1980 Roper 16T

Then wait no longer! After spending a couple of hours on it this evening it's functional although not complete.

Last weekend as a proof of concept I drilled some holes in it and mounted it as it was, I used a chain for a center link because it has a pivot and this was quick and easy.

Obviously it stuck out way too far which lowers the lifting capacity so today I cut out alot of uneeded stuff and drilled new mounting holes.

The chain must be at the perfect spot because it's actually not pivoting it and I'm okay with that.

Then after cutting off all uneeded tines and straitening the others I quickly tested it.

After some testing it appears to be able to lift a max of around 200lbs close to the backboard, about 160lbs out further which is more than I expected so it should work perfect for my needs!

Aside from a good cleaning and some paint all that's left is to redo the center link and probably extend the "forks" a little bit to try to make them more proper but as it is it's ready to use!

I didn't know they made such thing as a mini hay Fork. The pallet lift looks really really handy. if you're going to continue with the chain you might be able to weld a u-bolt to where the chain fits where it needs to be so it doesn't slide. Here pretty soon you're going to have an arsenal of implements

I'm not sure if I'll use the chain, I was thinking more along the lines of a large turnbuckle so I can manually tune in the angle but now that the gears are turning... a linear actuator for power tilt would be a most excellent choice!

The hay fork is custom made either by or for the previous owner same as the heavy duty plow blade that can be seen HERE on page 12 of the Mud Duck build. I will say they were made extremely well and with good heavy material!

**EDIT** I liked the idea of a linear actuator so much I took some measurements, determined a 10" would give me a good balance of being able to tilt up and down both a decent amount and ordered one online for $50!

Wow, $50. Not bad.

I thought so too and why I didn't hesitate to order it. It's rated for 225lbs so hopefully it's strong enough, I think it will be.

I had an idea. I was wondering if you could use 4 linear actuators to make hydraulics for a mower maybe one on each corner so you could lift them individually

@ranch king pro 08 I guess you could but why overcomplicate it with 4 when 1 should do just fine!? It just needs to be hooked up to the same lift mechanism as the lift bar and a special DPDT switch that reverses the polarity would be needed.


Well, I'm surprised how early the linear actuator came! Right around 2:30 as I was wrapping up with some exhaust work on my car which gave me a couple hours to mess around with it.

I stole the switch and wiring from the Roper Offroader, I'll never put the 3point hitch back on it anyways. Luckily there was just enough room in the pocket behind the dash for it to fit beside the other switch.

I'm really not in the habit of using these inline wire taps but thought they would be a good choice for power and ground off the other switch.

To mount it I was able to modify one of the brackets so I could use one of the big bolts that holds the 3point plate to the rear plate of the tractor and drill one hole below it. Just for temporary use I used a d-ring to link it to the bar, I'll make a proper mount for it soon but wanted to shut er down so I can get a little R&R in this evening.

When I do make a proper mount the up and down limits will change a bit but here's what it looks like right now.

I haven't actually tested it out yet but I'm already super happy with it!

That looks great @Brianator ! Already jealous of the original 3pt actuator, now the second.

It looks great. I'm sorry I kinda changed subject I meant hydraulic suspension. with some tweaking to the frame if you put one on each corner you could make it work just like a lowrider not very practical but unique for sure

@ranch king pro 08 That's actually a good idea, looks to be build off worthy! Lol

Well,  2 steps forward and 1 back but it's all good, progress is progress!

I cut the one bar out of the way then trimmed it down.

Then I installed a new bar to mount the linear actuator with some different mounting points to play with.

On to some testing and work! I cut a skid in half, put what's left of the GT18 on one half and some tires on the other.

Overall the lift worked excellent but I'll need some weight on the front of the tractor if I want to lift at capacity, with the tires on the back the front wheels popped off the ground when I went to drive forward! Lol.

Where the lift has gone 1 step back is with the tilt actuator, it's actually decresed the lifting capacity because now if I stand on the back of the "forks" it will start to tilt down so I'll either need to keep the chain I was using handy or make a center link bar with notches so I can lock the tilt when I want to lift heavy items.

Regardless of that it works great and I'm really happy with it, not only have I "gotten rid" of a useless, bulky piece of steel that was always in my way but I've made something extremely useful out of it!

Next will probably be making a grading blade out of the snowplow so that's no longer in my way and then I can rip up and smooth out my driveway!

Small update for this rig.

A few weeks ago I found a local guy parting out a 16T and I bought the dash and steering wheel (not pictured) for $125!

