Are cabs useful under say 30-35 hp?

[mjarrels]

Cab question... my experience has been when something is about to break, the first thing indicating a problem is "sound", spindle failure, bearing, belt, etc. When in a cab (radio on). Can you actually hear what is going on with implements?

mark

 

[Oleozz]

One of the advantages of a cab is its sound dampening qualities, it's much easier on the ears inside a cab. With the radio on it's not easy to hear the implements.

 

[OrangeGuy]

In regards to "hearing" a potential problem earlier with a non-cabbed tractor, if you are following safety guidelines, the ear protection you are wearing will reduce sound levels to or lower than a cabbed tractor.

OrangeGuy

 

[patrick_g]

The only audible sign of distress I have ever had from my tractor was a loose belt that would squeak when the A/C compressor engaged. I had no difficulty hearing it in the cab. The dealer supplied me with a better belt and that fixed it for normal ops. As I cruise through the fields, if I pick up too many seeds and debris in front of the radiator the engine temp will start to climb and the A/C will labor and the new belt will squeak.

Voilà, an audible alarm to remind me to stop and clear the debris from the screens. Never had a problem hearing the belt inside the cab and I have serious high freq hearing loss (got two hearing aids last year.) A glance at the temp gauge and I stop before the belt squeaks.

The real deal is that you only sometimes, under the best of circumstances, hear impending failure. I wouldn't give up my heat and A/C because just maybe I might hear something that I otherwise wouldn't. If I were seriously **** about listening to the tractor noise, there are mechanic's stethoscopes. You could extend the plastic tubes so the pickup end could be wherever you wanted it and you could wear the stethoscope.

A high tech alternative would be an outside mounted microphone(s) that played external sounds inside the cab through your audio system, either mixed with the radio/CD or in place of. You could turn it up till your ears bled and not miss so much as a blade of grass being bent down.

I wonder what the harvest crews who start next to Mexico and end up in Canada harvesting wheat do? Surely they are interested in the condition of their equipment as it is their life. I never heard any of then voice a concern on being inside a cab and not hearing the combines or whatever.

Pat

 

[wolc123]

Because I work full time in a heated, air conditioned building, I really enjoy my "seat time", outside on the tractor. I would never consider taking away this enjoyment by moving into a cab. If I was on the tractor full time it would be a different story for sure, and I would probably want a cab. My home-made ROPS canopy does a great job of dealing with the hot summer sun without limiting visibility or equipment sound feedback. A face mask, warm mittens, good boots and coveralls easily handles the worst of winter's cold. I can drive into the woods with no fear of low hanging limbs breaking expensive curved glass, and fold down my rollbar to fit in a standard garage door. My fuel consumption is not increased by running an A/C system, and I have more hp available to do work. I have never been bitten by a bee or hornet while on the tractor, and a little deet takes care of the mosquitoes and black flies. Cabs are definitely not for everyone.

 

[gemini5362]

Because I work full time in a heated, air conditioned building, I really enjoy my "seat time", outside on the tractor. I would never consider taking away this enjoyment by moving into a cab. If I was on the tractor full time it would be a different story for sure, and I would probably want a cab. My home-made ROPS canopy does a great job of dealing with the hot summer sun without limiting visibility or equipment sound feedback. A face mask, warm mittens, good boots and coveralls easily handles the worst of winter's cold. I can drive into the woods with no fear of low hanging limbs breaking expensive curved glass, and fold down my rollbar to fit in a standard garage door. My fuel consumption is not increased by running an A/C system, and I have more hp available to do work. I have never been bitten by a bee or hornet while on the tractor, and a little deet takes care of the mosquitoes and black flies. Cabs are definitely not for everyone.

