ROPS Hinge

   / ROPS Hinge #11  
Apparently some of you don't realize that modifying the ROPS could make it stronger. Look at mwb's fold down hinge and say that ain't gonna work, and it ain't safe. . There is probably not one incident report of the failure of a cut down ROPS that the cause the death of someone. He needs to drive it into his barn, or whatever. If he leaves it /folded down, and gets hurt, then it is his fault, but he should make sure that if anyone else uses it, it had better be in place and functional, for everyones sake. Please don't call the ROPS police for him doing something to his own tractor, and perhaps making it better.
 
   / ROPS Hinge #12  
This could be as simple as putting a 1/4 box tube inside the ROPS, and sliding the top half on the the box tubing, and bolting or using pins grade 5 or 8 to secure it .
 
   / ROPS Hinge #13  
Not quite true...

At one time, a company I worked for modified machinery for very specialized applications...

Just replace the modified parts with OEM and your good to go...

My point was that in a court of law, modifying the ROPS lets the original manufacturer off the hook. Their defense would be that were the ROPS not modified it would have functioned as designed and that having been modified it could not thereby effectively transferring liability to the party having made the modification.
 
   / ROPS Hinge #14  
You have a couple good pictures from mwb and j. j.'s suggestion is even simpler. If you plan to make a hinge it would be helpful to see one in person. Hope you show us what you decide to do. Richard
 
   / ROPS Hinge #15  
Apparently some of you don't realize that modifying the ROPS could make it stronger.

Not always a good thing, trust me. A stronger ROPS transfers more energy into the frame of the tractor wherever it's attached, usually the rear axle housing and they are usually cast. Now you've got more energy being transferred to a "brittle" material. Bad stuff bud.


I work for a heavy equipment OEM, ROPS stuff is pretty serious business.

Long story short, if you modify a ROPS you DO let the OEM off the hook for almost every imaginable ROPS related scenario. I would imagine you also accept liability from that point forward.

One final note, and I don't know that it will ever apply to you or not, you probably own liability if you ever sell it too. I hate to say it but because of the world we live in, you would probably lose a lawsuit if someone got hurt or killed because of ROPS failure after you sold it.

If you keep it forever, no big deal. Just remember, you probably changed the way it will behave in a rollover.

How much did you trim off and just as importantly, where did you remove the material from?
 
   / ROPS Hinge #17  

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