My dash is busted up pretty bad as you can see and I don't think it will make it through another winter so I'd like to replace it before then, just need to work through some other stuff first.

The steering wheel is identical to the one on this and the Roper Offroader so I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a cheap backup in case the one gets wrecked while offroading!

Slap some antisieze on the steering shaft before reassembly.  Nice score!

Definitely a good idea @MightyRaze!

Back in August I actually took the wheel off with little to no effort so when I do actually get around to changing the dash at least that part will be easy! Lol. For now, I sandwiched the dash back together with the switch and washers and its much more solid, maybe I'll actually try to get one more winter out of it by using a few well placed (small) zipties and hope for the best!


Last weekend I shuffled some tractors around so the ones that need to be ready for snow are parked in accessible spots and installed the snowblower on this one, I'm still loving that rear lift I built it sure comes in handy!


I've mentioned in the past that this snowblower is only 34" and designed for the smaller Suburbans but I'm okay with that, not only is this tractor overpowering it so it's basically impossible to bog the engine down but I don't have a really wide driveway and it also clears a nice path behind my house to the workshed so it's perfect for my needs. My only real complaint is because it was designed for the smaller Suburbans the lift handle is short and strait instead of long and bent so every time I need to lift it (which is often) I have to lean way forward off my seat to do so... that ends today! The chute control rod was a real pain last year because I mounted it too high and it would bind so I also took care of that by mounting it a little lower and adding a brace to the bracket.


I won't need the rear lift for winter so I took it off and starting playing around with the idea of using the linear actuator to lift the snowblower! The mechanism the lift handle attaches to has to be able to go forward past the built in stop tab so I could get the right angulation on the mechanism so I straitened that tab (can be seen at the front edge of the curved plate) with a pair of Vice Grips which allowed it to go past.


With that done I removed the handle, unbolted the main lift link so nothing was attached or engaging and made new bushings for it out of a little piece of brass I had kicking around. In the future I'd like to make better mounting bolts for it but my goal for right now was to just get it done!


Next up was mocking up the actuator. I'm really glad I wired it with a GM style waterproof connector, to remove it from the back all I had to do was cut one ziptie, unplug the connector and fish the wire out the back! For mounting, I couldn't find anywhere aside from the footboard to mount the rear bracket, it's definitely strong enough but I wasn't happy to be drilling holes in it... The front bracket was easy, all I did was bolt it to a piece of steel angle that I bolted where the handle used to go.


Testing the up and down travel at this point is when I realized that the switch is still up for up and down for down so I don't need to flip that around which is great! It all seems to be lining up well so I *thought *I had to drill a new hole in the lift link but there happened to already be one and it worked out perfect! Not only is there enough travel for down pressure but it lifts high enough to disengage the belt! For those not aware, a quirk of the Suburban snowblowers is that if it's not lifted high enough the auger will engage/stay engaged even with the belt clutch disengaged. (You can see the slack in the belt in the last picture)

A small tweak of the chute control bracket and there's plenty of clearance for it although it doesn't look like much in the photo. If you look close you can see the brace I added.


A couple beauty shots

Now the only real thing that needs to be done is to build a new weight box that quick attaches to the rear 3 point hitch and maybe install the tire chains that came with a tractor I bought this past summer, not sure if I'll actually need them though! Time will tell! Lol

Well, at work today I spotted some 3/4" bolts so I asked the boss if I could have 2 and 1/2" nuts and lock washers to go with them, here's what I came up with and yes it's greasable!

I only got one done after work and plan to have the other one done before the weekend so I can install them, just have to drill and tap the (snowblower) link rod from 7/16" to 1/2" to match the new bolts!

Bolt number 2 is ready!

There's really not alot of work left to install them so maybe I'll actually get them done before the weekend? On another note we started building a new unit at work so I should be able to get all the materials I need to build the rear weight box for basically free, we end up with unusable (for our applications) scrap so I think if I offer a round of coffee for everyone I'll be golden! Lol

Nice job!  Man I wish I had access to materials and such.  Being IT, and right now full time work from home due to building overcrowding.  I have limited access.  Every now and then I make a friend that has stuff.

It was a busy weekend but I was able to finish up, install and grease the new bolts!

I'm loving the idea of these so much that I'll probably slowly replace all hardware at pivot points with ones like this now that I have the means to make them!

Man that is such a great idea. I can't 100% tell, but it looks like there is a lot of meat even though, appears to be a small hole for grease transfer, to be strong and durable.  Excellent job!

