To CAB or NOT

[1 Old Man]

OP. You list having a NH TC-40. Keep it for working deep in the woods. Open station, and those
are great little tractors.
Follow Williy's advice: get the cab, don't eat dust, don't snort pollen/ragweed etc, work when it's
100+ in the summer, work when it's cold as a witches boob in the winter.
I suffered through many years with open station. Wife finally insisted I get a cab tractor...
(I love her like crazy)....mowing, moving, stacking, loading hay bales is SO much nicer in the A/C!
You could have the best of both worlds.
BTW, 46 is not old.

 

[redman135]

If or rather when you go for a cab get air con , heater,SEAT: Air AND 2 way (up/down AND fore/aft) seat ,note ,the fore/aft greatly reduces the shunting effect when towing trailers, hay balers and other heavy trailed impliments. Lastly some tractors are easier to get in and out of than others, ie buddy seat stabs your leg getting out, mirror wacks you in head.
Good luck, and we want pictures when you buy

 

[Thomas]

Lot good have been given,find tractor you like ask dealer if you can take spin in their yard.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I have a open station, mostly because of the price, I choose HP over comfort for the same price and yes during the hot summer or cold winter I wish id have a cab with AC or heat and music... but when doing certain task I like the open cab like being able to adjust the height of the 3 point or FEL from the ground without having to climb in the tractor.

 

[riptides]

Cab,

It's my wifes tractor. LOL. On the serious side, she actually uses the tractor more than I do and she enjoys the climate control. If we did not have a cab, I'd be doing it all myself. I am rather glad to have the help.

Climate and environmental controls are a big deal for us now. Especially those horse flies and hornets. No way we would go back to open.

 

[oosik]

I own 80 acres and live on it also. I have a mile long driveway. Straight as an arrow - right down the section line. Came down from Alaska in 1982 and have lived here ever since. I owned a Ford 1700 that I bought new in '82 and traded in for a new Kubota M6040 in 2009. Both were/are open station.

As I get older - 81 now - there are times I wish I had purchased a cabbed M6040. However - the time from early spring to late fall can not be bettered than here in the PNW.

The dirt work I do does not generate much dust. I - most likely - would have a different answer if I did a whole lot of brush hogging. However - I do none of that.

Then there is the idea of leaving this nice warm house and sitting on an ice cold tractor - plowing snow on my driveway at 15F or colder. I have opted for a canopy and down outer wear. I've made it OK so far. I will survive.

 

[deserteagle71]

The dirt work I do does not generate much dust. I - most likely - would have a different answer if I did a whole lot of brush hogging. However - I do none of that.

This is where I REALLY appreciate the cab on my M7060. During the summer when I'm mowing my desert acres the mower stirs up so much dust that at times I have to come to a stop because I absolutely cannot see. I have to clean the cab air filter (and the tractor's outer air filter) twice a day...but at least I'm not inhaling all that dirt.

 

[wolc123]

I love the bee argument. I’ve yet to see it not come up in these “cab or not” fights here, yet in 50 years of operating open station tractors (almost exclusively), I’m still waiting for my first bee sting.

 

[riptides]

I love the bee argument. I’ve yet to see it not come up in these “cab or not” fights here, yet in 50 years of operating open station tractors (almost exclusively), I’m still waiting for my first bee sting.

You seem like a lucky person. I usually get one or two a year. And my reaction to them seems to be getting progressively worse.

 

[WinterDeere]

I love the bee argument. I’ve yet to see it not come up in these “cab or not” fights here, yet in 50 years of operating open station tractors (almost exclusively), I’m still waiting for my first bee sting.

More an issue on zero-turn mowers than tractors, around here. I know a few who've mowed over yellowjacket nests in the ground, and been hit with the obligatory two-dozen stings, but don't know anyone first-hand who's had that happen on a tractor.

Very funny story: One buddy managed to park his running zero-turn on top of a yellowjacket nest, and when they came pouring out of the ground and stinging him, he got up off the running mower and ran. Trouble was, he had defeated the seat switch, so the mower just kept running, at full throttle.

So, he decides he'd better go back and rescue his mower, but the yellowjackets were on him and stinging already, as he tried to jump up onto it and release the brake. His boot lace or pants cuff caught on the lever the raises the mower deck, and caused him to lose balance, just as he was reaching forward to release the brake and pull the control lever. The mower started doing circles in reverse, dragging him on the ground in circles over the yellowjacket nest.

All hilarious, except he ended up in the hospital with something like 120 stings, and a severe allergy to yellowjackets afterward.

And yeah, I already know he's an idiot. But he's our idiot. I'd have just turned off the key switch and ran. The mower can be retrieved after dark.