I just read Keith's post below about another farm accident. Some had replied talking about rops structures. Just a reminder that rops does little good if you aren't wearing a seat belt and get thrown from the tractor/equipment. Just a reminder. I am guilty myself of not always using the lap belt when I should.
- Thread starter 300jk
- Start date
I still remember way back when I lived in Leigh NE at the state fair where I was showing a calf JD had a display of there new Rops system and it was new back then and they had a JD tractor sitting 2 ways. One was standing up with the rops holding it form flipping over and the other one was out side down on the rops. But again they may save some life's but if one depends on them to save you your doing things wrong and sooner or latter just that will get you hurt or killed. I also learned the only safety device that works as it should if one uses it that is is the one between your ears
gene bender
Well-known Member
Forget about the ROPS and learn how to drive safe
Kinda where I was going. Because you have rops does not make you safe.both need to be used together. Neither are much good ithout the other. We do not own any tractors with tops, but our skid steer has a rops cab. Most equipment at work has it, and if OSHA or msha happen to show up and your not using the belt you get a fine. You get the fine, not the company. I agree there is nothing like good old common sense !
Dad gave me his deere ztr with a blown engine. He had the rops folded down. I folded it up before I got it going. The first time I hooked on low branches and brought the front wheels off the ground. I got it stopped in time to prevent it going over backwards. I was wearing seat belt. Somewhere instructions it says if you have the rops up to wear lap belt. If you have the rops down, do not wear lap belt. I suppose if you go over without rops, and are belted in, you will be crushed. Without the belt, maybe a better chance of getting away.
showcrop
Well-known Member
I did not see where Keith said that the guy was not a safe driver, or as Gene Bender said he needed to learn to drive safe. I don't claim to use mine very often myself. I have always said that it is not a side slope that makes you roll over it is that chuck hole, or bigger wash out, or boulder, etc. etc. in other words, though we are confident and believe we are safe, there is always the unexpected. No one ever goes out and says "I am going to go out and be unsafe today", they just get into an unexpected situation that they are unprepared for. They are called ACCIDENTS. Yes I have had a few, and have learned from them, but I have not had any with significant consequences perhaps because I am fairly diligent at doing things safely.
Brendon-KS
Well-known Member
- Location
- Goessel, KS
They are much stronger than looks might suggest. There are industry standards that dictate the strength of the ROPS for the weight of tractor it is used on. If a properly-used ROPS (including the folding style being locked up with the factory-correct pins) were to fail resulting in injury or death and it was found that it did not conform to industry standards the manufacturer would have no defense in the courtroom.
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
No driver can account for and expect every factor. Use the rops, wear the seatbelt and operate the machine using your brains .
Brendon-KS
Well-known Member
- Location
- Goessel, KS
Very well stated. There are plenty of very careful farmers who have been injured and killed due to
the unexpected. Having safety equipment (ROPS, PTO shields, starter lockouts, etc) in play doesn't
mean you should be any less careful - it is there to prevent your wife from becoming a widow when
something comes up that you didn't anticipate and this can happen to the best operators. In
addition, the safety device between the ears, no matter how good a person thinks it is, will at
times fall victim to the human tendancies of tiredness, distraction, hurry, and stress and a person
might do something stupid they would never consider doing otherwise.
the unexpected. Having safety equipment (ROPS, PTO shields, starter lockouts, etc) in play doesn't
mean you should be any less careful - it is there to prevent your wife from becoming a widow when
something comes up that you didn't anticipate and this can happen to the best operators. In
addition, the safety device between the ears, no matter how good a person thinks it is, will at
times fall victim to the human tendancies of tiredness, distraction, hurry, and stress and a person
might do something stupid they would never consider doing otherwise.
Brendon-KS
Well-known Member
- Location
- Goessel, KS
The catch with installing a ROPS on an old tractor that was never offered with one is that it will probably have to be a "roll your own" kind of deal and unless you're a competent engineer the results may not be worth the effort. The high cost to design and validate a compliant ROPS and seat belt system for vintage tractors makes such a prospect highly unattractive for a company to get into. Also, even if the ROPS could be made strong enough there would be a lot of testing required to make sure that where it attached to the tractor was up the the task. It would be a no-win situation - they won't sell enough of any given model to make a profit and if one were to fail the lawyers would eat them in court.
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
Mud would be a lot easier on the rops than solid ground or pavement. I think they are engineered to withstand normal roll overs, but you can't make everything idiot proof!
Even mowing with my garden tractors. Both have fluid in the rears. Makes a whole big difference in the center of gravity as far as tipping. If you are mowing a bank, and you are gripping the fender cause your butt is slipping out of the seat, you are pushing the limits slick!!
massey 333
Member
For the availability of ROPS for older tractors,go to the University of Kentucky websites listings plus testing numbers for each.
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
The home brew rops may or maynot hold the load . Then there is the strength of the attachment point to the tractor, she could snap the axle casting or the belhousing.
A rops that is too rigid doesn't flex a little bit and absorb some energy instead of breaking something .
SparepartsTN
Member
My old Ford 861 tractor doesn't have a ROPS and I have fairly steep side hills in my fields that I bush hog. Tree line at edge of field so no vertical option. I do have rear wheel weights and fluid in the tires plus a front end loader, so with the loader bucket just off the ground and going as slow as possible I stand on the floorboard on the up hill side with a good grip on the steering wheel and a hand hold on the loader frame. I prefer it doesn't have a problem but if it starts to go I can just step off on to the ground. Not the best solution but has worked for 12 years so far. It is only for a small section of the field and I know my ground, I could stay in the seat but I prefer the option of a quick safe exit. I find that I don't get relaxed in that position, I stay very alert and can move quickly to safety if needed.
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
It is better to reduce or eliminate the risk instead of finding ways to live with the risk.
BarnyardEngineering
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rochester, NY
Google is your friend.
This is a tractor in the middle of a 360 degree rollover:
This is a tractor that flipped over backwards:
This is a tractor flipped on its side into soft ground:
[/img]http://www.mne.psu.edu/sommer/xkl/tractor/tractorFY1/side3.jpg[/img]
This is a tractor in the middle of a 360 degree rollover:
This is a tractor that flipped over backwards:
This is a tractor flipped on its side into soft ground:
[/img]http://www.mne.psu.edu/sommer/xkl/tractor/tractorFY1/side3.jpg[/img]
BarnyardEngineering
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rochester, NY
The above pics were not a 100% factory rops as evidenced by the extra bracing. Here is a factory ROPS doing its job:
showcrop
Well-known Member
Maybe, but I'm pretty sure that all cabs built for US as well as most other markets for the last thirty years or so have to have built in integral ROPs.(quoted from post at 05:51:39 07/03/17) The above pics were not a 100% factory rops as evidenced by the extra bracing. Here is a factory ROPS doing its job:
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
(quoted from post at 08:51:39 07/03/17) The above pics were not a 100% factory rops as evidenced by the extra bracing. Here is a factory ROPS doing its job:
Goes to show that a modest slope will flip a tractor with just a little extra force from a chuck hole or a turn.
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