Drilling holes in ROPS a bad idea - safety / warranty

Timmer92 · Dec 11, 2019

Hi all,

I'm considering ways to attach LED lights to my ROPS. I was watching a youtube video on mounting them via threading holes on the underside. The poster said he received a bunch of angry posts regarding drilling into the ROPS. Are two holes really going to impact the safety of the ROPS? Void the warranty?

Thanks!

Sodark · Dec 11, 2019

I'm sure if you were to re-sell it, possibly personally but definitely back to a dealer, expect to lose the price of a new ROPS in the deal. I'm sure by law they'd be prohibited from selling one that was damaged or altered in any way. But it's not going to total the machine. As far as it's affect on the structural integrity of the contraption... Debatable. Depends on where and how many holes you put in it. The general consensus is "don't do it"...

But I did anyway. I used rivet nuts.

GreensvilleJay · Dec 11, 2019

While they may not impact the safety of the ROPS, it IS a GREAT excuse for insurance company to not pay out !!
Holes drilled along the center line of the beam don't affect the strength of the truss, think of house trusses, or steel web trusses, or bridges, etc.
One great benefit of 'clamp-on' mounts is you can easily, quickly remove and reinstall to a better location without ugly 'spare holes showing...,cause they're never in the 'best' spot, first time

Jay

techcrewkevin · Dec 11, 2019

Realistically you shouldn't make holes of any kind into the ROPS.

That being said, can you? Yes.

The right way would involve an engineer...

Sent from my new phone. Autocorrect may have changed stuff.

Timmer92 · Dec 11, 2019

Thanks all. I hadn't really put much thought into resale or insurance issues. I generally like to have things look neat, but it sounds like u bolts are in order.

And great point GreensvilleJay about being able to adjust them.

shootem604 · Dec 11, 2019

Ubolts or even good magnets do the trick for the safety conscious folks. I think there are kits out there on them interwebz...

Thunder Fish · Dec 11, 2019

You can also purchase large enough hose clamps that will go around the ROPS holding the lights on to it,just a thought.

Kennyd4110 · Dec 11, 2019

Precisely why we developed these:

http://www.boltonhooks.com/ROPS.html

Neil Messick had a video talking about how they will subtract a new ROPS price on a trade but I couldn't find it.

GreensvilleJay · Dec 11, 2019

hmm. never thought of magnets ! wonder if you could 'upgrade' those magnetic trailer set with White LED bulbs ? Might be a cheap, easy, temporary setup.
I have to lower ROPS to get into garage.PITB to say the least !!

MapleLeafFarmer · Dec 11, 2019

Kennyd4110 said:
Precisely why we developed these:

http://www.boltonhooks.com/ROPS.html

Neil Messick had a video talking about how they will subtract a new ROPS price on a trade but I couldn't find it.

my dealer in Canada told me the same thing.

Liability / insurance / lawsuit issues around selling something with modified safety equipment is real up here. Was also their reason why a pre-delivery service to ensure safety switches also were in working order is made. Protects them against lawsuits. I think people make a living out of suing others for just about anything they can to make a buck.

I asked about people who drill or weld on loader support for boxes or hooks, etc... and he said that's OK not regulated saftey equipment but will still decrease trade in and sales value.

jkcolo22 · Dec 11, 2019

There was another thread somewhere where a seemingly very knowledgeable engineer made a very strong argument that safety concerns of drilling/welding the ROPS was all baloney. Dealers will still tell you it has to be replaced, but if you want to do it for your own purposes, I am of the opinion that drilling a few holes will not weaken the structure. There are lots of holes in auto and aero frames, tabs welded onto roll cages on Baja vehicles, slide cuts on competition firearm frames (shooting incredibly high pressure 9MMSuper), and holes in 2x4s for electrical that support your entire roof. The concern that a couple holes in a ROPS will weaken the structure seems to be a thing made up by lawyers rather than engineers.

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Dvan · Dec 11, 2019

Due to the different mounting brackets that came with my various lights, I did hose clamps on the forward facing lights, and U bolts on the rear facing light if you***8217;re interested.

North Idaho Wolfman · Dec 11, 2019

These are by far the sweetest mounts out there!

http://www.boltonhooks.com/ROPS.html

ccoon520 · Dec 11, 2019

jkcolo22 said:
There was another thread somewhere where a seemingly very knowledgeable engineer made a very strong argument that safety concerns of drilling/welding the ROPS was all baloney. Dealers will still tell you it has to be replaced, but if you want to do it for your own purposes, I am of the opinion that drilling a few holes will not weaken the structure. There are lots of holes in auto and aero frames, tabs welded onto roll cages on Baja vehicles, slide cuts on competition firearm frames (shooting incredibly high pressure 9MMSuper), and holes in 2x4s for electrical that support your entire roof. The concern that a couple holes in a ROPS will weaken the structure seems to be a thing made up by lawyers rather than engineers.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it also has a little to do with the whole "you can't fix stupid" argument. A couple small round holes in the ROPs tubing won't hurt anything but it is more for your neighbor Billy who decided to put in 3 sets of lights, a chainsaw mount, a couple cup holders and a gun rack all attached with self tappers to their ROPs that ruins the integrity of the thing and gets him killed.

So if you then go an devalue the tractor by a whole ROPs assembly because of 2 1/4-20 holes Billy will go back to using duct tape and reduce the number of lawyers getting paid off stupidity.

Side note for the car and aero frames: Those are put through a lot of testing both real and simulated for the location of those holes to make sure that the Factor of Safety is still sufficient without the material there. While modifications made to after the fact are (for the most part) more slapped together. In summary I wouldn't go putting holes in or burning wire on anything certified for safety purposes.

jkcolo22 · Dec 11, 2019

ccoon520 said:
I think it also has a little to do with the whole "you can't fix stupid" argument. A couple small round holes in the ROPs tubing won't hurt anything but it is more for your neighbor Billy who decided to put in 3 sets of lights, a chainsaw mount, a couple cup holders and a gun rack all attached with self tappers to their ROPs that ruins the integrity of the thing and gets him killed.

Yes. Good point. That***8217;s why we have warnings on everything. Which brings up an interesting question... I don***8217;t remember seeing a sticker on the ROPS that says drilling or welding may result in death. If this had EVER been the cause of an injury lawsuit, I can assure you there would a sticker.

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North Idaho Wolfman · Dec 11, 2019

jkcolo22 said:
Yes. Good point. That***8217;s why we have warnings on everything. Which brings up an interesting question... I don***8217;t remember seeing a sticker on the ROPS that says drilling or welding may result in death. If this had EVER been the cause of an injury lawsuit, I can assure you there would a sticker.

TADA!!!! Your sticker sir!

And from the manual what that warning means!

jkcolo22 · Dec 11, 2019

North Idaho Wolfman said:
TADA!!!! Your sticker sir!

And from the manual what that warning means!

Thank you, I stand corrected!

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B3350orbust · Dec 11, 2019

I would go to tractor supply or rural king and pick up a couple u-bolts that are square rather than rounded. The square ones are sold in the axel/trailer parts area. That***8217;s what Kubota used to attach the sunshade to my ROPS. The lights/bar light can be attached to the flange that comes with the u-bolts.

B3350orbust · Dec 11, 2019

https://www.tscstores.com/4-X-4-X-12-ZINC-PLATED-SQUARE-U-BOLT-P32997.aspx

Heres an example from tsc

D2Cat · Dec 11, 2019

Sure don't need a 1/2" bolt to hold lights though.

Drilling holes in ROPS a bad idea - safety / warranty

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