Looking for some shade here

[Bill the Elder]

I've got my little green JD2305 with its flail and my (for me) big old Ford 4600 with its flail. It's getting toasty up here in north central WA and some serious mowing has to happen in very bright sun and hot days. I can only drive one tractor at a time and would like to find some sort of shade attachment that I can move from tractor to tractor.

Anybody have any experience trying to be cheap this way? Any ideas on something that might be doable?

Thanks

 

[Cataclysm]

Put a bonnet on there. Cheap and easy. I used to use them quite a bit.

 

[oosik]

Well, I was raised in the Okanogan valley, so I know what hot is. It got up to 102 earlier this evening - I'm 25 miles due SW of Spokane.

I put a canopy on my roll bar. That little bit of shade has helped a lot and now I have a reason for the roll bar to be in the "up" position.


Unfortunately the system is not allowing me to upload a small picture of the canopy.

 

[oosik]

I forgot - I've changed avatars - if you look closely and squint a lot, you can see the canopy in the avatar.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Well, I was raised in the Okanogan valley, so I know what hot is. It got up to 102 earlier this evening - I'm 25 miles due SW of Spokane.

I put a canopy on my roll bar. That little bit of shade has helped a lot and now I have a reason for the roll bar to be in the "up" position.


Unfortunately the system is not allowing me to upload a small picture of the canopy.

I'll be honest, I had no idea y'all knew what hot was but 102 is pretty toasty! I thought it was mild and rainy all the time in Washington! How's the humidity? That's what's brutal in the Houston area

Brett

 

[oosik]

Brett - I live on the East side of WA state. There is a range of mountains - Cascade Range - that splits WA state into two portions. West side is the wet side - east side is dry/semi-arid. Right now its 55 degrees/ 28% relative humidity @ 4:52 am PST. This afternoon its predicted to hit 100 degrees and the humidity will probably be between 25% to 30%. The fact that the humidity stays so bloody low is what saves our scrawny rears.

I was in Houston in 1969 in July. They were just finishing up the new international airport and the air conditioning was not up to full speed yet. I had just hit Houston on a direct flight from Anchorage, AK where I lived and worked. The heat and HUMIDITY were so intense in the airport I darn near passed out.

I KNOW for a fact I could not make it - e.g. - I'd croak - if I had to live down south with the heat & humidity.

IMVHO - our wx here is just about perfect. It can get bloody hot, but no humidity - - and at night it will cool down to 45 to 60 degrees.

 

[JRobyn]

Agri-Supply (and others) sell an umbrella-type shade that should be easily movable from one machine to another. You'd probably have to buy a second mount from the manufacturer.

Deluxe Tractor Umbrella, Yellow

 

[Bill the Elder]

Put a bonnet on there. Cheap and easy. I used to use them quite a bit.

I would love something like that but not sure how I'd be able to move it from one machine to the other. JD's got a ROPS but no fenders. Ford's got fenders but no ROPS.

 

[Bill the Elder]

Called Agri-Supply to find out if I could get a second mount shipped with the shade, that looks like my best bet due to the very different configurations of the two tractors. Gentleman will contact the vendor and get back to me Monday. Meanwhile I'm mowing early and late. Currently it's 93 up here at 2900 ft but the UV is 8.6 and that's what really kicks my butt.

Thank you all for your help and enjoy the weekend. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Plantation Paul]

I wear a super wide brim hat I bought from the JD dealership..... and Carhartt long sleeve white cotton chambray. Down here in Northeast Louisiana where the temps and humidity soar passed 100 degrees with 90% humidity. Exert yourself for 30 minutes and you are soaking wet. I make my crew take a break and drink fluids. I have a dedicated refrigerator with a 5 gallon Igloo water cooler with added Gatoraid... Because water alone is not enough!

You don't know hot....