Yanmar / Tractor Newbie

[pruntyc]

I think I might dive either way. My head and body will want to stay level, I'll go with them!!

Re: Yanmar / Tractor Newbie


Then what good is a ROPS, if you don't wear the seat belt, it is no good to you. You might as well forget about it and save the money.

 

[Soundguy]

With a rops you must wear a seatbelt or they become dangerous as a pinning or crushing point. In the event of a role there is no time to remove restraintes AND dive off... it's one or the other. That's why you don't see tractors without rops, but WITH seatbelts. Either you use rops/seatbelt.. or none at all and just try to dive for cover.. hopefully on the 'high side'..

Soundguy

 

[RobJ]

I go to a couple woodworking forums. Everyone talks about using guards on a tablesaw. But most admit that it's not on the saw 95 percent of the time. I would bet most people don't always wear the seatbelt but might say they wear it more than they actually do. Getting on and off it will turn into a chore. No I don't wear my seatbelt and my natural instinct is to dive for it. A rops is not an inclosed box to fully protect me. What if you roll your tractor near a ditch or a large rock. The rops coule end up on one side of the rock dangling in the air while you are crushed. Or near the ditch where the rops is in the ditch and the tractor is flat on the bank. No help in either case. Or what if you are mowing near a pond, slip and the tractor hits the water. Some Navy pilots don't make it because they can't get out of an simulated underwater rollover. And they know whats going to happen in training!!

I see the rops as a way to stop the tractor from rolling. It'll hit it's side and stop, not roll over you or roll down the hill. Rops is an interesting topic, but I see many posts of folks tractors doing work with the folded rops down. no saftey there either. I wonder how may would honestly say they wear a seatbelt. I'm out...I don't.

Me? I think I've posted before from when I was a kid on my granddaddys JD's I was very afraid of rolling a tractor so I stayed clear of any trouble. But on the later 4230 if I recall the rops was a 4 point connection to the tractor, not a 2(a box around you). The old 4020's had no rops. Still today it doesn't matter if I'm on my riding mower, l2500, or friends TC90, I'm scared of hills and rolling a tractor.

 

[Soundguy]

A tablesaw with no guards? That's asking for trouble. My TS always has it's fence and top guard, and anit kickback guard, and I always use a push stick. I know -MANY- people missing fingers due to table saws.. I'd like to keep mine thank you. The extra time involved in using a unit with a guard is no big deal.

Same with seatbelts. I wear a seat belt in my truck and on my tractor with a 2-post rops. I agree that a 4 post FOPS structure might be safer.. but it's what I've got.

Your brain is your biggest safety feature. If you are mowing near hillsides, ditches, and water.. be EXTRA carefull.

Still not wearing a seatbelt on a rops equipped machine because you are betting on the fact that when it rolls it will be around a wet ditch with a big rock in it is planning for a situation that might ococur 1% of the ime.. vs 'regular' upsets that might be more likely to occour, in which that rops/seatbelt may save life or limb.

The? 5 seconds it takes to click / unclick a seatbelt is noting compaired to the value of my life.

Soundguy

I go to a couple woodworking forums. Everyone talks about using guards on a tablesaw. But most admit that it's not on the saw 95 percent of the time. I would bet most people don't always wear the seatbelt but might say they wear it more than they actually do. Getting on and off it will turn into a chore. No I don't wear my seatbelt and my natural instinct is to dive for it. A rops is not an inclosed box to fully protect me. What if you roll your tractor near a ditch or a large rock. The rops coule end up on one side of the rock dangling in the air while you are crushed. Or near the ditch where the rops is in the ditch and the tractor is flat on the bank. No help in either case. Or what if you are mowing near a pond, slip and the tractor hits the water. Some Navy pilots don't make it because they can't get out of an simulated underwater rollover. And they know whats going to happen in training!!

I see the rops as a way to stop the tractor from rolling. It'll hit it's side and stop, not roll over you or roll down the hill. Rops is an interesting topic, but I see many posts of folks tractors doing work with the folded rops down. no saftey there either. I wonder how may would honestly say they wear a seatbelt. I'm out...I don't.

Me? I think I've posted before from when I was a kid on my granddaddys JD's I was very afraid of rolling a tractor so I stayed clear of any trouble. But on the later 4230 if I recall the rops was a 4 point connection to the tractor, not a 2(a box around you). The old 4020's had no rops. Still today it doesn't matter if I'm on my riding mower, l2500, or friends TC90, I'm scared of hills and rolling a tractor.

 

[roxynoodle]

Here's another similar question. I was wondering if my wheels could be flipped around and reversed to give my tractor a wider stance? It wouldn't be much wider but I think it would be helpful. Has anyone done that?

I'm going to get the certified ROPS when it is available, which will be soon. Depending on which side I'd have to try to dive to, I could get caught in the loader controls. My tractor is much easier to get on and off from the left than the right. So far the only time I thought I might roll I would have had to try to go right. Yes, it is possible the ROPS will fail, but I'm thinking I'd rather take my chances with that than trying to jump to safety.

Just curious, have any of you seen examples of tractor fatalities on a tractor with a certified ROPS?

 

[Soundguy]

The rops is a good idea. make sure you get a seat upgrade with seatbelts too.

Dishing the wheels ( and swapping side to side ) is a good way to get some width. lots of us do it.

Soundguy

Here's another similar question. I was wondering if my wheels could be flipped around and reversed to give my tractor a wider stance? It wouldn't be much wider but I think it would be helpful. Has anyone done that?

I'm going to get the certified ROPS when it is available, which will be soon. Depending on which side I'd have to try to dive to, I could get caught in the loader controls. My tractor is much easier to get on and off from the left than the right. So far the only time I thought I might roll I would have had to try to go right. Yes, it is possible the ROPS will fail, but I'm thinking I'd rather take my chances with that than trying to jump to safety.

Just curious, have any of you seen examples of tractor fatalities on a tractor with a certified ROPS?

 

[LMTC]

Here's another similar question. I was wondering if my wheels could be flipped around and reversed to give my tractor a wider stance?

Rears only is our advice. Standard tires have DIRECTIONAL tread, meaning it has to face forward, or your best traction will be in reverse. You widen the stance by swapping rears side to side....that keeps the tread facing in the same direction.

We will know the "tentatively firm" available date on the 1510 ROPS about 2 weeks in advance, and will certainly post the availability on our website and begin taking orders at that time.

 

[roxynoodle]

I found several articles that address OSHA certified ROPS and homemade ones. Everything I found said the OSHA ROPS are estimated to be 99% effective in preventing the death of the operator in a rollover. I also found information that said it is possible for a homemade one to be "too rigid", so there is flexibility in the OSHA approved ones. Here is a good article:

http://www.age.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/e/E42.pdf

 

[buppy69]

I read the article about the boy on the International tractor. From the looks of it I don't think he would have survived if it had been a certified ROPS. If it was made to give, in the rear rollover it would have just folded up on him. I can see where it would be helpful in a side roll but not rearward.

Eugene

 

[roxynoodle]

One of the articles I read said in the case of a rear rollover, it only takes about 0.75 seconds before the tractor's center of gravity is over the rear axle, and 1.5 seconds before it is over. Any rollover that happens that fast leaves the operator NO time to react. I don't believe you would be able to bail in that case. I couldn't say if the OSHA ROPS would save your life in that type of accident, but in looking at the time frame given, I am going to have to say have the ROPS on your tractor. Wear your seatbelt.