Benefits of a cab with a/c?

[markmc]

I didnt know how to change the title of my other thread but it should have been about cabs and not about JD tractors...sorry about that.

Anyway, here is the orignal question...

Hi Guys,
Long time lurker, first time caller. This is a great forum and I just wanted to introduce myself. I live in Houston Texas and have 13acres near Hockley that I am going to build a house, barn, driveway etc on. I intend to use a cutter to clear a lot of the land and then regulary keep it mowed. I will also be moving dirt around, moving logs, digging up trees, buiulding my own driveway and probably the pad for the barn. I think I will hire someone to dig me a 1 acre lake and use the clay for the house pad with left overs for the barn pad.

I purchased the JD 4320 with the HST and a 400CX FEL. I didnt spring for the $5k - $6k cab+a/c but with the hot weather here in Texas I am beginning to wonder if I should have.

What do all of you think who are also in a warm area? Is it worth the extra money or should I just put money into more implements. Any and all replies would be appreciated.

Also, I ordered it with a canopy. I was wondering what members thought about the health benefits of a cab? Would a sealed cab with a/c be any better than using a mask if you were prone to allergies from cutting grass?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[npaden]

Have you read through this thread? It has some really good discussion on the topic.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/94415-cabs-useful-under-say-30-a.html

I've actually been considering upgrading to a cab. If money IS an consideration you have to decide for that extra $5k or $6k whether you think backhoe would be more useful or 10hp more tractor or about 4 really nice implements. That's where I'm at right now. Plus my current tractor "does the job". I've actually found a tractor that is a mirror image of my current tractor except it has a cab and 2 rear remotes and the guy is asking about $4k or $5k more than I could probably get for mine and it is a 10 year old tractor so it seems like the cabs hold their value well anyway.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[Oleozz]

Also, I ordered it with a canopy. I was wondering what members thought about the health benefits of a cab? Would a sealed cab with a/c be any better than using a mask if you were prone to allergies from cutting grass?

Thanks,
Mark

Many health benefits from a cab. No sun, no bees or bugs to sting you, no breathing in spray vapors, no dust or allergens, when I have my cab on recirculated air I can run through liquid pig manure and get very little odor inside the cab. The biggest drawback to a cab are limbs on trees, you have to use a little caution when in the woods.

 

[Kendall69]

Let me tell you a story of NO BEES. I rented a 2 yard loader with a cab, a big mother, to tackle 4ac of mesquite that has been there since the 1800's.

I was going along just fine, then I hit some sort of bee colony, because they started attacking, yes attacking the cab. There were so many bees the cab went dark, it was like a solar eclipse. i just st there with my jaw on my lap, backed out and just waited till they left.

I went back in to decimate wherever they came from. i didn't finish the job that day, returned the loader, and never ever went near that area with my no cab Kubota.

Next day I was cleaning up around my date palm trees, and I had stopped near a tree, and looked to my left and there was a date thorn inches from my left eye. These thorns can penetrate a tractor tire like a hot knife through butter.

That next week the no cab went up for sale, and have been searching for the perfect cab model ever since.

For me also the temp reach 123 plus throughout the summer so air is not a luxury item it's necessity.

With a loader I don't know why anyone would be without a cab, the dirt, and dust flying back in your face in miserable.

 

[markmc]

Have you read through this thread? It has some really good discussion on the topic.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/94415-cabs-useful-under-say-30-a.html

I've actually been considering upgrading to a cab. If money IS an consideration you have to decide for that extra $5k or $6k whether you think backhoe would be more useful or 10hp more tractor or about 4 really nice implements. That's where I'm at right now. Plus my current tractor "does the job". I've actually found a tractor that is a mirror image of my current tractor except it has a cab and 2 rear remotes and the guy is asking about $4k or $5k more than I could probably get for mine and it is a 10 year old tractor so it seems like the cabs hold their value well anyway.

FWIW, Nathan

Just read the whole thing. Some very interesting comments. I think the fella who mentioned the allergies was right on the money. Most of my family struggle with allergies from time to time and I sure we will all be sharing the mowing. Now, to just pluck up the courage to plonk down another $6k

 

[Z-Michigan]

A cab seemed extravagant when I was shopping, in winter (and I am fine with cold). After a fair bit of mowing in hot weather I would have really liked a cab. IMHO for crops or tons of mowing, a cab is the way to go. For smaller jobs and landscaping/construction type things a cab would potentially get in the way if you need to get on and off the tractor a lot. I also did some chisel plowing this spring and I had to get off the tractor literally every 10 minutes to clean dirt clods off the shanks. That would have been more difficult with a cab; it was bad enough without one.

 

[unreconstructed]

Depends on your tolerance and how accustomed you are to being outside.
Never had a cab back in the late 50s and 60s when I grew up on a cotton farm. Didn't even have a shade on the tractor at times. The shade was nice, I have to admit. Worked for a while just out of high school for a farmer who had a tractor with cab but no a/c. I was young and dumb-- that tractor was a real cooker. Pop finally got a tractor with cab and a/c about '67. He was not one for creature comforts since he had once farmed with horses, but I think he liked the cab and A/C. I did not want one for my 5203 or 2320 but heat does not bother me, even at 57. I guess if I was farming, I would get one. But for what I do and no more time than I spend on the machine, I enjoy the sun and the dirt and had rather spend the $$ on something else.

 

[frank_f15]

think if i lived where you do I would be inclined to go for a cab, but up here in the NORTHEAST it seldom is hot enough to worry about a cab w/ac (unless you are on it for extened times) cab would be nice in the winter when it is snowing hard and windy, but even then BEING RETIRED i just wait till it stops.

 

[bx23barry]

I guess it depends on how tough you are and what you are doing. Having harvested with and without a cab there is no way I would do it without a cab and AC (never get a cab without AC unless it never gets over 70) today. Cabs are nice but never missed it bailing/raking/backhoeing. But great spraying/mowing (I'm allergic to bees)/or in dust plowing/discing.... and I hate the cold so I'd have to have a cab working snow.

 

[markmc]

Many health benefits from a cab. No sun, no bees or bugs to sting you, no breathing in spray vapors, no dust or allergens, when I have my cab on recirculated air I can run through liquid pig manure and get very little odor inside the cab. The biggest drawback to a cab are limbs on trees, you have to use a little caution when in the woods.

This is what I have been thinking. The big thing with us is that I know my wife and son will be using the tractor and that probably should play a part in my decision as well.