Cab tractor for around the home?

[willysmb]

I have read many threads on cab vs no cab and the basic consensus is that if you can afford a cab you should get a cab. My question is, if the primary use for a tractor was going to be for around the home would a cab be annoying? I plan to use the tractor mostly around my yard and shop and also on a hunting property. Although it will get used at the hunting property a couple times a month it will mostly be used at the house.

Around the house: Moving pallets, assisting with vehicle work (lifting motors, moving axles, etc), landscaping, garden etc. A lot of these tasks are going to require a lot of on and off the tractor which is making me thick a cab could get annoying.

Hunting Property: Food Plots, landscaping/ponds (puddles/watering hole), wood cutting, etc.

I do have a need for snow removal but I can snowplow with my Jeep. I have a few acres of fields to do. I would like to expand upon this but nothing is in the works now so I can't really plan for it. My thought is that I would maybe be better off to go with a smaller tractor now and a second larger cab tractor later if my need for field work ever increases beyond the couple acres of field work I have now.

 

[George2615]

I bought my first cab tractor (36 HP) over 2 1/2 years ago. Main reason was for winter plowing, moving snow with the QA PA plow or bucket. I don't do any farming or food plots but do use it for landscaping, downed tree removal, brush cleanup, etc. and a lot of automotive work such as you mentioned. Having A/C in summer and heat in winter is most welcome. QA forks are my most used attachment. I have a plow on my truck but plowing with the tractor is more fun and the tractor turns sharper than the truck in tight areas. I don't get out of the cab much in winter but even in summer its no problem getting in and out often. My cab is very roomy and I'm glad I bought it.

 

[cat fever]

I can tell you what you need.

2 tractors, and you'll be all smiles.:laughing:

Seriously, from what you described I think an open station will work.

 

[Wagtail]

Unless you're going to be spending hours on your tractor or using it during inclement conditions, I'd recommend going with an open-station.

You'll save a heap of money on something that clothing can more than adequately compensate for.

If you're dead set on buying something for your comfort, get the best air-ride seat on offer... one with a BCVC.


Edit: Whoops, sorry... a Butt-Crack Ventilation Channel (BCVC)

 

[PHPaul]

I'm originally from the St. Johns area, so I know about Michigan Summers and Winters.

Get the cab.

I ran open station tractors on the farm as a kid and I owned a JD750 for 28 years. I bought my first cab tractor a little over a year ago.

I'm STILL stoked about the advantages: Cool, dust and bug free in the Summer, warm and no snow down my neck in the Winter.

Getting in and out is really no different than getting on and off the JD.

There are only two minor annoyances I've found (besides the hefty price tag):

1. I have to be more careful working around trees

2. Hooking up implements takes a tad longer as I have to reach through the rear window to tweak the 3PH position.

@ 66 years of age, this is likely my last tractor but if there IS another, it'll have a cab too.

 

[daugen]

living in Northern Michigan, you could most likely justify a cab for doing a lot of snow work. By using your truck, that means that maybe occasionally you'd go out and bucket move some piles or drifts too big for the truck. The real question is do you want to be comfortable when it's zero degrees out without getting out your thermal underwear and bulky clothing. A second consideration might be bugs. If your mosquitoes resemble a squadron of B-52's, being able to mow fields and do outside landscaping work without bugs jumping on you, biting you, etc is always nice. Offset this by the constant opening and closing of doors and maybe some restricted sightlines in spots. Plus a lot more money that could be used on quite a few implements.

If you don't need a cab, I'd stay with an open tractor. And if you are new to tractors, I'd choose a hydrostatic model, they really do drive like a car.

I personally have bad hay fever type allergies and a cab with an air filter is just heaven for me.

I can vouch for the uneasy feeling one gets maneuvering a glass cabbed tractor in dense woods. If you are going to do woodcutting and go into the woods, an open tractor is less to worry about. I bought a used Massey and yesterday put the lower muffler kit on it to do just that, go into woods and not worry about breaking glass or constantly catching mirrors on vines and branches. Hydrostatic with an FEL, half a dozen good brands to look at. Take the money saved by not buying a cab and get a grapple instead. Besides, it's like a motorcycle, you really do feel more "out there" on an open tractor. And depending upon the weather, that may not be a good thing.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I have used a cab model extensively, and if theres hours at a time in hot dusty conditions or cold wind blown snow, a cab is great. I cant afford one, i bought an open station, and built a full roll cage for woods work. Suits me... No glass to break, and I like being 'out there'.

 

[TripleR]

We use the "more tractors the better", but in my experience, if you are in good health, good mobility, ease/difficulty of mounting/dismounting of cab v open station is really not all that significant. As to trees, I added limb risers and cab guards to prevent damage.

 

[willysmb]

The snow does not really bother me at all. At one point I was intending to get a blower so the cab was a no-brainer. However I no longer intend to get a blower and the cold weather does not really get me bad.

