Anyone ever mount a swivel or reversable light?

tawood · May 6, 2020

Hi all,
I've been wanting to put reverse lights, with a switch, on my ROPS, so I can see when plowing snow with the 3pt at night (for next season, obviously). Thing is, I live in flat country, and keep my tractor in a garage with a low overhead door, which requires the ROPS to be down. So I normally keep it down 24/7, and only raise it when I'm doing some ditch work where there is a tipping hazard, or when running the post hole digger as the digger handle hits the ROPS when folded. Every time I raise the ROPS, there is a hazard that I will forget, and take the top of my garage door frame out (After 25 years of owning tractors kept in a garage, ask me how I know!).
I'd like to mount a couple of LED lights to the underside of the ROPS that I could have point towards the back when the ROPS is folded, then swivel towards the back when the ROPS is up.
Anyone ever try this? I'm looking at a few lights that look like they would work, and my only concern would be that they might "loosen up" over time and get "floppy", if that makes sense.

GreensvilleJay · May 6, 2020

you could 'gut' a 'security camera' that has PTZ( Pan, Tilt, Zoom) and add high powered LEDs... thne your smartphone can control it AND see as well...
$50 and some time/effort......

i7win7 · May 6, 2020

See dealer for rollbar brackets or make your own. Used extruded aluminum cut on miter saw and carbide tooth blade. Used cork with double sided carpet tape on painted surfaces. Switch box using strong magnets for mounting.

dirtydeed · May 6, 2020

Tawood-

I just did this on mine a few months ago using magnets. You can swivel them, turn/reposition as needed.

Here's what I used...pretty easy to do, and the lights are quite bright.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JKWCVTX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The magnets are solid and will not dislodge when running over bumpy terrain.

Here are the lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IZ9VAOI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and light kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071ZPX32N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

183King · May 6, 2020

i7win7 said:
See dealer for rollbar brackets or make your own. Used extruded aluminum cut on miter saw and carbide tooth blade. Used cork with double sided carpet tape on painted surfaces. Switch box using strong magnets for mounting.

I’m getting ready to do ROPS lights as well and have been looking for ideas. I like the magnets cool idea and if you add enough wire you may be able to move them somewhere you don’t expect to use them now. The extruded aluminum isn’t clean looking. It looks wonky at best, and don’t start with the drilling the ROPS hurts the integrity. Drilling a couple of 1/8” holes isn’t going to change the overall integrity and the rust factor is a joke. You could lay those out in your front yard in Minnesota and they would take your lifetime to rust from the inside out or outside in. What I would like to see is more pics of where people mounted their switches.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

chim · May 6, 2020

Why not consider another place to mount them? I did ROPS mounted lights on a couple tractors and they weren't satisfactory. They attracted bugs in the warm weather (close to your head), and caused glare in my glasses.

My Ford has a rear-facing light at about seat height and it works fine. The forward-facing lights are on the fenders. These work well. One of the past Kubotae had the auxiliary fronts on "L" brackets added to the frame of the loader.

mikester · May 7, 2020

Id permanently mount a light bar on both sides of the ROPS, I have no desire to have to constantly reposition lights on my machines.

Ive never had luck with magnets, having a heavy light fall while driving sucks. If you fold your ROPS back and drive around you will discover your Magnetic light is missing one day. Magnets also attract metallic debris and end up scratching the paint.

tawood · May 7, 2020

Hmm, I never thought of magnets...although seems like vibration would cause them to turn or reposition themselves.

I found a kit that would attach a light to the outside of the ROPS, and it states that it can swivel after loosening the mounting bolt. I think I'm going to try this, as I would only be turning the light a couple of times a year.

i7win7 · May 7, 2020

Even with a 95# pull magnet, the HP of your tractor will scrape them off by shrubbery or tree branches. Place them on the inside of the frame. You can easily move them for stationary work or work in open areas.

BManFX4 · May 10, 2020

I found that seat level lights work well for my reverse lighting. Since my ROPS has holes in it from the factory I mounted the lights where you see them here. I bought two sets of these lights on Amazon. One set is a flood pattern, the other set is a spot pattern. I mounted one of each type on the ROPS and the combination really provides a nice balance of lighting around the whole rear. The only downside is I have to remove the slow vehicle emblem because it partially blocks one of the lights.

For forward lighting I used a more aggressive approach - it's a 12" LED lightbar. I drilled and tapped the ROPS for two 1/4"-28 bolts to mount it, used some blue Loctite and it has stayed in place perfectly.

Because I use my BX in the woods for preparing deer plots I was concerned about exposed wiring. I routed my power wiring within the ROPS as much as possible, wrapping it in corrugated loom, wrapped in TESA tape at the flex joint in the ROPS. So far it has proven durable.

I found these power switches at Advance Auto Parts. They are wired so they are blue when the tractor is running and they turn orange when the lights are on.

BManFX4 · May 10, 2020

Here's where I routed the power into the ROPS, using a factory hole.

Here's what the light switches look like when the lights are energized.

Sorry about the dirty / wet tractor. I finished bush hogging the back property last night and am going to wash it later today, after it warms up a bit. 35 F here this morning.

Mechanical Type · May 17, 2020

I simply mounted two lights facing forward and one light looking down at the three point. They are all controlled by one switch. The U bolts and u bolt brackets are available at McMaster Carr for very little. I would post a picture if I could find out where my "gallery" is located on the forum user CP.

Nevermind, it's way too much work to reduce the picture size to 150kb max size allowed.

torch · May 17, 2020

I think you should rig a parallelogram so the lights automatically maintain position as the ROPS is folded.

Goldenknight67 · May 18, 2020

I bought these. This magnet is extremely powerful and your light will not budge. Can be moved and swiveled any position and no need of drilling.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CG5X7GK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

cthomas · Jun 28, 2020

Here is my setup. To bad that I am trading it in towards a LX2610, (already got quote for tradein(owner really liked the lights or I would remove them)reordered the LED's from amazon which are tilt-able with an allen bolt. Also shows where I mounted the switches(weather proof enclosure and switches) and all wires soldered and installed in plastic wire loom.

ThomasH · Jul 5, 2020

While not cheap, Artillian makes a swivel light that appears to do exactly what you are asking.

Square/Rectangular ROPS-Mount Directional Work Lights - Artillian

Enlighten Your Tractor! Innovative design allows each light to rotate freely around its horizontal axis. A rocker switch on each light allows them to operate independently. Accommodates ROPS profile dimensions of 2.75” X 3” maximum. An internal compression spring lets you disengage the light by...

www.artillian.com

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Anyone ever mount a swivel or reversable light?

tawood

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GreensvilleJay

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i7win7

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dirtydeed

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183King

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chim

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tawood

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i7win7

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BManFX4

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Mechanical Type

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torch

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Square/Rectangular ROPS-Mount Directional Work Lights - Artillian