RTV900 Windshield opinions and suggestions.

OK, I guess it's time to talk about assembly as I think I've got all the individual pieces covered.

First, I'm long winded. Don't let the length of these posts make you think this is difficult or will be time consuming. It probably took longer to write all this than it does to build this thing.

A note/disclaimer: With this design, the top/center of your hood will touch the lexan when opened fully (in a very small spot/area). It's never caused me an issue but just want you to be aware. If you're worried about scratching, a 1" square piece of thin rubber or something glued to either the windshield or hood where the 2 make contact will keep them from coming in direct contact.

Things you'll need:
BTW - Not counting the Lexan, to give you an idea, the hardware and such is about $50-70. For the channel (H, U and rubber) in particular, I went to a window store and they gave it to me out of their "scrap pile" which is new stock, but too short for them to use elsewhere. The remaining hardware can be bought at a hardware store or one of the box stores.

2 pieces of Lexan cut to height and width desired for your application.
Mine are:
18.25"x 52" for the top piece
10.5"x 52" for the lower piece
52" of 1/4" inside diameter H-channel (to join the 2 pieces where they meet). Mine came in a bronze color but I painted it black.
(2) 48" pieces of 1/4" inside diameter U channel (for the very top and bottom, to add rigidity)
About 13' of rubber U channel (for installing between all the aforementioned channel and the lexan)
(8) fender washers
(8) Bonded Sealing washers
(8) O-clamps
1 can of spray paint (black or something). BTW - Kubota's ROPS grey paint in the spray can doesn't match the ROPS. It's lighter. I've found the Rustoleum Hammered grey (hmmm, or was it black) matched the ROPS pretty closely. For this project, I just used Rustoleum gloss black.

OK, to assemble:
First, a disqualifier. I'm not giving any instructions or otherwise on how you cut or drill anything...

1. Cut the H-channel to the width of your lexan panels.
2. If your upper and lower U channels are wider than your lexan, cut those to lenght as well.
3. Open your packages of 8 O-clamps.
a. If they have the 1.5" insert inside the big O, pull them out. You don't need them.
b. Remove the wingnut, bolt and washer that protrudes out that'll go through the windshield.
4. Paint the channels, bolts, wingnuts and washers from steps 1 through 3. You don't have to paint the plastic part of the O-clamps. Just paint the hardware removed (as it'll have a tendency to rust after awhile if you don't.

OK, while that stuff is drying.
5. Mount 4 O-clamps for the bottom section of the windshield to the ROPS with the holes for the windshield bolts pointing forward. In general, I think I have mine about 2" from the top/bottom on the lower windshield section and 3-4" for the top section. If you plan on mounting it for <u>easiest</u> removal, put all the clamps on in the same direction. What I mean by this is that whatever side you're straping the clamp over the ROPS, do all of them in the same direction. When done, one side will have the clamping nuts on the outside of the ROPS, the other side will have them on the inside. For mine, I have them all on the outside. It's a bit harder to remove the windshield but since I leave it on all the time, it doesn't bother me.
6. Preferably with another person helping, hold the lower lexan piece up against those clamps and assure the top is near the bend in the ROPS. On mine, I believe that put it about 1" over the rubber seal where the ROPS enters the body. Once you have it lined up, put a mark over the center of the holes where the O-clamp bolt will come through on <u>one</u> side of the Lexan. To make it look right, use a tape measure from top and bottom to match the other side. Using a sharpie or something, put a mark on the ROPS where your clamps are to go (since you'll be removing them in a couple minutes).
7. <u>Carefully</u>, drill the 4 holes on this lower sheet to accept the bolt from the O-clamp.
8. Is the paint dry yet? If not, have a beer and wait, or cut the rubber U-channel for the U and H channel to length.
9. OK, once the paint is dry, remove the 4 O-clamps mounted in step 5 and insert the inside washer and bolt and re-install onto the ROPS and align with the marks on the ROPS done in step 6.
10. Insert a rubber washer over each of those bolts.
11. With the Lexan standing upside down (so the bottom is facing up), along the bottom of the Lexan, put the rubber U channel in place over the Lexan. If the lower channel isn't the full width, center the rubber. Then push the lower metal U-channel over it to lock everything in place. A rubber mallet may be required. If so, protect the edge that's laying on the ground.
12. Install the lower section of windshield onto the O-clamp bolts. Insert the bonded sealing washers over the bolts with the rubber side touching the lexan.
13. Install the wing nuts loosly. The lower piece is now in place.
14. Put the H channel on top of the lower piece of Lexan. Don't install the rubber yet. If the H-channel has a offset in the middle (where each piece of glass doesn't go into the H at the same depth), put the widest part facing down.
15. Basically, do the same measuring, drilling mount the upper U-channel to the upper piece, while it's sitting on the H channel. Don't insert any rubber into the H-channel yet.
16. Mount the upper piece by doing the same steps you did for the lower.
17. OK, here's where you might want/need to play a little. If your H-channel is wider than 1/4" or your Lexan is 1/8" stock, you may be able to use the full rubber U channel inside the H-channel. We need to test this here because we need to know how much room is needed inside the H-channel to account for the upper piece of Lexan leaning back. With the upper piece of lexan in place and secured, remove the lower part of the windshield and H-channel. <u>LIGHTLY</u>, press the rubber into place onto the lower part of the winshield and <u>LIGHTLY</u> try to push the H-channel onto it. If it's tight, back out, it's not going to work. If you can get it into place, try to get the top rubber into the channel and into the top piece of lexan. If you can get the rubber into the channel and still make the corner onto the windshield, you're good to go. In my case, it wouldn't fit and still be able to make the bend. I cut down the middle of the rubber U channel (making it a J). With both lexan panels mounted and the H channel in place, I then tucked these pieces between the Lexan and the outside of the H channel and pressed into place.

