My project rebuilding a 56' 420 w/6 way blade and ROPS
- Paul Buhler
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 991
- Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 6:25 pm
- Location: Killington, VT
Where Paul here you go. I started out with the uprights, using a bunch of 2" x 1/4"wall angle iron welded together to make a square tube. I had this laying around for a while so I figured that it would be a perfect fit, minus the extra welding of the 2 angle iron pieces together. That got old real fast! I wanted the cab to extend into the center of the tractor to help protect from the rain, and the only place it seemed reasonable to mount the front uprights was to the frame of the up/down cylinder mount. I made everything so it could be unbolted and removed if need be. I used 2"x2"x1/4" square tubing for the limb rakes on the front, and for the extra piece on the side to protect the valve. The roof was made out of a piece of 12 gauge plate. I also added a set of flood lights up high on both side since the spot lights on the front worked, but the more light the better! Finally, maybe now I won't get hit by those stray tree branches anymore! Here's some pics!
- Paul Buhler
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 991
- Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 6:25 pm
- Location: Killington, VT
Very nice; all you need now is a cup holder. I really like the neat work and clean lines. Looks good and rugged too. Good luck with it. Now that you have a prototype, when are you going into production?
I've been thinking to add lights up high on my 6 volt machine like you did. How do yours work? Is your machine 6 or 12 volts? If 6 volts, are you satisfied with the light ? Thanks.
edit: Guess I should have looked closer or gone back in the post, I now see the alternator, and that you converted to 12 v. Paul
Paul
I've been thinking to add lights up high on my 6 volt machine like you did. How do yours work? Is your machine 6 or 12 volts? If 6 volts, are you satisfied with the light ? Thanks.
edit: Guess I should have looked closer or gone back in the post, I now see the alternator, and that you converted to 12 v. Paul
Paul
Last edited by Paul Buhler on Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paul Buhler
Killington, VT
420c 5 roll with 62 blade, FOPS, and Gearmatic 8a winch
Killington, VT
420c 5 roll with 62 blade, FOPS, and Gearmatic 8a winch
I only had the crawler out so far when it was starting to get dark out, but it was fantastic to be able to see the outside edge of the blade, so you know what angle your at! We have been just getting rid of our snow so it's been pretty muddy! I put the flood lights on its own switch since they are 100 watts a piece, I didn't want to have any troubles with the factory ignition/light switch. I used the hole that's below the choke cable on the dash. never thought of making ROPS, I'm sure that there is others that don't like getting smacked by those pesky tree branches!
- Paul Buhler
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 991
- Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 6:25 pm
- Location: Killington, VT
Tom: It looks like you've also improved the crawler's balance by adding the cage; you have a hefty blade up front, and now you have some more weight aft. You might find that the machine backs up steeper inclines a bit better now. Paul
Last edited by Paul Buhler on Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Paul Buhler
Killington, VT
420c 5 roll with 62 blade, FOPS, and Gearmatic 8a winch
Killington, VT
420c 5 roll with 62 blade, FOPS, and Gearmatic 8a winch
What you have built is very similar to an aftermarket canopy I had once on a 420. Whoever made them had the capability to roll 2 X 2 box tubing, so really did a nice job.
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
- mapaduke@yahoo.com
- 1010 crawler
- Posts: 420
- Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:27 pm
- Location: Rochester N.H.
I kind of have to agree with you on that one, but the limb rakes gives any crawler a mean look to it! It would be nice to see one that has a more modern cab with the glass, radio, air conditioning!mapaduke@yahoo.com wrote:I half to say I'm not a big fan of the look of ROPS on this crawlers but yours looks good, nice job.
I have a cab for a 350, but no air or CD!
Lavoy
Lavoy
Parts and restoration for antique and late model John Deere crawlers.
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
Owner and moderator www.jdcrawlers.com
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