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Canopy For Deere 3020 Made From Old Baler
After he installed a rollover protective structure (ROPS) on his Deere 3020 tractor, Robert Riche, Plattsburg, Mo., decided he'd like to have a canopy on top. However, he didn't want to pay the $500 Deere wanted for one so he made his own using parts from a junked-out Allis-Chalmers round baler.
"It looks as nice
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Canopy For Deere 3020 Made From Old Baler BALERS Balers 21-6-17 After he installed a rollover protective structure (ROPS) on his Deere 3020 tractor, Robert Riche, Plattsburg, Mo., decided he'd like to have a canopy on top. However, he didn't want to pay the $500 Deere wanted for one so he made his own using parts from a junked-out Allis-Chalmers round baler.
"It looks as nice as a factory-made model and cost less than $50 to build," says Riche, who painted the canopy Deere yellow.
He used the top part of an old Allis-Chalmers "Roto Baler" as well as the angle iron supports for it. The supports weren't quite long enough to reach the front part of the canopy so he welded on additional lengths of angle iron, then bolted the supports to the underside of the canopy as well as to vertical mounting brackets salvaged from another part of the baler. He bolted the brackets to holes already in the top of the ROPS frame, using six 5-in. long, 7/16-in. dia. bolts.
"So far it has held up well," says Riche, who made the canopy last summer. "The sheet metal was rusted solid so I had to do a lot of sanding and painting which took a lot of time. My only cost was for paint and the bolts. After the photo was taken I added a 28-in. muffler extension to reduce problems with noise and exhaust fumes that get trapped under the canopy. Deere wanted $36 for its used to make the canopy.
muffler extension so I had a local muffler shop make one for $10. I bought the ROPS last spring at dealer cost for $375 and installed it myself. At the time many tractor manufacturers were offering farmers reduced prices on kits to equip older tractors with safety equipment.
"The Roto Baler was made in the late 1940's and 1950's and made small round bales that were only 10 to 12 in. in diameter. It was the beginning of the round bale era. Farmers liked the bales because they could leave them outside without having to pick them up right away. These balers are still widely available and inexpensive."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert H. Riche, 2246 N. Hwy. 33, Plattsburg, Mo. 64477 (ph 816 930-3025).
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