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!