Price to expect for custom ROPS

[Fatjay]

I have an older oliver 77 TLB which does not have any roll over protection. The stance is pretty wide, but still, hills do things. I want to build a cab for it, but I don't feel comfortable getting in a cab without a ROPS and get trapped if something happens. There's numerous places to weld especially with the existing fenders removed. Before I get to much into it, I'm just curious what I might expect to pay.

 

[stumpjumper83]

Do you need something all proper and engineered, or something rough enough to do the job?

If there are employees involved or if you want to use it in a mine or commercial work site governed by osha / msha, then your need proper certified rops. But if your doing it for your own personal safety and plan using it around the farm or whatever, some good heavy wall 4" tubing, and a competent welder and your done.

 

[lantraxco]

Find a place that dismantles tractors and sells the used parts, find a like sized roll bar and do a proper job mounting, should be good, As Stumpjumper says, if you need a legal engineered and certified one off ROPS cab, figure at least twenty Grand. Seriously.

 

[Fatjay]

It's just a 2k yard hoe I picked up to stump removal and grading. A few friends live a few miles away and I'll do stuff for them. But I want to build a cab over it, it's cheap and makes it nice addition. But I dont like the idea being enclosed with that much machine without some protection. It weighs about 11k lbs.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . Fatjay This one for twelve fifty bucks including Freddy Flintstone sun shade gives you a bit of an idea.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IH-Internat...EW-ROPS-W-CANOPY-1066-1206-1056-/351045069226

As stumpjumper83 some heavy wall three or four inch square tube and a few yours work and your done . . . they often attach with "U"bolts around the axle housing.

Over here just to get a one off bar like that certified and stamped would probably cost close to twenty let alone a cab. . . it may have changed but thirty years ago all models of ROPS had to be tested to destruction, that's what you pay for.

Incidentally if you buy a certified ROPS off something and modify it in any way to make it fit it is no longer certified and would not stand up in court if it came to litigation.

Cheers.

 

[Fatjay]

Thanks for the info. Certification isn't important to me, but staying alive is. It's incredibly unlikely it'll ever happen, it's just for peace of mind.

 

[stumpjumper83]

that 2 post that scrubs posted a link to is beautiful on a farm tractor but very dangerous on a loader tractor. picture this, you have a log setting on the bucket of the loader. The valve sticks in the raise position, a bee pesters you... and the arms raise fully, the logs rolls down the loader arms and smashes the crap outa you...

You need a 4 post, on a lot of the older stuff they simply attach some material to the loader lift towers, over the operator and down the rear axle.

In other news before you go butchering up a nice tractor that oliver is kinda rare. You might be able to swap it off on a collector for an older case or ford backhoe with a rops already on it for less money than building your own.

 

[fergy]

http://www.bareco.com.au/files-rop-rop1
There is always something like this to consider if available in the states
Fergy

 

[Fatjay]

Rare isn't the word, it's the only 77 industrial tlb I can find. Finding information on it is a giant pain, especially since it has a super 88 motor on it and there's no serial plates anywhere unless they're behind the loader frame. I'm working on making a new hood and side panels for it to clean it up. It has a lot of room for a cab without butchering the machine. Anything I do will be removable though.