

[nebraskasparks]

When you're measuring how much you're going to cut off...sit in the seat...put the seat belt on and lift up hard with legs and arms and see where your head goes to. This will be the height your head is going to be when the tractor is upside down and you're hanging in the belt. Leave some more inches for compaction of the ground when the roll bar buries into the moist earth.
In other words...leave some extra inches above your head otherwise the reason for the bar being there isn't worth the modification.

 

[Opti-Mist]

Any modification will void the warranty and any future liability on the part of the manufacturer. The person doing the modification assumes all liability.

 

[tcreeley]

The tractor is 11 years old. I am the 3rd owner. If I injure myself as a result, it will be on my own head!
But thanks for the advice.

 

[RoyJackson]

The tractor is 11 years old. I am the 3rd owner. If I injure myself as a result, it will be on my own head!
But thanks for the advice.

Well, you did ask (in your original post) if modifying the ROPS would keep it functional, so you must be concerned about your safety.
Pretty good advice given in the responses. Opti-Mist's response just states that any risk (to you or a buyer (if you sell the tractor)) is on you, rather then the manufacturer.

 

[Dogtrainer]

Go for it! First responders are always looking for people to rescue.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think in most instances, ROPS are supposed to stop the tractor from rolling completely over so the height is there for leverage so the tractor would flop on its side but the bar is supposed to stop the roll at that point. I dont think they would stand up to multple roll overs at least from the ones Ive seen after on rollover. They are pretty much smashed to the side when they hit and if they continued to roll, I think you would find yourself in a iffy situation on whether or not the ROPS is going to provide any protection. I recently saw a Kubota TLB for sale that had been rolled and even with a 4 post system the ROPS was smacked over at least 20 degrees, the FEL frame was bent, hood all crumpled lots of damage. Maybe it fell off a 20 foot cliff.
If you cut 6" out is it still high enough to stop the roll, maybe, maybe not. IF modifying it and you want to chance it, dont take any more out of it than necessary for your clearance or a better choice would be to mimic the foldable types and build a replica hinge at the junction. Using identical material and good welding, it should be as good as any other foldable style. I think I would trust that more than shortening it.

 

[jonyyuma]

When you're measuring how much you're going to cut off...sit in the seat...put the seat belt on and lift up hard with legs and arms and see where your head goes to. This will be the height your head is going to be when the tractor is upside down and you're hanging in the belt. Leave some more inches for compaction of the ground when the roll bar buries into the moist earth.
In other words...leave some extra inches above your head otherwise the reason for the bar being there isn't worth the modification.

A very good summary, had not considered the soft ground or mud..But always think about being in pond water? Too many people drown on tractors, for our own good...I guess I will keep pulling the top section off and putting it back on when out of garage?

 

[Dr_Zinj]

That bar isn't just for rollovers. It's also for flips.

I have to agree with nebraskasparks, it's there and that height for a reason. More to the point, every manufacturer would reduce the height just to save money on materials if they could.

Tell you what, you may as well just remove it completely instead of messing with it.

Me, I just crank the knobs, pull the pins, and the ROPS hinges down just fine for driving into the garage. Not worth my life to mess with what works.

 

[ray66v]

That bar isn't just for rollovers. It's also for flips.

I have to agree with nebraskasparks, it's there and that height for a reason. More to the point, every manufacturer would reduce the height just to save money on materials if they could.

The height of a ROPS is actually determined by U.S. federal regulations.

Roll-Over Protective Structures - 70:76979-77025

 

[Deere Dude]

I have a 2 piece rops on my NH TC30 that is joined and pinned above the seat. I want to lower it 5-6 inches so I can drive it into my barn without a worry- 1.5" clearance now. I thought to cut the rops on either side, remove the unwanted length, and insert a piece of square tube, pin it, and slide the top of the rops down onto these pinned square tubes. Then pin the top to that. I don't worry about warranty- tractor is 11 years old. Will this work and still keep the rops functional?

If there is a clearance right now of 1.5", why do anything?

 

[jonyyuma]

If I had 1.5 inches it would be great ,, mine is 3 inches negative and would take out the lower door panel...So, I take out the upper bolts and pull it off..I wish I could come up with a hinge design for the rops? I have studied others photos?

 

[rsewill]

Go ahead, lower it. Most likely you'll never need it until you do.

But I agree, an inch and a half is a lot of clearance. I have one inch of clearance so I try not to bounce my tractor as I enter my garage. And if there is lots of snow I make sure it is clear before heading out which is easy given that the blower is always mounted in the winter. Neither is hard to do. I drive truck and have found that there are many bridges that have just an inch of clearance (I go very slow under those.) I know this because I have hauled a lot of oversize loads and I stop, when needed, and measure clearance (or my escort does.) I have also hit one bridge when I believed the posted height which had not been changed after the road below had gotten an overlay and I was under the statutory and posted height.

 

[JDgreen227]

Nowhere here do I see anything about just HOW and WHERE OP uses his tractor. If his use is always on his property and his property is flat or has no slopes that would create a tipping or rollover situation and he wants to modify the ROPS, no issue. HOWEVER, if he is like me, and most of tractor operation is on flat surfaces BUT some is on slopes...I question the reason for the modification. And if anything above 20% is in a situation where his tractor MIGHT tip...NO, NO, NO. If clearance is an issue, much safer and practical to modify to a folding ROPS, as Gary Fowler points out.

About having a minimum of clearance...one issue: I have a pair of overhead garage doors on the barn I store my tractor in. Both use electric openers, and one of the openers is very prone to stopping the door it operates two or three inches from fully open. Since I have to fold the ROPS on my Deere to get thru the doors regardless, it's automatic to do so and I have no clearance issues. But if OP ever had the same situation where his door didn't open fully, it could be an expensive lesson.

 

[Tollster]

Maybe the dealer will swap it out for a foldable at a reasonable price?

 

[JDgreen227]

A lot of the times I leave the ROPS on my Deere folded down because my property is 99% perfectly flat and/or has no real slope that would present a tipping hazard, and I have to mow under a LOT of trees that the ROPS hits when upright.

I really wish there were a way the makers could design a ROPS that would work like an air bag, like having the top section telescoped into the bottom section all the time, with a sensor to trigger the top section to extend and lock into place if a rollover sitation begins.

Don't laugh but I do have some weird ideas !!!

 

[ray66v]

I really wish there were a way the makers could design a ROPS that would work like an air bag, like having the top section telescoped into the bottom section all the time, with a sensor to trigger the top section to extend and lock into place if a rollover sitation begins.

Don't laugh but I do have some weird ideas !!!

They are actually working on this right now, because there are numerous accidents, involving tractors that did not have the ROPS extended.

You might not like it, when you see how much it adds to the cost of the tractor.

If the government gets their way, all will have to pay for those who can't be bothered to put the ROPS up.

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/awards/hamilton/pdfs/deploy-rops.pdf