Homemade Cab for Deere 2320 CUT

[Huskerplowboy]

OK, so after the past winter using my 2320 with a rear mounted Farm King snowblower, it became very obvious that I needed a cab! When that ol' wind catches the stream just the wrong way and hits you in the face with it, it doesn't matter how bundled up you are, it's cold!

I didn't like the look of most aftermarket cabs, and there was no way I could get the cost of a Jodale Perry cab past the wife, plus that was a little too permanant for me. Plus, I needed an excuse for a new project...

The project started with lots of daydreaming, sketching, and thinking about how the cab should be... The basic specs became:

1. The cab would replace the factory ROPs rather than fit around/over/in front of it.
2. The cab needed to be relatively easy to install and remove since I would not want/need it on during the summer mowing season.
3. A heater must at least be a possibility
4. Lots of lighting to the front and rear for loader and snowblower work
5. Good visibility.

With these wants in my head, I got started with designing...

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Stage 1. Design and Mockup

The first step was to get out the level and tape measure and get some rough measurements off of the tractor. Dimensions like the height of the cowl above the floor, overall width at various points, etc... I sat in the seat and rasied the loader to determine how high the windshield would have to be to allow me to see the bucket with it fully raised. I tried to judge how tall the door would need to be to get in and out of the cab easily (I'm 6'3")

The next thing I did was to mock up some of the major pieces using 2x2 lumber, a little thinner than the 2x2 tubing I planned to use, but close enough to get the visual and check dimensions...

Even though I had planned to keep the sides straight vertical for easier fabrication, once I had the mockup set on the tractor, I decided that the straight sides made it too boxy, didn't look right, so sloped sides were back in...

Attached are some side and front view sketches done in CAD to help visualize the taper vs. straight sides...

More to come, need to get to bed right now though...

 

[mjncad]

Keep us posted on this project and remember, we like lots of pictures.

I would suggest removable doors instead of a removable cab.

 

[RobJ]

I'm now tuned it to this station!

 

[Huskerplowboy]

The plan is to have the doors and possibly the front and rear windows removable as well as the cab. The idea is, when spring sneaks up on me and I haven't gotten around to removing the cab yet, but the lawn needs mowed, I can pull the doors and stuff off and get by without roasting.

I have been avoiding a permanant cab because we have a few trees with low branches I need to mow close to and because mowing the sides of the ditch out by the road might be a little too exciting with the extra weight on top of the tractor (gets a little iffy without the cab).

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Stage 1.5: Late changes to the plan

Before I jump into the fabrication, there was a late design change. Originally, the plan was to build 1 fully welded cage/ROPs like a real cab and use eyebolts in the roof to lift the cab on and off of the tractor. Fortunately, I chevked this plan out before I got too far into the build. The hoist frame I have in my shop is not tall enough for me to lift the cab high enough to drive out from under it. I could manage if I slung the chain hoist over a truss in another part of the shop, but hate to do that. Plus, there is about a 50/50 chance that we may move in the next few years, and things like shops with tall cielings may not make it into that plan.

So instead, The cab will be semi-welded, semi-bolt together. There will be two main parts: The front frame will essentially be the front wall of the cab, plus the tube that runs alongside the edge of the platform. The rear frame will be the back wall and tubes that run along the flat portion of the fenders. The rear frame bolts to the rear 4 of the 8 ROPS mounting screws. The front frame will bolt at the front corners to mounts attached to the frame. In between, 2 tubes will bolt in across the top and 2 more pieces will fill in the bottom/fender area. The resulting pieces will be just about a 1 person job to install, without a hoist. (The front frame may get a little heavy and awkward for that) Then, the roof will cap off the whole thing.

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Stage 2.1: Fabricating the rear frame

The rear frame consists of a outer perimeter of 2x2" x11gauge steel tubing with 1 cross piece made from 2x2" x1/8" angle (to save weight) The upright pieces were split through 3 sides and bent inward to give the cab it's taper. The top crossbar also had to be mitered slightly to fit with the sloped sides. THe bottom crossbar and angle bar (which will be what the bottom of the rear window closes against) are straight cut.

Great care was taken to cut the tubes as square as my old beat up chop saw could manage. After lots of measuring, tack welding, measuring, tweaking, tacking, measuring, and tacking, I was able to weld the frame and it stayed very flat and square (to my surprise).

Once fully welded, the welds in the bottom front corners were ground flat to allow the horizontal tubes to be welded on. Then, two 1/4" thick plates were cut and drilled to make the mounts. I bolted the mount plates to the tractor, clamped the frame to the plates, got things square to the tractor, and welded them solid. The resulting rear frame is very rigid side-to-side, but without the rest of the cab, it's a little wiggly front-to-back. That'll change when things are all tied together.

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Stage 2.2: Fabricating the Front Frame

The rear frame was weekend before last, and this past Sunday I was able to get back to work and build up the front frame. This one was more challenging by far. First off, since it staddles the hood, there is not bottom crossbar to help hold things square. I used a chunk of 1x1" tube I had laying around, cut to the right length, to space the bottom ends apart. Then came the fun of trying to square the whole thing given the split side rails, angles of the top section, etc. A ratchet strap, some clamps, a bungee cord, and a couple burns from weld spatter later, I got it all tacked square and welded solid...

When the spreader bar was removed from the bottom, the bottom ends pulled in by about 1/8" each. I thought briefly about finding a bottle jack, trying to use some scrap 2x4 to spread them back and probably end up hurting myself. I think the bottom front of the cab will just end up slightly narrower unless I can force it back with some of the later construction.

The front frame sits leaned back 10 degrees to pretty much match the line between the hood and the cowl. So, the tubes that run along the platform were cut at 10 degrees on one end. They were left a little long for now, so I can cut them off at the right legth to match up with the fenders after things are all positioned.

I clamped a couple pieces of 1/4" flat plate to those lower tubes so the frame could sit on the edges of the platform. Then, I set it in place and snapped a couple pictures... Really starting to look like something!

 

[mjncad]

The plan is to have the doors and possibly the front and rear windows removable as well as the cab. The idea is, when spring sneaks up on me and I haven't gotten around to removing the cab yet, but the lawn needs mowed, I can pull the doors and stuff off and get by without roasting.

I have been avoiding a permanant cab because we have a few trees with low branches I need to mow close to and because mowing the sides of the ditch out by the road might be a little too exciting with the extra weight on top of the tractor (gets a little iffy without the cab).

Looking good Husker, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished cab.

I assume the MMM is your only mower, so I suspect a ballast box plus your loader riding as low as possible should help to counter any extra weight the cab adds.

 

[Huskerplowboy]

Stage 2.3: Fabrication of front cab mounts
Got a little time to work on the cab again tonight.

First, I finished up fabricating the front mounts. This weekend, I had bent and mounted brackets to the loader mounts. A U-bolt holds each bracket to the 4" tube of the mount. The brackets had to be bent about 19 degrees to level off for mounting the cab (not sure why the loader mount tubes are at an odd angle like that). I used 1/2"x1 1/2" stock, and lacking a torch, had to slot them with a grinder to allow me to "convince" them to bend using a large crescent wrench and my vice. I then welded the groove back in. Turned out ok. Tonight, I cut the tabs that come off of the cab front frame and rest on these mounts. I set them in place, marked both pieces to drill a 1/2" hole for the bolt that will attach the cab. Then I bolted them back on the tractor and tacked/welded them to the cab frame. Added a gusset for strength on the cab side and they're ready for some final welding after I pull the front frame back off later...

Below is a pic of the front mount and one I snapped tonight of how the rear frame mounts to the rear deck.