NDR Tractor ROPS question

Scott O.

Scott O.

Well-known member
I have been driving my Kubota B5200 around for the past 10 years without a ROPS/seatbelt...flat ground, landscaping and snow plowing. Now I am about to help a friend prepare a food plot to plant. He had a local with a BA Oliver and a 5pt plow turn over about an acre of ground on his property and I am going to put the harrow and rake to it to get it reasonably flat again.

The ground is sandy/loamy (i.e. soft) and its on a slight incline maybe 5 degrees, not something to be terribly worried about but call me paranoid, I REALLY shouldn't be operating without the ROPS.

Now I am trying to find one that doesn't cost $500. Anyone have any ideas or contacts?
 
Scott,

Find a small local welding shop to fab one up for you. They're pretty low tech, unless you need a folding ROPS to fit in your garage. we have a bunch of local shops around here thqat can do that kind of work in their sleep and relative inexpensively (esp compared to the Kubota parts counter).

Charlie
 
Built them before out of brick lentel ( 1/4 thick 3" angle) works great. Put some expanded metal on it to protect you when you are bushogging.
 
I have ROPS on the tractors I use. When the ground gets sloped the seatbelt goes on.

Get a ROPS they are cheap compared to coffins.
 
ROPS should be made by a welder that is certified in pipe welding and use quality tubing. Too many back yard fab jobs fail on the first impact. The above comment is right to the point - coffins are more expensive than a well made ROPS. Kubota should have a bolt on unit that will actually work.
 
I think the factory ROPS is the way to go. A lot of welders won't touch roll bars for liability reasons.
 
Scott,

If you feel you might need a ROPS go with the factory equipment. It's been engineered and TESTED for your model tractor. I've been working around heavy equipment for the past 18 yrs and I've seen what happens when stuff tips over. It ain't pretty!

Dec 20 2006 I had to take my crane to Dubuque, Ia from Cedar Rapids to help upright a crane that had been tipped over. The operator (who I knew) was crushed in the cab when it landed on an electrical transformer. I watched his body fall out of the cab when we lifted the crane off the transformer. His kids lost their Dad 5 days before Christmas.

A ROPS wouldn't have saved him but the reason I mention this is to make you think about how fast crap can happen and how permanent the results can be. $500 for a factory ROPS sounds pretty reasonable to me. The fact that you are thinking about installing a ROPS tells me maybe you should have it, don't go the makeshift route do it right and do it safe!

Jim S
 
If you feel you might need a ROPS go with the factory equipment. It's been engineered and TESTED for your model tractor.
Jim S
Click to expand...


YES! And if you get a ROPS, install and wear a seatbelt. If you don't have a ROPS, don't wear a seatbelt.

Chuck
 
Have your buddy buy it for the use of it....or...make one up and Lou and I will be bidding on it at your widows auction of all your stuff.
 
Well this is an easy one...I called the Kubota dealer that I pass on the way up north about the factory ROPS for a B5200. It seems Kubota wants me to have one really bad because they have a standing discounted price of $148 plus freight for the real thing. Call it $200. I've gotta be worth that.

Geez Lee, you're creepin' me out with that "widow's auction" thing...you just want that big bag of paper mache corn cobs out in the garage, don't cha?
 
Those "widow auctions" are pretty neat...you can buy all the husbands stuff for less than he told her it cost. A Super Black Eagle for 300 bucks...a Honda 9.9 for 250....Kubota tractor for 1300..almost as good as the yard sale in a divorce.
 
Scott,

You can't go wrong for that price.

I wouldn't hesitate to have a local weldor make me one though. They can be build hell for stout. Seriously, it isn't like the factory is the only one who can build a decent ROPS.

Actually the more I think about it, that kind of response is very funny coming from the home built boat crowd. It would be like saying you couldn't build just as good a boat as Starcraft because you don't have their experience. I doubt many here would make that assertion. And also, you're taking just as many of not more risks with your life in driving your duck boat around in adverse conditions on near freezing water where a minor failure of your boat will lead to quick death.

