Cab vs no cab for forestry work?

[Boondox]

I live in New England where the weather is often pretty ugly, so on the face of it the decision seems like a no brainer. For reasons of comfort as well as protecting my investment from the elements it seems like a cab is the way to go. I didn't get the cab model on my L4630 for a couple of reasons, though:

1) I have a low breezeway the tractor can pass under only with the ROPS lowered; a cab would have made that impossible.

2) One of the primary uses of the tractor is to harvest firewood in our dense hardwood forest; the old timers advised me against going with a cab because they are invariably damaged by branches. In fact, the day I bought my tractor a cab model was returned with a shattered back window and that curved glass is EXPENSIVE!

Now that I'm in the market for a mini-excavator I'm facing the same decision. A cab would keep me much more comfortable in the cold and if it's not too hot (can't afford AC) it would keep the black flies and mosquitos at bay. It would also keep the rain, ice and snow off the controls.

Cons of a cab (for me): They cost an additional $5000 that could be better spent on a more capable model. Concerns about damage would make it less manueverable in the forest. My dogs often accompany me and are under voice control, but it's hard to call them from inside a cab. In the summer months without AC (remember I can't afford it) the cab would be like being in one of those coolers in a movie about a POW camp.

Would you go with a cab...or without and get a bigger piece of equipment?

 

[Oleozz]

You want opinions but you seemed to have answered your own questions, no cab and get a bigger piece of equipment. The limbs and branches are going to ruin your cab, no control of your dogs, you can't afford a cab, and you seem to want a bigger excavator.

 

[BTDT]

Can't argue with that. I might suggest some kind of cage for protection from falling limbs and such though. Maybe framework with expanded metal.

Most of the excavators I've seen come with cabs. Any pics of units your considering.

 

[john_bud]

Can't argue with that. I might suggest some kind of cage for protection from falling limbs and such though. Maybe framework with expanded metal.

Most of the excavators I've seen come with cabs. Any pics of units your considering.

Well, there's cages and then there's cabs. Some of the cages look like a cab from a distance.

For woods work, most of the cab equipment I've seen has a lot of added protection around it. Sort of looks like Mad Max meets Paul Bunyon.

Are you talking about new equipment or used? I would think that the cost delta between cab or no cab would drop a bit on the used market. There is a third trade off of getting an older cab model with AC. I would guess that a new cage model would cost the same as a 3-5 year old cab model of the same capability and that would be the same cost as a 5-8 year old cab model with heat & AC. Is that about right?

If you are like me, those black flies are just about enough to drive you mad. But the deer flies around here are enough to chew your arm clean off. Nasty buggers.

jb

 

[jbrumberg]

Boondox:

I would recommend a FOPS; but then you couldn't get under your breezeway . I have had a lot more FOPS-branch "interactions" than I have had ROPS-branch interactions since I got the FOPS but I have not knocked off any of my "knockoff" hazard lights either . Jay

 

[MossRoad]

I had a cab on my IH2500b. Every piece of glass in it had cracks from branches snapping back as I pushed through the undergrowth.

On the other hand, those branches never made it to my face or body!

Had I kept the tractor, I had plans to replace all the glass with expanded steel mesh and put vinyl roll up curtains inside for rain and cold. For the windshield, I would have made a steel screen out front so I could still have wipers.

Air conditioning is a must in a cab in summer. I didn't have it and suffered dearly. Heck, even in the winter I had the heater line shut off. The heat of the engine and HST after an hour was plenty.

 

[Boondox]

Thanks for the replies...

Jay, the breezeway is only an issue in winter when there's no alternative route to using the driveway. The excavator will be used in the woods which is the other direction so the clearance isn't a problem in this instance.

John and BTDT -- I'd never thought of a mesh cage! Thanks for the idea! I have a local source of that 1" mesh used in golf carts and RTVs that might do a great job of protecting my face.

David -- On the topic of replacing glass, the Volvo uses flat glass which can be replaced pretty cheaply. The Kubota glass is all curved and has to be an OE thing at considerable expense. I've heard from others that cabs with no AC are miserable in the summer heat. In an open ROPS/FOPS the black flies are sheer torture. Deer flies I can deal with; those flesh colored sticky strips that go on the back of your hat are a most wonderful invention. But the black flies, some days I just stay inside!

Pete

 

[jbrumberg]

Pete:

I do not like blackflies either ! I also do not like that DEET stuff; anything you can urinate out of you shortly after rubbing it on your skin is something you should be careful using. DEET also melts plastic . I spent several weeks working in the Costa Rican jungle and had less trouble with insects there than with NE's blackflies in the spring. At my age I no longer care what I look like . I wear one of those mesh headgear thingies that go over your hat during NE's black fly season. I look funnier than usual, but it keeps those buggers off me . I have a queston for you - is the blackfly the state bird of VT or NH? Jay

 

[BTDT]

Do they make a 12v bug zapper to hang off of the ROPS?

 

[jpm]

boondox the least you need is a steel plate above your head so you don't a knoken on you nogging.i'm sure you have read about loggers getting hurt out in the woods,alot of times it's branches falling from above