Cab or no Cab

[vtsnowedin]

Well Professor I think my soft cab is the answer for you. Great winter protection and you can unzip it and take it completely off in ten minutes in the spring and hang it up some where. (Don't roll it up). About twenty minutes in the fall to put it back on depending on how good you are at getting big zippers started. The canopy stays on all summer and gives you some small limb falling protection. Even a one inch limb can give you quite a whack if you don't see it coming.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Also, one more thing to consider is the added effort of climbing around the door and out of the cab each time you adjust the blade angle etc. To me it adds up.

I see everyone talking about the difficulty of getting in and out of a cab. I don't find that to be an issue at all. In fact, with the long bar on the door, it gives a very good handhold to help with ascending and descending. My doors open enough so that the passage to the operators platform is completely open. I cant see it being any more difficult to get on and off the tractor with a cab than not. Of course I am basing this on my tractor only and not on others (CUTs)which might have smaller cabs/doors etc. So other than having to reach forward and release the latch, I see nothing more difficult getting in and out of a cab vs. open station.

I only had open station tractors when I grew up on the farm and came in after a hard day of disking covered with dirt/dust, eyes caked with dirt and mud from tears & clothes that had to be dusted off hardily before we could go into the house. Now with my cab, I can work all day and be almost as clean as when I got on the tractor. Any dirt on me is the result of work done off the tractor.

My only wish is that my TLB could have a cab but that is not an option, because that is what I use the most now.

 

[charles todd]

I see everyone talking about the difficulty of getting in and out of a cab. I don't find that to be an issue at all. In fact, with the long bar on the door, it gives a very good handhold to help with ascending and descending. My doors open enough so that the passage to the operators platform is completely open. I cant see it being any more difficult to get on and off the tractor with a cab than not. Of course I am basing this on my tractor only and not on others (CUTs)which might have smaller cabs/doors etc. So other than having to reach forward and release the latch, I see nothing more difficult getting in and out of a cab vs. open station.

I only had open station tractors when I grew up on the farm and came in after a hard day of disking covered with dirt/dust, eyes caked with dirt and mud from tears & clothes that had to be dusted off hardily before we could go into the house. Now with my cab, I can work all day and be almost as clean as when I got on the tractor. Any dirt on me is the result of work done off the tractor.

My only wish is that my TLB could have a cab but that is not an option, because that is what I use the most now.

Gary, our LS P-series tractors are full sized utility tractors. Its like a full size truck vs a compact car when comparing cab space. The large cab was a selling point for me.

I looked at a Mahindra 6010 and LS XU5065CPS. Both felt cramped inside and not as easy to enter or exit. The P-series was marginally more upfront, much more tractor, but gave up power shuttle... Who needs power shuttle!

I have three tractors, only one has a cab. But the cab gets 90% of the use now!

CT

 

[Sysop]

I think what it boils down to is two things.

#1: If you can have more than one unit, great; have one of each.
#2: If you can do all your tasks with a cab that you can do with an open station, great; get a cab. If not, get an open station...

I personally don't want to cut 10' wide by 15' tall paths everywhere I need to go before going, I may never need to be there again. To buy a cabbed tractor in my case would mean doing a couple years worth of preparatory work just to get the tractor where I wanted to go.

Additionally in my case, two identical units except one is cabbed and the other is not, the cab is always going to have the higher center of gravity. I'm in WV, there are hills (big ones), where the difference in a 100# sun canopy can make the difference between traversing a hill or doing a recovery and putting it back upright.

 

[terryknight]

as has been said before a lot of what i do involves getting on and off the tractor or talking to someone on the ground hooking up chains, ropes directing, etc. for these things a cab is not as easy as an open station. in the cold a cab is nice. if i were doing something where space, and getting on and off weren't a concern i would like a cab especially in the extreme temps/wind, but i also being "outside" when the weather's "nice."

case 580 cab has working no heat or AC, but it does keep the wind at bay.

 

[Citydude]

I'm on an open station 3-4 hours a day in the summer heat mowing right of ways. I like the feeling of being outside as well. Just a thought, do all you pro cab guys have cabs on your horses? Just asking,,,,,

 

[bj216rw]

I used to have an open station tractor until one morning at 3:00 am I went out to clear my lane in a blizzard. The wind was blowing so hard with heavy snow that I couldn't even see where I was going, I had a ski mask on and I still thought I would freeze to death. It wasn't 30 days later I traded and purchased a new cab tractor. Never again will be without a cab.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I used to have an open station tractor until one morning at 3:00 am I went out to clear my lane in a blizzard. The wind was blowing so hard with heavy snow that I couldn't even see where I was going, I had a ski mask on and I still thought I would freeze to death. It wasn't 30 days later I traded and purchased a new cab tractor. Never again will be without a cab.

Some times it's they only way!

 

[charles todd]

I'm on an open station 3-4 hours a day in the summer heat mowing right of ways. I like the feeling of being outside as well. Just a thought, do all you pro cab guys have cabs on your horses? Just asking,,,,,

I had horses for a few years. My grandfather's old saying "A horse is a luxury I care not to afford" finally rang a bell... He was born 1913... He grew up using them. Today, horses are a luxury or an accessory. You don't have to feed engines when not running.

CT

 

[NC419N]

My answer is both. Until I purchased a real cab tractor I would have never said spend the $ and buy one. But after owning one I wonder why in the world would I not have one. With that said there are places that I would never go with the Cab but only with the open station. So the cure the problem buy both but for most of us it takes years for that to happen. Good luck with your purchase