Canopy rather than Cab

[wolc123]

There are many reasons why I prefer a canopy, with the chief one being cost. A close second is the fact that I enjoy my time outside mostly because my full time job is inside a factory. Other advantages of a canopy is increased stability due to lower center of gravity, lower maintenance cost, and increased fuel economy. Also does not cover up abnormal operation noises from equipment. When you add all that up, you couldn't pay me to own a tractor with a cab.

That said, you also couldn't pay me to work on a tractor in the hot sun or rain, without a canopy. This is the one I spent a couple hours making for my JD 4120 back in 2005, when it was new. It has held up well for 16 years, although I did replace the canvas top when the old one (made from an old boat cover I got for $5 at a garage sale), got a tear in it.

My brother in law was scrapping his tent camper and some canvas from that made a perfect replacement cover for my canopy. The frame is made from 1-1/2" square pine and a couple 2x4's. It attaches with (2) 3/8" bolts drilled thru the top of the rops, and two metal diagonal supports (cut from an old fertilizer spreader handle), attached to the rops folding brackets with (2) 5/16" bolts.

The whole assembly weighs about 35 pounds and can easily be lifted into place with one hand.

The effectiveness of a canopy in the hot sun really has to be experienced to comprehend. The motion of the tractor, coupled with the shade from the canopy, makes for comfort, even on extremely hot, dead-calm days. So much better than being locked in a glass box waiting for your air conditioner to cool you down.

 

[buck12]

What’s your location? I owned a tractor with a fiberglass canopy for 12 years. The canopy did make a huge difference in the sun but it was still hot in July and August. Now I have a cab with AC and it sure is nice on hot Mississippi days.

 

[RickB]

A canopy is better than nothing in the summer. They suck in winter and in many chilly spring and fall days. I'm glad you are happy with yours.

 

[Thomas]

Yep better than nothing...in heat of summer maybe fan blowing on your back side would help.

 

[wolc123]

What’s your location? I owned a tractor with a fiberglass canopy for 12 years. The canopy did make a huge difference in the sun but it was still hot in July and August. Now I have a cab with AC and it sure is nice on hot Mississippi days.

I am in Western NY, about half way between lake Erie and lake Ontario. It rarely gets that hot around here. I am rather cold blooded. There is no way I could live farther south than around Gettysburg Pa. The heat really kills me, but I dont mind the cold much at all.

I have to go to Mississippi now and then for work so I understand your need for AC. Ever eat at Bozos fish down in Pascagoula ? That there is some good eating.

My prior tractor had a big factory fiberglass canopy and I never realized just how effective that was in the hot sun until I replaced it with my open-station JD 4120. I didn't have that tractor a week when I made the canopy for it.

While I was in college, I worked a summer job where I ran a tractor loader backhoe with an air conditioned cab on occassion. Even then, I couldn't wait to get out of that.

 

[Jstpssng]

I never would have considered one, but my slightly used tractor came with a fiberglass canopy. I thought I'd probably take it off and either sell it or put it on occasionally... that was 2 1/2 years ago and it's been on ever since. I need to use a little care in the woods but it sure is nice when the sun's beating down, or I get caught in a downpour and beat feet for the house. You wouldn't lift mine with one hand, I would have built a hoist from the shed roof if I took it off.

 

[wolc123]

I never would have considered one, but my slightly used tractor came with a fiberglass canopy. I thought I'd probably take it off and either sell it or put it on occasionally... that was 2 1/2 years ago and it's been on ever since. I need to use a little care in the woods but it sure is nice when the sun's beating down, or I get caught in a downpour and beat feet for the house. You wouldn't lift mine with one hand, I would have built a hoist from the shed roof if I took it off.

That sounds like the one my prior tractor (Ford 2110) had on it. I busted the corners up on that one a little, using the tractor in the woods. It was very large and heavy but did a decent job of blocking the sun.

I vastly improved on that one with the one that I made for the John Deere. I made it about the same size overall, but deeper. That let's it do a better job of blocking the sun when it is not directly ovehead. Mine is also wider over the operator, but tapers towards the front, so that it does not snag branches easily in the woods.

The biggest superiority of my homemade canopy is it's light weight and ease of attachment. If I want to take it off, so that I can fold down the rops to fit in a standard sized garage door, I can do it in under a minute.

I used to park the Ford 2110 for the winter because my older, non-rops Ford 8n fit in my standard garage doors but the 2110 did not. It also lacked a block heater and refused to start without either when the temp was below 45 degrees F.

By contrast, my 4wd, JD 4120, with the canopy removed and the rops folded down, with a block heater and loaded R-1 tires, is far and away the best piece of snow removal equipment that I have ever owned or operated.

 

[Cougsfan]

Having owned tractors with a canopy and a cab, I can understand your rationalizations, However, there is no way I would prefer a canopy over a cab, I would agree that a canopy is better than nothing, and I would agree that if you look hard enough, you can find a few advantages. But in the dead of summer or winter, nothing beats a cab, and that trumphs all those advantages one dreams up.

 

[i7win7]

Yep better than nothing...in heat of summer maybe fan blowing on your back side would help.

Oh Yeah, 2100cfm

 

[wolc123]

Having owned tractors with a canopy and a cab, I can understand your rationalizations, However, there is no way I would prefer a canopy over a cab, I would agree that a canopy is better than nothing, and I would agree that if you look hard enough, you can find a few advantages. But in the dead of summer or winter, nothing beats a cab, and that trumphs all those advantages one dreams up.

Does your cab tractor fit in a standard 7 ft high garage door ? How does or work in the woods ? Has your air conditioner ever given you trouble? Does the glass ever get dirty or broken ? Do you have a full time job inside a heated and air conditioned building ?