Brianator wrote:

Bolt number 2 is ready!

There's really not alot of work left to install them so maybe I'll actually get them done before the weekend? On another note we started building a new unit at work so I should be able to get all the materials I need to build the rear weight box for basically free, we end up with unusable (for our applications) scrap so I think if I offer a round of coffee for everyone I'll be golden! Lol

You did a great job on those, a feller can really tell you build things to last down there, not just hacked up redneck jobs (not that those don't have their place) but real "built not bought" is nice to see once in a while, nice job.
I'm guessing you too those bolts and ground them down a few 8ths and then tapped the end as well as adding grease zerks?

Thanks guys!

@MightyRaze there is a good amount of material left there, the transfer holes are 3/32" and drilled all the way through the shoulder, for the grease zerk I used a 3/16" bit to get to the transfer hole(s) depth and a 15/64" bit to drill just deep enough to tap for the 1/4-28 fitting. That was shallow enough to stay in the hex part of the bolt so I hope they last the test of time but there's only one way to find out!

@TechnoChicken you're close! I actually turned the bolts down on my mini lathe (not sure if you saw I got one?) Until the threads were almost gone then cut it to length, finished turning it down to 9/16" (the size of the holes in the snowblower frame holes) then turned down the tip some more before threading it and drilling the grease fitting and transfer holes.

I actually nailed it first time with only one little mistake that wasn't a big deal so I'm happy! I was thinking about starting a thread on my journey into machining and projects I have and want to make.

I've been tinkering with this for the last couple weeks and have built a couple of groovy upgrades!

First up is the electric actuator I added to the chute tilt, the brackets were too short so I made a couple up out of some aluminum flat bar I had kicking around. It only has a 2" stroke but it moves enough to use most of the actual useable tilt, in all honestly I didn't even adjust it last year because what a pain to get off and on the tractor each time so I figure that even that little bit should be handy! That cost me about $60 with the switch and actuator.


I also built a new weight box for the rear, the one that came with it bolts to the backplate of the tractor where the 3 point hitch now resides and I wasn't going to be swapping them around twice a year thats for sure! The box itself weighs 28lbs and is all "scrap" material I got from work that we can't really use because it's too short for our needs. 


I doubled up the plywood on the bottom to handle the weight which, are used wheel weights I bought from a shop a few years ago just for this kind of purpose! With the box mostly full of weights but with some space for a couple of tow straps it weighs 80lbs, as the wheel weights settle I'll keep adding more and will hopefully get another 10lbs in there.


I used about $5 worth of the $20 bucks in steel I bought, $30 for the hinges, latch, paint and screws and another $25 for the bucket of wheels weights so for $60 I think I did pretty good! I didn't need tire chains last year but I have some IF I need them, 80% of the weight I used last year is now hanging way out behind the tractor so I think it'll be good!

She's ready for snow whenever it decides to show up!

Hope you enjoy!

Just a thought, you could probably load them tires with RV antifreeze or beet juice pretty cheap too and that gets you more weight without taxing the frame or bearings more

It's an option @Rustbucket Garage but is something I've never been keen on doing, with the wheel weights and now the box I think I'll be fine. Beet juice is corrosive which will eventually destroy the wheels and if a wheel ever sprung a leak I'd be upset that any of the options you've stated would end up leeching into the ground. We have international recognition for having the cleanest, purest water on earth right here in my area, not to mention I live close to a lake and rely on a well for water so I'm extra cautious about polluting the ground! I appreciate the sentiment though!

Brianator wrote:

It's an option @Rustbucket Garage but is something I've never been keen on doing, with the wheel weights and now the box I think I'll be fine. Beet juice is corrosive which will eventually destroy the wheels and if a wheel ever sprung a leak I'd be upset that any of the options you've stated would end up leeching into the ground. We have international recognition for having the cleanest, purest water on earth right here in my area, not to mention I live close to a lake and rely on a well for water so I'm extra cautious about polluting the ground! I appreciate the sentiment though!

Yeah when you got a well you can't go dumping random crap on the ground, it just goes straight into your bathtub lol, isn't RV antifreeze designed to be non corrosive and non toxic?

@TechnoChicken yes! I'm running RV anti-freeze aprox 2 gallons in each of my front tires. Although I'm running tubes too.

RV antifreeze and beet juice are both non corrosive. I believe rim-gard, the name brand of beet juice ballast has a no rust guarantee or something. Calcium chloride is the corrosive one.