Home Made Tractor Cab

[Mark from Maine]

Hopefully I have been successful in uploading and attaching a few photos of my new tractor cab I recently built.

 

[Billrog]

:thumbsup: Mark that's a real nice cab lots of thought and effort was put into it.

 

[PILOON]

Like your snow blower crank hole.
You might consider a curtain or flap to keep out the cold.

 

[pap71]

Nice job Mark, I wish I had one for my tractor.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Nice job.

 

[Mark from Maine]

Thanks everybody for the compliments. This project started a few years ago when I decided it would be nice to have a canopy to protect me and the tractor from at least some of the weather. After looking at some of the commercial offerings I decided I could probably come up with something less expensive. The roof canopy is 1 x 4 pine with a sheet of FRP panel screwed to the topside. While snow blowing one cold and windy day I thought about the used 1/4 inch plexiglass that was laying around in the shop and it became the rear window. Then it was "I bet if I had mirrors my neck wouldn't hurt so much after snow blowing." The purpose of two mirrors on each side is that one is aimed at the outer edge of the snow blower and the other is aimed further up the driveway.

This year I added the rest of the components. I had an unused sheet of 1/4 inch marine grade Okume plywood that got used for the panels. The doors and front windshield are 1/4 plexiglass, the smaller trim pieces are PVC. The stain is left over from doing the garage last fall.

The cab is definitely light duty but any of the components are easily replaceable in the event of damage. The cab disassembles very quickly for removing for off season storage. My goal was to not have to much time or money tied up into it.

I still have to fabricate something for a door handle/latch system. And it is certainly not air tight but it is a huge improvement from sitting completely exposed out in the elements. We had a heck of a long, cold, snowy winter last year here in the North East and it was just what I needed to motivate me to build this.

 

[larry1965]

Good job, the cab looks nice. Do you plan on running any heat or will the cab be warm enough without it.

 

[Mark from Maine]

Good job, the cab looks nice. Do you plan on running any heat or will the cab be warm enough without it.

Larry, I'm not planning on running any heat. There are a lot of areas not sealed up. I left a 1/2 inch or so gap between some of the plywood panels and the tractor's plastic panels in an effort not to wear away the plastic. Another gap around the door and a fairly big hole just forward of the foot controls. The plastic panels do generate a bit of solar heat when the sun is out so it does seam a little warmer in the cab than when I step out. I could spend some time sealing up the leaks but I am content for now just not having to to getting hit with the full effects of the blizzard conditions caused by the snow blower running and a Northwest wind.

 

[hrspwrranch]

On my 3038E with cab the transmission warms it pretty well. I put on a $9 harbor freight electric heater to de-fog the glass. It won't melt ice, but keeps it from fogging when I plow.

 

[gladehound]

Mark, Nice cab. Quite deluxe compared to mine! I just used a piece of aluminum for the roof and hung 30 mil plastic from it. I don't even have a windshield yet - just back and sides.