Soft cab for a JD 5045E

[vtsnowedin]

Well winter approaches and not wanting to wait for the last minute I ordered a soft cab for my 5045E today from Covermytractor.com With shipping it comes to just under $1900. A lot less then a hard cab if you could even get one from the factory and I'll be able to take it off in the summer when I'm working in the woods.
Any thought or experiences guys?

[bigtiller]

Soft sides are better than no sides, that cold wind has a big bite sometimes. Are you going to have a heater in the cab? If not and you find the windows fogging over and freezing, try a defroster fan.

[vtsnowedin]

Soft sides are better than no sides, that cold wind has a big bite sometimes. Are you going to have a heater in the cab? If not and you find the windows fogging over and freezing, try a defroster fan.

They have a 12 volt heater availablefor about $60. I'll probably end up with one but perhaps not from them. Just being out of the wind while wearing coveralls will be a godsend. I would only need the heater if I need it to keep the windows from fogging up.

[bigtiller]

Our bodys give off a lot of heat and moisture, so if the cab has a good tight fit to the tractor then a fan to move the air around helps to prevent fogging. But if their are a few gaps between the cab and tractor there probably won't be much of a problem with fogging.

I spent a lot of time in a JD 480 back in the '70's with a soft cab and no heater.

[vtsnowedin]

I could always leave a door half zipped I suppose. I notice that the transmission case is quite warm when I'm using the tractor but don't know if that will be enough heat in the winter if I'm not using the PTO. And if we get a good old fashioned winter with 40 below it wouldn't be . Most all our snow comes in well above 0 F but the day after while your cleaning up can get right down there to tree popping cold. In the soft cab I won't have to worry about wind chill which is the major worry. Add a good set of boots so the steel floor dosn't freeze my feet and I should be good to go. Maybe add some old carpet on the floor.

[jenkinsph]

Skip the carpet idea, besides being a mess remember that heat rises and you don't want to block it from warming the cab area. I see that deere is introducing cabs for the 5055E and up this year, somebody is going to be toasty warm in the winter now.

[vtsnowedin]

Skip the carpet idea, besides being a mess remember that heat rises and you don't want to block it from warming the cab area. I see that deere is introducing cabs for the 5055E and up this year, somebody is going to be toasty warm in the winter now.

I wasn't thinking of capping over the center frame castings ,just the flat sheet steel decks with the holes in them you rest your feet on. Also I will have to wait and see how the cab fits in around the back and sides of the seat and control levers to see if any holes need plugging there.
I'll keep everybody here posted on how I make out.

[vtsnowedin]

I see that deere is introducing cabs for the 5055E and up this year, .

Where did you see this? It will be a very interesting development and I wonder if present owners will be able to get one from JD as a retrofit kit.

[jenkinsph]

On the TBN home page, there is a recent article about deere 5000 upgrades. Read the article for more information.

[vtsnowedin]

Well the canopy parts arrived today all in good condition. No sign of the enclosure as yet. The web site says it has also been shipped but it doesn't say when. If I was nervous I'd start following the tracking numbers but I'm fully engaged with work at the moment so can be patient.