Charlie
 
Scott,

Glad to hear the factory unit is so reasonably priced. Kinda makes the decision pretty easy don't it? I'm glad Chuck brought up the point about the seatbelt, I forgot to mention that. I've seen tractors have seatbelts without ROPS. All that does is make sure you stay with the tractor so it can crush you when it rolls.

Charlie,

I agree with you in the fact that the factory isn't the only one who can build a ROPS, BUT they happen to have some extra tractors to do rollover/crash testing to make sure the structure will hold up in a variety of situations. I'm a very experienced metal fabricator and a certified welder but I myself wouldn't build a ROPS for a machine that I know has a factory unit available. I'm not willing to risk someones safety for something I might have overlooked or done wrong, I'm willing to bet any trustworthy fabricator/welder would feel the same.

Comparing a homebuilt ROPS with a homebuilt boat is not an apples to apples comparison. The boat is a piece of equipment much as the tractor is. The PFD you wear while in the boat is a piece of your safety equipment kind of like the ROPS and seat belt on the tractor. You wouldn't think about trusting your life to a PFD that was made by the seamstress down the street, "It looks almost like the factory built ones", would you? What type of foam did she use for floatation, has it been tested to prove it works? As far as building your own boat, do most builders finish their boat and go duck hunting the next day? From what I've seen most guys take 'em out and test them in warmer weather so they can make any adjustments needed before the season starts.

I'm not trying to start a fight or arguement but when it comes to safety issues like this I feel very strongly about doing things right. I've seen first hand what happens when things go wrong involving tractors, big trucks and heavy equipment. I've seen people wind up dead or missing pieces of their bodies, it ain't a fun thing to see! If I can climb on a soapbox and maybe prevent an accident I'll do it.

Thanks for listening (as I step down off my box (insert smiley face here)) and have a fine evening!
Jim S
 
Charlie (and others)

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but I have to agree with Jim 100 percent. When we build our boats MOST of us are following a proven set of plans. Quality of workmanship is one thing and the design process is something quite different. It takes a educated engineer to properly assess the stresses involved in a ROPS.

Insert additional smiley face in the spirit of good discussion. Thanks for listening.
 
Hello Charlie,
Good to see you back on the board. I don't know what welder's up your way are getting an hour but for 200 bucks, I think with the increase in steel prices a guy would be hard pressed to make one at a profit. The part about it being tested with the tractor upside down is nice too. Same as Jim I have seen what can happen when bad decisions get made with earth and lifting machines. It happens fast and they are heavy.
As for the boats I think your point is well taken. I know Steve Sutton has been quite vocal about some decisions by home builders here and how their boats get set up or used. I think he has some valid points. We are a member of the ABYC at work which stands for the American boat and yacht council. They are the source for the "Building code" of boat building. It is a minimum standard for sure, but is better than not having one and it is generated thru industry, insurance and coast guard input. Most boats here are very well built and thought out. But I would think that most guys here would be surprised if they had to pass a stability test, and I have no interest in using a PFD to save my a$$ in January if the darn ride goes over in the dark. Same goes for a Flak Jacket. Although a boat will pass and get sold by an OEM we as hunters tend to push the operating envelope and should be mindful of the limitations. I personally will not give up the opportunity to see another frozen sunrise in the fall or winter, but I am also not going to call Express Boats or Lund and tell them they should have kept me from using my boat in a certain way.
 
Hi Bob an everyone,

Semester is nearly over, so I'm trying to get back here more. You guys need your resident devil's advocate...

For the record, I didn't say for under $200. When Scott threw out $500 that was the number I was working with.

I've had an entire custom roll cage for a car welded up by a local weldor and it was safe enough for the SCCA inspectors and safe enough to trust my life to time and again when I used to race rally cars. I've been upside down in the trees at speed in one such cage and walked away without a scratch (the shell of the car on the other hand was a little wrinkley...).

I understand where you are all coming from though. As I think I may have said already, I agree that for $200 there is really no sensible choice but to go with the factory part.

Charlie
 
Great to have our resident devil back. Did not know car racing was a past pursuit. Bet that stuff was fun. Makes duck hunting look cheap I bet.
 
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