The comment about bugs might be the selling point for me though. It would be nice to avoid the mosquitoes. The bees are also a concern for me as well. My son is allergic to so protection from the bees would be nice. I also have two children that I know are going to want to ride with me and I know that is not a good idea on an open station.

 

[Grandad4]

How much and how often you need the tractor and what you'll be doing seem to be the major questions to answer. Some of us have the luxury of choosing when we get out the tractor, but for other folks, going out in the heat or cold is a necessity. Other factors: Many of my chores involve lots of on and off; that would be less convenient if I had a cab. When we first got our property, it was badly overgrown and a cab would have gotten damaged; now everything is cleared back so a cab would work fine.

 

[daugen]

We use the "more tractors the better", but in my experience, if you are in good health, good mobility, ease/difficulty of mounting/dismounting of cab v open station is really not all that significant. As to trees, I added limb risers and cab guards to prevent damage.

Steinjager(R) - Limb Riser Kit

I had to look that up, but I'm sure you did something different. TripleR, any chance you might have a photo of your tractor with a limb riser?
How does that work? At some point I guess you want a full cage around you, but that's a lot of modification and busyness to look through when not
working in the woods. Unless it was easily dismountable.
not trying to sidetrack OP but if he works in woods this is good info for all.

That cab glass is actually pretty darn tough; I've really dragged a lot of branches past I should have gotten out to prune.

 

[willysmb]

Is anyone aware of any type of mosquito net type temporary soft cabs that hang from the canopy? This could be a cheap salt to my bug problem and give me the open station that I would prefer everywhere else

 

[oosik]

I've had two tractors since we moved on the property 34 years ago. Both were/are open station. I'm on the tractor, year round, doing this & that. Moving chunks of pine trees, cultivating/leveling land, working on the driveway, moving large rocks in the summer and clearing snow in the winter.

I prefer open station because I like being out in the weather and can't justify the added cost of a cab. We VERY SELDOM get a snow storm that I won't go out in, if necessary, to move snow. Our snow storms are NOTHING like they get in the mid-west or back east. Being retired - if we ever do get a REAL storm - I enjoy sitting in the house and watching until its over - then plan my next step.

I've sat in cabbed tractors while operating them and do not enjoy the closed in feeling.

I have excellent winter clothing and do not do many "dust raising" activities - ex, using a bush hog. Mosquitos, wasps etc are not a big problem either.

I've spend a truck load of $$$$ on implements - just not a cab.

 

[TripleR]

Steinjager(R) - Limb Riser Kit

I had to look that up, but I'm sure you did something different. TripleR, any chance you might have a photo of your tractor with a limb riser?
How does that work? At some point I guess you want a full cage around you, but that's a lot of modification and busyness to look through when not
working in the woods. Unless it was easily dismountable.
not trying to sidetrack OP but if he works in woods this is good info for all.

That cab glass is actually pretty darn tough; I've really dragged a lot of branches past I should have gotten out to prune.

Here is the thread: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/302353-brush-guard-cab-tractor.html?highlight=

It all bolts together and is easily taken off.

 

[daugen]

and it's not very intrusive either. Kind of neat to see it installed on same tractor I own. Thanks

 

[chim]

After spending over 20 years on open station tractors I built a cab. It has a heater that runs off the engine coolant, but no A/C. The doors lift off for warm weather and the past couple years I've been leaving the roof and other glass on to provide some shade. That plus a "bus driver" fan keeps it livable on hot days. If the office pool ever hits the lottery I'll spring for a tractor with factory air.

 

[KennyG]

The compromises are why I have a soft cab. I have a lot of mowing spots that a cab would have me using the push mower. However, I can't imagine snow blowing without the cab. I put it on in the fall, take it off in the spring.

 

[oosik]

I had a 3-point snow blower with my previous tractor. There is nothing more refreshing, eye-opening than having the wind shift directions as you are blowing snow. Its about as pleasant as driving under a snow laden pine bough and having it wait to dump until you are directly underneath.

My M6040 is heavy enough to relocate the driveway berms without the benefit of a blower - the offset rear blade does the trick.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My cab is pretty tough. I recently mowed my ex-daughter in laws place that has 15 year old pine trees planted about 20 feet apart. The limbs overlap the space between but no problem driving thru them with the cab. All it did was fold back the mirrors and the front cab lights. I just pulled the lights back down when finished and had to fold back the mirrors so I could open the doors. It sure beat the heck out of getting rapped in the face with limbs all the time.
Sure, large limbs I don't go under that might puncture the top or whatever, but small limbs bend right out of the way.

 

[Texasmark]

I retired in 2005. I bought my first new tractor in 2007 with a cab. Haven't looked back. The money is a distant memory. What I bought with it will be with me till the end. After 28 years (at the time) in open stations, it was "Time For Change".