Wire Loom Management on ROPS Options

[bbfarmky]

Working on adding lights on my Kubota M5660 and I'm all good to go on the switch, wiring, etc...but struggling a bit on how to secure the wire loom/conduit to the rear of the ROPS. I've seen many people use the ever-versatile zip ties but just don't care for the look and I've seen some folks run the wires through holes in their ROPS which I would love to do but there are no factory holes on my ROPS and they are mounted flush onto the rear axle housing. So, without drilling, running wires through the ROPS is not an option for me. So I was thinking about adhesive based wire management clips but am concerned about the adhesion holding in the work environment and with high vibrations while operation a tractor.

Thinking about using these: Conduit Clamps. Anyone have any experience with using such an item? Any particular brand or quality recommendations? If the adhesive doesn't hold, anyone try scraping off the adhesive tape and using epoxy instead? Thoughts?

 

[The Evil Twin]

The important thing is the adhesive base. I've used the 3M backed clips for many projects over the years. Same adhesive that is used for car side moldings and such. Don't trust Amazon sellers to use the real 3M brand.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00034736/

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I used 10s of 1,000s of these , https://www.panduit.com/en/products...essories/adhesive-backed-mounts/smp12a-c.html, decades ago.. when building test equipment for steel analysis. Bought in 500 or 1000pc boxes , they're a lot cheaper.
They never,ever fell off. If they made them in black, could be an option.

 

[555]

Hello, just did the same thing, I put a bead of black silicone on the ROP then press your wire loom into it and hold in place with tape, clamps etc whatever holds it there till it dries

 

[Yooper]

Those would work awesome! They use 3M vhb (very high bond) tape which I have used in several projects with zero failures. A bit of advice here. You only get one shot at mounting them. When that tape sticks it is permanent!

 

[bbfarmky]

Thanks y'all. Those zip tie mounting bases look perfect! Definitely found them in black but dang, the minimum order and shipping is a little bit of a b$@!#. Need to develop a local network of folks who use supplies like this on a smaller scale to share the load.

 

[bmblank]

I used the simple zip ties on the little squares.

https://tinyurl.com/2k2dvdrc

Some of the squares disconnected from the adhesive tape - tape was stuck to the ROPS, but not the square. I just put some hot glue in there and squished it back together and it seems like it'll hold for the long run now.
They're cheap, too. Get better ones with actual VHB and you'll likely not need the hot glue bandaid.

 

[GeoHorn]

Thanks y'all. Those zip tie mounting bases look perfect! Definitely found them in black but dang, the minimum order and shipping is a little bit of a b$@!#. Need to develop a local network of folks who use supplies like this on a smaller scale to share the load.

If you don’t like zip-ties…how are you going to like zip-ties attached to glued-bases..? Especially if you run in brush or trees that can rip them off?

Use two zip-ties…one around the ROPS and the other thru/beneath the existing zip-tie.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Thanks y'all. Those zip tie mounting bases look perfect! Definitely found them in black but dang, the minimum order and shipping is a little bit of a b$@!#. Need to develop a local network of folks who use supplies like this on a smaller scale to share the load.

A local electrical supply store should have packs of 50 or 100 and no shipping. You'll find uses for the remaining 90 over time.

 

[bmblank]

Home Depot has them. Heck, Walmart might have them.

 

[JasonW]

I’ve bought some like listed above on eBay several years ago.
The wires I have ran on mine are inside wire loom and zip tied around the entire ROPS all the way up on inside edge of the ROPS.
Haven’t had an issue yet with trees/limbs pulling them off.

 

[58Ford]

I use these too. Have black and white depending on what I am doing. I drilled them into the trim of the house too, for Xmas decorations.

for op: look for expandable braided sleeving- not the plastic split type about $15 on Amazon for 100 ft. That stuff with the 3M pads, good quality zip ties (you can purchase steel) and you should be golden.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If you want permanent look at click bond.

Adhesive-Bonded Mounts: Design Flexibility & Reduce Cost

Click Bond’s adhesive-bonded mounts offer enhanced design flexibility for routing of aerospace systems and protective blankets in OEM and retrofit applications.

www.clickbond.com

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Don't trust Amazon sellers to use the real 3M brand.

+1!

If they made them in black, could be an option.

+1 again. The white ones will get you a year, maybe two, and 3 at the outside. Then they get brittle and break up. Same with zip ties.

I have even found white zip ties to degrade pretty rapidly in a location that is exposed to weather, but is not directly exposed to sunlight, like under a vehicle.

The black ones are black due to carbon in them (just used as a dye) which makes them resistant to UV and ozone degradation. Maybe better resistant to heat, too. Anyway, they FAR outlast the white ones.


Use the squares with zip ties to plastic loom, and it should look pretty decent. I'd probably run it on the inside rather than the outside, to look a bit neater AND make tree branch damage less likely.

 

[bmblank]

If you want permanent look at click bond.

Adhesive-Bonded Mounts: Design Flexibility & Reduce Cost

Click Bond’s adhesive-bonded mounts offer enhanced design flexibility for routing of aerospace systems and protective blankets in OEM and retrofit applications.

www.clickbond.com

+1 to that.

 

[6869704x4]

I got the cheap ones. To make them work pretty well clean the surface really good with something that leaves no residue, I used rubbing alcohol. Take a heat gun, blow dryer, or even a small torch and warm up the spot you want to stick it to then stick it. Warm up the little tab. By warm I mean warm to the touch, not hot. I've had success with that method YMMV.
If that fails, like mentioned above, little dab of hot glue.

 

[Russell King]

Have you considered using steel tubing to put the wires through, bent to fit shape of the ROPS then glue to the ROPS? You can flare the ends of tubing if you want to be fancy.

use SSt tubing so you don’t have to worry about rust

 

[GeoHorn]

Have you considered using steel tubing to put the wires through, bent to fit shape of the ROPS then gl to the ROPS? You can flare the ends of tubing if you want to be fancy.

use SSt tubing so you don’t have to worry about rust

No…putting a Double-Flare …on them would be fancy.

 

[bbfarmky]

Home Depot has them. Heck, Walmart might have them.

That is good to know; never saw them there although I was never looking for them either. Thanks.

 

[bbfarmky]

Have you considered using steel tubing to put the wires through, bent to fit shape of the ROPS then gl to the ROPS? You can flare the ends of tubing if you want to be fancy.

use SSt tubing so you don’t have to worry about rust

No, I had not considered that. I presume you're giving me a hard time about not wanting the look of zip ties all around my ROPS because attachment would still be an issue and the cost would make the shipping complaint laughable.