Broke cab windshield

[radman1]

Hauled my cab 3720 back from the farm during the night. Next morning noticed the front windshield was in a million tiny pieces. Ouch! I had driven down a highway which had been topped with gravel and oil. Suspect either me or oncoming car flipped a rock into windshield. FYI, new windshield is $400 plus labor. Didn't notice it when I got home. Broken glass in every possible crevice or crack. In the dash, on the engine, under the floor mat, on the seat and so on. I will probably find peices of glass for the next 2 years. Broke out the rest of the remaining glass. Now I have the most expensive canopy JD makes. Forgot how much engine noise there is. The noise may now be amplified in the cab because the rest of the glass.

 

[GreenMtns]

Sorry to hear that.
Is there any way to shield the windshield when you transport the tractor?

 

[ShookFarm]

An inexpensive shield can be made from a piece of 1/4" luan (plywood) cut to fit the size of the windshield. The edge of the cut piece can be covered in rubber (think splitting a heater hose lengthwise to go around the perimeter). A suitable bumper could then be placed in the middle so it doesn't bounce around on the glass and scuff the surface. Either way, bungie cord or tape it in place.

Plexiglass can also be had in sheets, but that stuff is more expensive than luan and, in my experience, prone to cracking while cutting (1/4").

Problem is, even with shielding for the windshield, you still have all that glass on the sides which is also a moving target. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[sunnyside360]

Geees.... what a bummer. Do you have insurance? Think I'll look into getting insurance on my 3720 cab. May also need it if I roll it on one of these steep hills around the old farm.

 

[radman1]

I thought about some kind of protection after that happened. I have hauled it many times before but it only takes once. They make bras for cars, I just need one for the tractor! Maybe vinyl covered over a blanket and bungie cord it on.
Unlike the front windshield of a car, which can crack but hold together, this glass goes into a million pieces. I actually thought the windshield could be more expensive given the relatively small number of small cabs.

 

[dbdartman]

Auto windshield is laminated glass (2 sheets of glass with a sheet of plastic between). Side & rear auto glass is tempered. Laminated glass is very hard to penetrate, but will crack. Tempered glass is much harder to break than plate glass, but when it does break it shatters into tiny "beads" that are unlikely to cut someone. As a result of tempering, the edges of tempered glass are extremely fragile while the field will take a surprisingly heavy impact, provided that impact isn't in a point (ie: you can hit the center with a hammer & would have to use more effort than you'd suspect to break the glass, but put a center punch against the pane & it only takes a very light tap to shatter it).

Your cab windshield is tempered glass. This actually surprises me.

For $400, I'm sure hoping that's a large by wide piece of curved glass! If it's flat, it could likely be replaced for around $40.

Another option is Lexan ® or any other polycarbonate sheet. It's much much more flexible than plexiglass & will take huge impact forces. With a little heat, it can be made to a very tight radius, but will follow a 4"-5" radius easily at room temp (I did a Lexan ® rear glass on a '65 Corvette drag car once, it has about a 4" radius at the top & didn't use heat, came out fine).

 

[radman1]

Auto windshield is laminated glass (2 sheets of glass with a sheet of plastic between). Side & rear auto glass is tempered. Laminated glass is very hard to penetrate, but will crack. Tempered glass is much harder to break than plate glass, but when it does break it shatters into tiny "beads" that are unlikely to cut someone. As a result of tempering, the edges of tempered glass are extremely fragile while the field will take a surprisingly heavy impact, provided that impact isn't in a point (ie: you can hit the center with a hammer & would have to use more effort than you'd suspect to break the glass, but put a center punch against the pane & it only takes a very light tap to shatter it).

Your cab windshield is tempered glass. This actually surprises me.

For $400, I'm sure hoping that's a large by wide piece of curved glass! If it's flat, it could likely be replaced for around $40.

Another option is Lexan ｮ or any other polycarbonate sheet. It's much much more flexible than plexiglass & will take huge impact forces. With a little heat, it can be made to a very tight radius, but will follow a 4"-5" radius easily at room temp (I did a Lexan ｮ rear glass on a '65 Corvette drag car once, it has about a 4" radius at the top & didn't use heat, came out fine).

I too was kind of surprised it was tempered instead of laminated. A small crack or chip and I would probably just leave it alone. The glass is about 3.5 x 3.5' and curved. The curve makes it expensive to replace and I suspect not a lot of equipment uses this size of glass.

