ROPS - Why so Important

I think a picture is worth a 1000 words. Leasons learned, First, don't trust an accountant home alone with a dozer, Second, pushing trees down works a whole lot better than pulling and Third, ROPS save lives. The scary thing is, I really do know better, and I've got a 4 year old at home. You can get yourself in a whole lot of trouble super fast. Guess what I'm buying first thing this week, ROPS for the Kubota. OK, now, like shooting fish in a barrel you guys can let me have it with guns blazing. PS> I did get the tree out.
Joel

Aside from lecturing, pontificating and or making a speech on the dangers, for the purpose of speculating what could have happened, it's important for inexperienced people to see the potential dangers, that photo says quite a bit and makes it clear what can happen.

The protective structure placed on tractors, (R.O.P.S.) is designed provide an operator safely strapped into the seat, protection from getting crushed in the event of a roll over.

Every member, connection and location of connection to the particular tractor has been designed, checked, and analyzed by an engineer, to certify that it will not fail, and I'm sure to a certain extent, to not crush. The protective structure is specifically built for a particular tractor, that tractor has to be able to recieve the structure at connection points that will transfer the applied forces/loads from the R.O.P.S. to the tractor and still maintain the margin of safety by not failing.

Very often people mistake ones built by owners, for weather protection and or brush protection as something that will protect them in a roll over or impact. As said above, it needs to be correctly designed, members and connections sized and located properly for a particular tractor to work, not haphazardly built with little consideration for the strength needed to provide the protection needed. I'm sure some have been duplicated from ones that are legit from the factory, but it needs to be stout and properly connected to a tractor that can receive it at connection points built into the tractor for that purpose, as calculated/designed by a qualified engineer. Ever see ones mounted to the fenders, wondering how it will hold the weight of the tractor ? Usually on older tractors, which preceded the requirements of these necessary safety structures being required.

The old timers still knew the dangers of open station when that was all there was, and would have to have used their experience and or knowledge to get by, otherwise this country would have never been built, if you have a less than strong enough structure on a tractor, operating in the woods, clearing land, working on slopes, better know what you are doing and where to draw the line, certainly aint no joke, and will be unforgiving if something goes wrong.

The diameters of those trees are enough to be deadly, I distinctly remember a news paper photo of a guy, on a D7 Cat in the 50's, open station, pinned against the levers, dead, after a similar diameter tree fell on him while operating the machine, it was posted on another forum, with the caption blocked out. I have the same tractor, a R.O.P.S. would probably have saved him, dampening the impact, but the photo even though 50 years old, really embedded itself in my mind, stay out of the woods with an open station. That and slopes. I took mine down a slope that was an old road, but overgrown, had already cut down anything I thought dangerous, except one was caught in the vines off to the side, don't you know that one hit me directly on the side of the head, 6" dia. too, could have knocked me right off the tractor, hit hard and it hurt.

One thing I am not sure of is besides holding the weight of a tractor, how much direct impact a particular R.O.P.S. would take, say if a large diameter tree were to fall on one, or even a large limb coming down from far above, bigger tractors might have R.O.P.S. that would take it, but a small grading tractor like that JD may not take it, hard for one to say without facts.

I'll bet you have learned quite a bit, but use care and always carefully think out your moves, along with all potential consequences, they are usually final. You know even an idling machine or working in close proximity to a tree that has a widow maker limb on it, can cause it to fall, from vibration alone.

On the government accident report/investigation web site, I have read many instances of R.O.P.S. failing and operators killed, especially non factory, home built ones, besides a myriad of occurences I never even thought possible. I spent a significant period of time as an operator for large sitework contractors early in my career, did lots of clearing and other related tasks, became a good operator on everything I was assigned to run, really liked those years in the seat, but what I learned is just the tip of the iceberg, some of the things that have killed people are baffling, one I read on that site was where an operator cut a trench with a smaller dozer, adjacent to a pond for a farmer, maybe a dam job or something, wife of operator came by to check on him, no husband or machine. Sidewall of trench collapsed, buried the machine in muck, it was right in front of her, she did not know it, sidewall was so close, operator could not open the cab door to get out, trapped, no visible sign of the dozer, at some point it became evident what happened to him. He probably never considered what could have happened while cutting that trench out, and it got him even though was likely an experienced operator.

The front bracket on that R.O.P.S. on your JD looks deformed as if it's deflected, bent from forces applied, unless it's supposed to be like that just the photo, that is an important connection.

And tracked hoes usually never have a seriously armored cab. Here\\\'s a pic of what happened to one digging out the roots of a big oak. The operator had over 20 years of experience, he dug around the rootball, and then averted his attention just for a moment to reposition the machine. Just at that moment a gust of wind blew up and then BAM: the tree fell right on the cab. The man inside was killed outright.

Next time you decide to do some work, call me up. I want to make sure I'm not in the fall zone, splat zone or flying severed body part zone.

Seriously, operating heavy equipment isn't a joke. Operating Engineers go thru lots of training and they die or get seriously injured frequently. You also won't find one pulling over a 40' tree with a 20' chain...