TO REMOVE THE WINDSHIELD
1. Loosen the 4 O-clamps on the lower windshield. Undo it with the quick-connect clamp that goes around the ROPS. Don't remove the windshield from the clamps. Just take out the lower panel. I found it best to tilt the lower part forward so the H-channel comes with it.
2. Remove the 4 upper O-clamps and take out the upper section.
It takes about 2 minutes to take it off, 3-minutes to reinstall.
 
HOLY COW!!!

I just saw how much I wrote.

Well, I just tried to provide as much detail as I could (and wished I had this info when I made mine).

Some final thoughts.
The Lexan with Marguard I used was the best windshield product I could find (besides the OEM glass windshield) at the time. I had mine cut to the sizes I wanted by the seller as I didn't want to screw it up by melting or otherwise. You may want to consider the same.

That Lexan has gotten pretty expensive. There are other plastics that could be used but they may scratch or yellow over time. Once you have the hardware in place and the original windshield built, it would be very easy to get new plastic and replace if it does yellow or scratch. Building it once then replacing a cheap plastic every few years may be an alternative.

As noted in post 8774, I was going to put some trim around the perimeter of the windshield. I never did get around to it but the edges aren't sharp or have burrs or anything to scratch you.

As noted in post 8778, the front rack does mount to this windshield. All I did was remove the lowest 2 wing nuts from the O-clamp and insert the channel with nut provided with the hood rack. It doesn't clamp down but fits firmly into place. To open the hood, you just tap the hood rack out of the U brackets and flip it over the front of the grill guard. Although I don't use my hood rack much, do be aware that the bolt it's mounted to does go through the Lexan. If you slam something down on the hood rack and it torques that bolt downward, you COULD crack the windshield material. If this could be a condition you may experience, I'd propose 2 quick changes. 1) Drill out the hole through your windshield material to give it more play. 2) The O-clamps I purchased are rated for 35# or so. I've never had a problem with them but if you're going to put heavy loads on the hood rack, consider swapping for some heavier-duty clamps. They make ones that hold 1000#.
 
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<DIV id=_ctl0__ctl1_bcr_PostForm___Reply>bczoom,</DIV>
<DIV> Looks like you covered that great. Like you, wish I had that imformation on installing items on pieces of equipment. That's what I like about this forum. People are always willing to help others. BcZoom, my hat goes off to you my friend, your a good person for helping this feller out !!!!![:D]</DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
 
Men,

Sorry for the delay. I haven't been on here all summer. Outside having too much fun building my new shop and all the other fun stuff.

Anyway, in response to how I bent the Lexan, I first clamped one end of the Lexan to a carpet covered workbench leaving the smaller (bent over) section hanging over the other edge. (I bought my piece a bit oversized and cut the actual size after it was bent.) I drilled 3 holes in the Lexan, one in the middle and one close to each end, and hung as much weight as possible from twine run thru the holes (3 small cement blocks actually). I had marked a very fine paint stick mark (mistake, paint melts and was a pain to remove) where the bend was going. We then took two heat guns and worked both sides of the Lexan at the same time from the middle to the ends. You have to be very carefull not to meet both guns at the same place at the same time for any period of time. KEEP MOVING THE GUNS. You are better off staying as far away as possible and let it heat up as slowly as possible. I had left the sheet inside the house for a couple of days so it was fairly warm when we started. You can tell when it gets soft as it will slowly start to sag due to the weight of the blocks. You have to keep the heat on as it cools off very quickly. Be ready to cut the strings pretty quickly when it get to where you want the bend to stop. I had used a level as a guide and measured the drop from the top of the bench to make sure it was straight. It takes a long time to heat the 1/4" Lexan to get an even bend. You will think your arms are going to fall off before it starts to bend. A heated shop might have helped. Mine wasn't but the new one is. That was pretty much all there was to bending it. My buddy says it is possible and faster to use a torch but I didn't want to take a chance of melting it.
I cut it to size and installed the wire looms, drilled the Lexan, installed rubber groumets and bolted with hex bolts.
I'll try to keep in contact more often throughout the winter. Let me know if you need any additional information.

