Are cabs useful under say 30-35 hp?

[Woodbeef]

Ok after wandering around the big farmshow up here,and seeing all the emphasis on the smaller tractors this year,I started wondering about the factory cabbed ones. What I was wondering is: If a factory cab was available on everything but the SCUTs would they sell enough to make them worthwhile to the manufacturers? Sure they'll sell up here,but we are a small part of North American sales. What about in the South,or West,MidWest? Also how many cabbed tractors would it take to pay-off the cab investment I wonder?

 

[john_bud]

Good question. Can't say what the payoff would be. But having filtered air and cooled air is a nice thing when working in a hot and dusty field all day. It's not just about heated air when the snow flies.

There were a bunch of posts about grumpy bees and wasps that people were getting into. I got to think that a cab would be great when there is a swarm of grumpy bugs outside trying to get in.

jb (cab-less)

 

[patrick_g]

I am in south central Oklahoma. I find my cab tractor (39.5 PTO HP) quite useful.

In summer: When it gets hot and humid I look for things to do with the tractor instead of being out in the heat.

In winter: My little 4x4 Kubota will get me there irrespective of the conditions to feed the herd and break ice on the ponds so they can drink without my having to bundle up to the point I can hardly wiggle. No more getting rained on and having to change clothes 2-3 times a day.

Mowing etc without getting dust covered. Spraying without getting sprayed. Less insect problems (mosquitos, hornets, bees, wasps, chiggers, ticks)

What has size and HP got to do with it except you need enough HP to run the A/C. I see no difference in motivation for a cab between large and small tractors. It isn't a size thing, it is a use thing. If you only use your tractor for 30 min to mow the lawn or have the luxurious option to defer any given tractor task till inclement weather has passed or you don't mind getting baked in the sun, frozen in winter, rained on and so forth then a cab is no big deal. When I operate someone else's tractor, sans cab, I have to try to remember the limbs and such can swat you.

I have obligations to my animals and they have to be taken care of no matter what the weather. A cab tractor makes that much easier on me. I don't like to let a project hang too long because of weather if I can avoid it. A cab helps, quite a lot.

If tractoring is something you do only when it is fun or you are in the mood and it is convenient then a cab is not such a big deal.

As far as the manufacturer amortizing his cab design and testing over a smaller number of units and such... I don't worry about it since I can't effect it.

If I had to pick between a cab and a few HP (due to $), I'd go for the cab. If that meant I had to operate the tractor a little longer due to less HP, at least I'd be more comfortable and safe. Long hours of tractoring will take the starch out of your sails, with or without a cab but with a cab is way nicer.

Pat

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Woodbeef,
As John states at times its nice to have an air conditioned cab on those hot dusty days ! I have mowed my property on some pretty warm days and it can get mighty hot out in the middle of the field Most of what I have seen out there on the new tractor market is cabs on 45hp +.
Im sure there is a market in certain areas!

 

[Oleozz]

With the first three tractors that I owned it wasn't even a consideration, I just felt that you needed to be sitting out in the open and I couldn't afford one anyway. When I started to look for a new tractor last spring in the beginning I wasn't thinking about a cab either but I realized that for most of the tasks that I use a tractor for (brush hogging, spraying, plowing) a cab would not be so much a luxury anymore but more of a necessity. Last week when I was out scraping the little bit of snow that we got I kept thinking how nice it was to be inside out of the cold and wind.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I think when you start getting into tractors under 30hp then cabs begin to become an obstruction. Most of the guys on here seem to all worry about the rops being too tall so they have to fold it down to fit in their garages. Cabs don't fold very easily so not a lot of current owners would be able to park their small tractors inside unless they built a new building. The AC will rob hp also making an already small tractor less powerful couple that with the power loss from the hst and what do you have left, a 30 hp tractor that gives you 20-22 useable horses?

You know cabs are great if you have the area for them but I think when you start talking about under 30hp tractors then cabs will not pay off for the manufacturer as they will have a very limited market. The guys who mainly brush chop and do loader work in wide open areas would be able to make the most use out of the cab but those guys usually go with a 30+hp tractor to begin with.

 

[MossRoad]

On the way back from lunch just now I passed a JD X500 something with a hard cab and snowblower doing the town sidewalks. He looked comfortable and that is a lawn tractor.

 

[Volfandt]

The B3030 w/cab is a good seller for Kubota. I've tested one out and when I turned the AC on I didn't notice any drop in rpm or power.

I'd definitely consider it should I ever decide to upgrade to a larger machine.

 

[lawn_king]

I notice no power loss to the ac in my B3030 HSDC.

 

[Oleozz]

I can definitely feel a power loss when I turn the AC on in my 45 hp Kioti when I'm at low rpm's.