 

[dirtworksequip]

I guess it would pay any cab owners that are planning on trailering their tractors to take some kind of preventive measures to insure that the glass doesn't get broken. If I were going to trailer mine any at all I would cut pieces of indoor-outdoor carpet to each individual glass size and devise a way to hold them in place while the tracotor is in transport.

Sincerely,Dirt

 

[radman1]

Carpet is a good idea. Few additional bungie cords and instant windshield protector.

 

[kude]

I don't have a trailer yet, but this incident tends to make me me think about an enclosed trailer, maybe a car hauler.

 

[radman1]

I don't have a trailer yet, but this incident tends to make me me think about an enclosed trailer, maybe a car hauler.

My tractor sits fairly far back on my 24' trailer and the truck has mud flaps. The rock could have come from the truck but I think it more likely came from an oncoming car since they had recently graveled/oiled this highway. But I can't tell for certain. I have cracked other car windshields on highways treated like that.
Most enclosed trailers probably won't be tall enough.

 

[CATMAN]

Kude; One thing about enclosed car trailers, the rear door/ramp section might not be able to handle the weight of a tractor/loader/3 pt implement. I spoke with a Featherlite salesperson last year and that is one of the things that they would have to research.

They thought that because of the short wheelbase of a small tractor, "all the weight" would be on the door/ramp at one time during load/unload procedure.​

I think I have seen some specs for a enclosed trailer rear ramp was 4400 lbs, but I can't remember the exact manufacturer.

 

[kude]

radman1, catman,

The enclosed trailers seemed too short to fit the tractor at 6"6" in heights. Plywood floors always don't seem like a good idea. I didn't look at ramp construction, but that's a big factor. A custom would probably be too expensive.

While sitting in the reastaurant watching the construction equipment go by, most seemed to have their equipment facing rearward on the trailer. Maybe a rear window is cheaper than a front one.

Maybe a very thick framed mesh screen sitting on the three point hitched and held in place might be a quick protection for the rear window.

Maybe there's a headache rack for tractors out there?

 

[radman1]

Got the windshield fixed a month ago. FYI, the total bill was just under $1,100. Windshield was about $370 and the rest labor. They had to remove the top of the cab to replace the windshield. Insurance covered all but $100 deductible. Be careful with those cab windshields! I now only haul it backwards on the trailer. Rear windshield is easy to replace compared to the front.

 

[Nuru]

I guess it would pay any cab owners that are planning on trailering their tractors to take some kind of preventive measures to insure that the glass doesn't get broken. If I were going to trailer mine any at all I would cut pieces of indoor-outdoor carpet to each individual glass size and devise a way to hold them in place while the tracotor is in transport.

Sincerely,Dirt

I think it also pays to cover even a non-cab tractor if you are going down the road a bit.

 

[CATMAN]

I bet you're glad you had insurance for that bill. Have you tried your cab heater yet? If they had to lift the roof, maybe they disturbed that seal area that you had the previous problem with for lack of cab heat. Just a thought.

 

[sandman2234]

I was going to suggest loading it backwards, but somebody beat me to it. I don't have a cab, and don't transport my tractors, but it seemed like a good idea, provided the back glass is flat? If your going to use carpet, make sure it isn't used, as that contains a lot of sand which will scratch the windshield. Cut a slot a couple inches in to run the bungee cord thru, to keep it from sliding out from under the bungee cord. Make sure the ends aren't near anything with paint on it that you want to keep painted, as they will strip the paint off during movement.
David from jax

 

[radman1]

I bet you're glad you had insurance for that bill. Have you tried your cab heater yet? If they had to lift the roof, maybe they disturbed that seal area that you had the previous problem with for lack of cab heat. Just a thought.

Used heater today. Worked fine. Good memory on your part!

 

[radman1]

I was going to suggest loading it backwards, but somebody beat me to it. I don't have a cab, and don't transport my tractors, but it seemed like a good idea, provided the back glass is flat? If your going to use carpet, make sure it isn't used, as that contains a lot of sand which will scratch the windshield. Cut a slot a couple inches in to run the bungee cord thru, to keep it from sliding out from under the bungee cord. Make sure the ends aren't near anything with paint on it that you want to keep painted, as they will strip the paint off during movement.
David from jax

The back glass is not flat but curved like the front. However it opens and is held in place by two hinges at the top. Not glued in place like the front. Nor does it extend into the top like the front and it does not have the wiper poking through like the front. I will probably use the carpet idea.