Keith

PS: You can use 1/8th" but it will rattle and flex while moving.
 
Keith,

Glad to hear it came out.

Do you have any pics?

What's the clarity like at the bend? Is it clear, cloudy...?

Brian
 
Brian,</P>


Check back about a year and you will see the pictures of my windshield. It is a little cloudy at the bend but the bend is so low you never really look through it. I have some small swirl marks in the Lexan but I think I can buff them out. I would not be without a windshield and for less then $200.00 and a couple of hours time, this was well worth it. I may even do a rear shield so when I shovel dirt in the back and miss it doesn't go in the cab. My wife hates it when I bring her toy back dirty. I have to do more dishes that way.</P>


Has anyone built a rack for around the cab that attaches to the bed (dumps with the bed) for carrying tools, long ladders and such? I would like to see a few different ones so I can get mine facricated.</P>


Mine has balls too.</P>


Keith</P>
 
That's a fine windshield!! Tell me, on the bottom, is it resting against the black plastic? If not, how's the vibration?

[quote user="ekcwmi"]Has anyone built a rack for around the cab that attaches to the bed (dumps with the bed) for carrying tools, long ladders and such? I would like to see a few different ones so I can get mine facricated.[/quote]
When I first bought the RTV, I removed the OEM cargo box and made my own. There's storage integrated but for the bigger stuff, I didn't want it to dump. Attached is an old pic (from over 3 years ago) but the only external rack I have mounted to the cargo box is for the gun boot. When I get the time, I'm thinking of taking that off and installing 2 horizontal uni-strut channels on each side of the cargo box and maybe more across the rear of the ROPS. With the uni-strut, you can mount/hang anything you want. I have the materials, just haven't gotten around to it. I also mounted the front rack which is handy. I have a couple extra O-Clamps (same used in my windshield) which I have attached to the ROPS for other places to clamp/hook things to.
 
Brian,</P>


The windshield is resting on the black plastic. There is very little vibration because I used 1/4" Lexan. I was going to use a clear fuel line as a piping to go around the edges of the complete windshield but it looked like crap. It also caught a lot of debris in the edges. I may fine tune it over the winter, if I get my John Deere 316 restoration finished. Too much to do in so little time.</P>


Keith</P>
 
Keith: Man, that is a great job on the windshield, I am supprised of the clariety of the home in the background. This site and the folks on it are some fine craftsmen. I hate to mention it but the balls only look like small golf balls!!!!!</P>


Brien: I am making my way through the forum post. If you have posted pictures of your bedI will find them. If not would you post some photos of it-looks great. Good looking machine!</P>


It is difficult to make new mods and come up with something that hasn't been done before. Also, makes one be careful about how the mods are done to come up to the "standards" of this forum.</P>


Nick</P>


plan, implement, maybe if will work</P>
 
[quote user="Nick-America"]Brien: I am making my way through the forum post. If you have posted pictures of your bedI will find them. If not would you post some photos of it-looks great. Good looking machine![/quote]
Thanks for the compliment.
Well, there's a couple posts where I mentioned it but nothing to really show exactly how it was built or what it looks like now.

Here's one that kind of shows it while it was being built.
http://compacttractorreview.com/cs/forums/2/8441/ShowThread.aspx

It's not my best work and there's lots of better ways to do it but it works for me. I did this as soon as I got my RTV (in early 2004). At that time, there wasn't many RTV's out there and even less forums to discuss the strength of the OEM box (particularly against firewood impacts) so I just hacked away to build something quickly so I could get my firewood in.

I've been thinking about replacing it but the damn thing just won't break or otherwise get damaged for me to take the time to do it.
 
I chose the OEM Glass windshield because of the ongoing hassle of a "plastic" windshield. I built my front rack from the large Champion ATV basket (had the smaller basket left over for my EZGO shooting cart). See www.sportsmansguide.com and search for Champion ATV baskets. I had to rework the larger basket and built a one inch square tubing frame to attach it to the flat RTV plate on the grill guard. The mounting brackets permit the basket to tilt forward approximately forty-five degrees for hood access. I will try to post a photo after the weekend.
 
I only want a windshield in the winter. I use the plastic film you buy for making stormwindows.</P>


I cut a piece of 2 inch PVC to fit between the roll bars above the dash. Put the film on with the double sticky tape. Then beef it up with duck tape on top. Hit it with a hair dryer and it tightens up. My cost is $3 per year. When spring comes, I just rip it all off and pitch it. This stuff is very clear and easy to keep clean. I used to do it onthe mule I had before getting my RTV.</P>
 
Bump

Blinko - Here's a thread that discusses windshields in general and info on the one I made.
 
as an addition to this. Seizmik does make a front rack that works with the kubota glass windshield.</P>


AllTerrain online does not list it on their website... but they do have them available. </P>


I just installed my glass windshied.. and will order the rack next week. Also for those that might not know.. the windshield is hinged. It is hinged at the top and the bottom can open out.. to let in some air.</P>


</P>


glenn</P>
 
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