I have a tendency to agree with you to a point. The first tractor I bought was in the fall and when I got it home and was driving across my pasture it was in the 40s. The cool air felt good and even though I got cold after a bit it really felt good. Now that I have a tractor with a cab I miss that feeling about being out in the natural climate conditions and enjoying the cold air on my face. However, when it is 100 degrees outside and I turn on the A/C it makes life a lot more enjoyable. When it is 30 degrees outside it quits being fun for me having the cold air on my face and just becomes miserable. With the cab I can turn on the heat and enjoy my tractor experience more. There are several testimonials on here about people getting stung by yellow jackets and things. I have not been one of those people to run over a yellow jacket nest which is a good thing because I would not be here to write this post if I had been. The last time I was stung by a single yellow jacket one time. I was taken to the hopital emergency room and got immediate treatment because my face had swollen to the point you could barely see my eyes. 8 hours later when my wife saw my face starting to swell again we did another emergency room visit. For me the cab is a necessity.

I read the posts about people worried about not hearing sounds. I do not have quiet implements when I am doing something i hear alot of creaking and banging as I hit rocks or whatever. I am sure if there was a different noise I might would hear it above the implement noise and the diesel engine noise. But I am not sure I woud heare it in time to limit the damage that was already causing that noise in the first place

 

[patrick_g]

Cabs are definitely not for everyone.

Yes indeed, not for everyone. I know pilots who disdain aircraft with enclosed cockpits and some refuse to fly straight and level for more than a few minutes at a time. Different solutions for different problems.

My tractor has three large opening windows and away from brush you can operate with the large doors open too. I have been known to do that certain times of the year with certain conditions and then can button up when it is too hot or too cold or raining or I am spraying chemicals or stirring up too much dust. I too enjoy feeiing nature on my skin IN MODERATION. Then when it isn't fun, provident or safe, I can lock 'er down and run doubly filtered air, cooled heated or ambient.

Having a choice is good too.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

However, when it is 100 degrees outside and I turn on the A/C it makes life a lot more enjoyable. When it is 30 degrees outside it quits being fun for me having the cold air on my face and just becomes miserable. With the cab I can turn on the heat and enjoy my tractor experience more.

Gemini5362, Part of the dichotomy of cab lovers vs folks who seem anti-cab seems to follow whether you need to operate in whatever weather there is and may be even more obligated to go out in bad weather than good (feed animals.) If you have the luxury of only tractoring when it is fun to commune with ma nature then a cab may not be nearly so important. For decades teamsters drove in open conveyances animal drawn and motorized), exposed to all weather. When is the last time you saw a big rig with the driver exposed to the weather or even a convertible cab for a big rig???

This is not the "whole story", I'm sure. There are other reasons which can include a variation on the martyr complex for those rugged individuals who feel somehow more important if what they do is harder, against bigger odds, risks injury, or whatever. You know the type, I'm sure, practically rub two sticks together to light a cigarette rather than be thought a girly man for flicking a Bic.

Pat

 

[Atlas]

Be that it's winter and I haven't used the A/C in a while, I forgot about one minor problem (if you can call it a problem) with the A/C. I work the afternoon shift and don't get home until after midnight. Mowing the lawn at 1am on a muggy night with the A/C running may require periodic use of the wipers to remove the condensation that forms on the windshield.

 

[Boondox]

This is not the "whole story", I'm sure. There are other reasons which can include a variation on the martyr complex for those rugged individuals who feel somehow more important if what they do is harder, against bigger odds, risks injury, or whatever. You know the type, I'm sure, practically rub two sticks together to light a cigarette rather than be thought a girly man for flicking a Bic.

Pat

Now there's a nice, non-judgemental statement!

For some of us it comes down to simple economics. In my search for an excavator, I can afford a KX91 with a cab...or a KX121 without a cab. Since most of my work is in the forest where the likelihood of that expensive curved glass meeting a tree limb is relatively high, the extra ton of bucket curl force in tha larger machine sans cab makes it look much more attractive than the creature comforts associated with the smaller machine with the cab.

Or maybe it's because as a Marine I believe in the therapeutic value of pain!

Pete