DIY cab build on Kubota L4850DT

[Bentru]

After plowing my way through 16 North Dakota winters with various pickup and plow combinations, a walk-behind snowblower, and a snowblower on a zero-turn mower, I decided a tractor was in order. Thanks to Craigslist, a 1998 Kubota L4850DT eventually followed me home and later a McKee 720 rear blower did too. Now all that was missing was a CAB! I had spent enough time in a floppy cab on the zero-turn to understand the benefits of even a wind-break. I knew how comfy a pickup cab can be. I also thought building a cab would be a good challenge.
I read everything I could find on the web, I saved pictures, I took measurements, I scoured junk yards, I looked at craigslist, ebay, etc. I am greatly indebted to those who have documented their cab builds, so I wanted to pay that back in some small way. This is my attempt at paying it back. As with all projects, I wish I had taken more pictures. I do have before and after pictures:


My criteria going into this project:
The cab needs to keep me warm and dry.
The finished needs to look like it belongs on the tractor.
The factory ROPS needs to remain intact.

Over the next several days (or weeks) I will go thru all the details on how I did it, what it cost, how long it took, what I have left to do and what I wish I had done differently.

 

[Ron Cloninger]

Looks Great, Looking forward to more details and pictures:thumbsup:

 

[Billrog]

Nice job certainly looks like it belongs on the tractor.

 

[rswyan]

Looks Great, Looking forward to more details and pictures:thumbsup:

Ditto ... awaiting more details and pics.

I'd like to do one over the winter for our B2910.

I even have a 12v roof AC unit I'm thinking about incorporating into the build.

 

[2addy]

I just spent a week in your lovely state and Wednesday night (I think) was near freezing. Way too early for that crud....

Very nice build. And it looks like it belongs on the tractor so I would call it a success.

 

[Bentru]

ROOF
I scored an EZGO golf cart roof off of Craigslist for $50. This came from a dealer that customizes carts. He had dozens of them in various styles. (Full disclosure: this is a picture from Ebay of another dealer, not where I got my roof)

The roof was the right price, about the right size, made of weatherproof plastic and had some styling to it. I brought this home and hung it from my shop ceiling above the tractor with ropes so I could visualize a cab. I eventually ground the EZGO logo off the back and covered the grab-handles with plates to make it look a little less like a golf cart. A coat of rattle-can primer, some TSC rattle can Kubota Orange and a Kubota sticker and it looks like it should!

 

[dieselcrawler]

Nice work... Looks great. Looking forward to more details on the build.

 

[Bentru]

Structure
With the roof suspended in place, I started mocking up a cab with 2x2 lumber and clamps to help me understand how it would all be shaped. I then got a load of 1.5 x 1.5 x .083 steel tubing and went to work.
The first step was to build a belt-line rectangle that went around horizontally at the top of the fenders. Even though this would have a door opening in it eventually, I kept it a rectangle as long as possible to keep everything square. The ROPS had a perfect place at the top of the fenders to bolt the cab, so I used it.

Next, I built the upper rectangle that the roof would bolt to. Then I joined the two. I tacked all this with it on the tractor, but did the main welding with it on a work bench. All cutting was done with a chop saw, welding was done with a wire-feed welder. I used an angle-finder extensively.

The golf cart roof was plenty long, but a little too narrow. I ended up slanting the sides in just enough to make the width work while still clearing the ROPS at the top. I didn't want the whole thing to be too boxy, and making the sides slanted helped that. I kept the front and rear windows vertical. Compound angles would have been 10X as hard!
With upper cage built, I proceeded with lower kick-panels for the left and right side. These both fasten to the loader brackets using existing bolts. The left one has a door opening, while the right one does not. My loader joystick hinders exiting the tractor on the right anyway.
The upper cage and lower kick panels are fastened at the belt-line with 1/4" bolts.
To accommodate glass weather-stripping I stitch welded 3/4 x 3/4 x 3/16 angle iron flush with the outside of all the openings that would have glass. For the door and window opening, I used the same size angle iron but welded it flush with the inside of the cab, creating a surface for them to seal against.
The door and window frame are made of 1x1 thin wall tubing and the same angle iron. Door and window hinges are weld-on bullet hinges from a local welding shop.

Before it headed off to get painted, I plugged all the tube ends, ground all the welds and used a little bondo to fill some seams.


A good friend of mine painted it after hours at work. Rustoleum Charcoal Gray 7784 matches the Kubota Gray very well.

 

[Billrog]

I'm sure impressed with some of the cab builds I've seen on the sight and this is no exception.

 

[Rustyiron]

Very nice cab!!
I have round fenders and am afraid what that might come out looking like.:laughing: