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Since I got my Hustler X-ONE zero turn mower a few months ago, I have had too many close calls where the ROPS got tangled in or held by a tree branch, and I found myself with the front wheels up in the air and nearly flipped over backwards... pretty frightening! At first I just folded the ROPS down to about half height, but it still occasionally got caught up. A couple weeks ago I finally removed the entire ROPS unit and have not been caught up in any tree branches since. One of the major reasons I bought a ZT was to quickly cut around the hundreds of trees on our property. I understand the importance of the ROPS on hills and inclines, so I stay away from them with the ZT and use my Cub Cadet LT1050 rider where mowing with the ZT would be iffy. In general the ZT has been worth its weight in gold considering the time I'm saving now... basically 14-16 hours with the Cub has turned into 4-5 hours tops with the ZT!

WOW...I will think twice before getting a ZTR with a ROPS bar!

I too took off the ROPS on my Tank. Even with it down in the folded position I kept hitting tree limbs so I got tired of hitting things and off it went.
I'm not advocating doing away with safety features but if the safety feature causes dangerous conditions the part should be removed.



Mike

how about just keeping the trees trimed so they dont hit the ROPS i have never had a problem with mine

ROPS and I have mutual respect for each other. I respect them that they are there if I really need them, and there have been a few close calls. And I try not to slam them into branches which is no fun for any parties involved. If a machine comes with ROPS I don't remove it cause it was put there for a reason.

Same goes for seat belts. 90% of the time I don't wear it. But I do wear it on sketchy hills. I wouldn't want to slide out of control into something hard and be thrown from the machine. And I've come to figure id rather be belted in and ball up and let the ROPS do it's job than try to escape in a roll over. I've been to the point where I thought I was goin over and knew there'd be no way I could jump off in the final split second before it goes over.

scott47429 said:

how about just keeping the trees trimed so they dont hit the ROPS i have never had a problem with mine

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I agree some slective pruning and you dont have to do away with safety features also is better for the trees if your not ripping limbs off

scott47429 said:

how about just keeping the trees trimed so they dont hit the ROPS i have never had a problem with mine

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In a perfect world, that would be ideal. But I literally have hundreds of trees, and most of them are some kind of fir from which you don't remove branches. (Think Christmas trees.) We have elevated (trimmed) many of the older taller firs that have dead or ugly lower branches, and we've trimmed many of the non-fir variety to make mowing easier where we can.

I absolutely hate the idea of removing the ROPS, but have you ever done an unintentional wheelie on a ZT mower while circling a tree? Pretty scarey; believe me.

fsagames- Totally agree in a reasonably flat or lightly undulating garden environment, a ZT ROPS is too big a hazard/risk due to potential overhead "hand ups" & "backflips".

IMO - Quite why they fit a ROPS to ZT is interesting, given if you're using a ZT in a situation where a roll over presents any real danger you've exceed the design intent & capability of the ZT, & more than likely the operator skills/instinct for self presevation .......the fitment of a ZT ROPS merely encourages false confidence/compounds "misuse" .......in these circumstances perhaps alternatives such chemical control, possibly using a 4wd CUT, or landscaping that hillside grass area is the better choice....

It's not that I am against ROPS or safety investments, in fact on our farms I would not have any tractor without ROPS or indeed any self propelled plant without flashing beacons, reverse quackers, seat belts ..etc (& have dismissed farm hands for not embracing safe practices such as using seat belts irrepective of the terrain).
It's just with ownership/operation of any equipment, the operator must have some degree of competency, training, common sense & indeed self preservation prior to being let loose to cause lethal damage to themselves & others .......legislation can mandate all manner of safety fitments, except seemingly the exclusion of those inexperienced or so called "operators" who cannot adequately assess the risks to themselves & others.

fsagames said:

Since I got my Hustler X-ONE zero turn mower a few months ago, I have had too many close calls where the ROPS got tangled in or held by a tree branch, and I found myself with the front wheels up in the air and nearly flipped over backwards... pretty frightening! At first I just folded the ROPS down to about half height, but it still occasionally got caught up. A couple weeks ago I finally removed the entire ROPS unit and have not been caught up in any tree branches since. One of the major reasons I bought a ZT was to quickly cut around the hundreds of trees on our property. I understand the importance of the ROPS on hills and inclines, so I stay away from them with the ZT and use my Cub Cadet LT1050 rider where mowing with the ZT would be iffy. In general the ZT has been worth its weight in gold considering the time I'm saving now... basically 14-16 hours with the Cub has turned into 4-5 hours tops with the ZT!

Click to expand...

fsagames said:

Since I got my Hustler X-ONE zero turn mower a few months ago, I have had too many close calls where the ROPS got tangled in or held by a tree branch, and I found myself with the front wheels up in the air and nearly flipped over backwards... pretty frightening! At first I just folded the ROPS down to about half height, but it still occasionally got caught up. A couple weeks ago I finally removed the entire ROPS unit and have not been caught up in any tree branches since. One of the major reasons I bought a ZT was to quickly cut around the hundreds of trees on our property. I understand the importance of the ROPS on hills and inclines, so I stay away from them with the ZT and use my Cub Cadet LT1050 rider where mowing with the ZT would be iffy. In general the ZT has been worth its weight in gold considering the time I'm saving now... basically 14-16 hours with the Cub has turned into 4-5 hours tops with the ZT!

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FOOLISH! IT"S THERE FOR A REASON...

When i first go my Ferris 3100 i went under a tree the old tractor went under fine. The ROPS hit a branch and it lifted the front end 2 feet off the ground before it came off the branch. That was exciting to say the least. Was moving at top speed of about 13mph when i hit it.

I just did buy my first ever mower with ROPS last year. Was going to remove it for same reason. But I trimmed the trees (dogwoods) up instead and decided to leave it just in case.