Buying Advice Cab or no cab?

[yooperdave]

I am selling my newer 42 hp 4 cylinder Cab tractor.

It is too hard to get into and out of for me with my larger size and in my physical condition.

I love my 25hp LG. No cab to get in my way. Had a bigger step fabricated to help me on & off.

Good Luck

Yooper Dave

 

[kohog]

If you can afford the extra $, go for the cab with a/c and as much HP as your wallet allows (up to 45-60hp) plus a front loader. Like you said, although it'll be your first tractor purchase, it'll likely be your last, too, so to avoid regret be as sure as you can to get it right first time. Your post makes it appear you think you're spoiling yourself by even thinking of buying something mechanical to assist in what is very heavy duty work - taking care of 50 acres of wooded land in 90-100° FL heat at 73/yrs old. I think you've already proved it to yourself you NEED a tractor by asking your friend next door to help with his, so I hope you won't be upset if I suggest you're aiming too low. Also, once you get your tractor, you, like most people on this forum, will find it useful in helping you with myriad other tasks you hadn't even thought of before buying it. My wife & I manage almost 30 acres of Loblolly pines in the NW FL Panhandle. I maintained our trails with a DR Mower 30" brush cutter and a pole chain saw and I thought I was spoiling myself. The DR had some teething problems that were covered under warranty but once working properly, that machine really kicked a$$. But, at 70/yrs young, it was also quite a wrestling match to manhandle that thing over terrain that is anything but smooth and flat, and a LOT of walking. Also, the Yupon Holly is so thick in places the cutting deck just rides up the stems (trunks) lacking the weight to knock them over. It ended up taking either a long day to finish all my trails or, usually, two separate over half-days as the work totally drained me. We had the $ for a tractor so at my wife's insistance we paid a visit to our closest dealer who happened to sell Kubotas. It was the height of the COVID pandemic and dealers everywhere had difficulty getting units and parts but the Kubota dealer's lot looked a lot healthier than his JD competitor's. They were closer to my house, too. Ended up with an L6060 Grand Cab although it took almost a year to get it delivered due to various delays. Yes, it wasn't cheap, but like you, I thought of uncovering wasp nests (where do you go if you have no cab?), the 90-100° heat, the dust & flying debris from brush cutting, the bugs and mosquitos, etc. The $12k extra for the cab was (is) worth every penny and towing a 72", PTO-driven LandPride brush cutter behind gets all the trails done in half a day. Branches ARE a problem. I have mirrors (which I could remove or fold forward) which the branches at times slam into my door windows when I'm not paying attention (nothing broken yet.) I go up and down all our trails with the pole saw and a hedge cutter a few times. Once the branches are off, that's it, they're not coming back, it's a one-time job. I also have the TB Two which is a brush cutter I can mount on the front loader and trim back brush growing from the trail sides like a hedge trimmer. I could also use it on tree branches but although more work, a pole saw is neater & quicker. I opted for AG tires as our soil is sandy & soft and when using the loader I appreciate the extra grip. They are liquid filled for extra ballast as we have a few areas with 15° slopes. Good luck with your choice...

 

[remco]

OK, so this will be my first tractor, IF I do buy one. Maybe my last one, too, as I turned 73 recently and don't imagine this will be a periodic thing for me to do over my remaining years.

BTW, my apologies if this is posted in the wrong place. I looked for a section for newbie style questions, but didn't find one.

I am located in north Florida. 50 acres of mostly heavily wooded land. Getting to where doing minor clearing manually is no longer as much fun as it used to be. I had a heart attack last year. Wife has diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer last year. Yeah 2022 REALLY sucked. So, things are stacking against us to be doing a lot of (any?) heavy lifting. I don't know how much and for how long I will have my wife's help when I just need an extra pair of hands. And the hands and arms I have just ain't what they used to be, neither. A couple of weeks ago when I wanted to move a concrete bird bath across the yard, that got me to REALLY thinking that something to help me with the lifting would have been nice to have. Something like an engine hoist on wheels, even.

So I believe I need motorized help. Friend of mine has a tractor and has come over several times to help me with some things. He would just shake his head and tell me he doesn't understand why I haven't bought a tractor a long time ago. "Good exercise" I would tell him, doing this all manually. But things have changed. Of course he says he will always be here to help me, but he has his own medical problems and I can't expect to keep leaning on him for tractor help.

Here in north Florida, we have a few seasons where riding an open tractor into the woods might not be a pleasant experience. Yellow fly season, mosquito season, hot and humid season, and the fall ground nesting habits of yellow jackets are always an unpleasant surprise. Oh yeah, and those large spiders forming webs at unexpected places between the trees. Not keen on getting those webs wrapped around my face. All seem to point to having a cab on a tractor so I could keep on tractoring, regardless of those environmental hurtles and unpleasant surprises.

But I have some doubts. I want a smaller tractor, likely one of the less than 25 horsepower models. My plan is to clear AROUND most of the trees, not try to knock them over or dig them up. So small size would help with that. Now, I know air conditioning robs horsepower from any engine it is attached to. How much would the air conditioning in a cab on a 25 horsepower tractor impact the usefulness of the thing? Wouldn't make much sense to have to choose between using the AC or running a flail mower when needed, if the tractor didn't have the power to run both simultaneously, now would it? So is there a MINIMUM horsepower rating for a tractor engine below which having a cab with AC is just pure folly?

And there is the issue of driving through woods with the cab. Are they designed to take some arguments with tree branches and not get damaged excessively? The way I am thinking about it, I WILL have tree branches to contend with. But it is not too bad. Mostly small saplings that I would want to take out anyway. Pine trees tend to put their branches up high around here. I guess I would rather have those branches scraping and slapping at the cab rather than my head and upper body. And I suppose the ROP guard would likely catch many of them anyway, just hopefully not bending them forward and down to knock my hat off. I guess I could take the time with a polesaw to take out many of the lower branches, but that puts me back in the environmental concerns that had me thinking about getting the cab in the first place. Walking through the woods with a pole saw would not be any more fun than driving through the woods at those above mentioned challenging seasons.

Are the doors and windows of these cabs field replaceable repairs? And are they made of actual glass (perhaps impact resistant?) or just some plastic that would get scratched all to hell from the branches?

Just a silly idea wanting to get a small tractor with a cab anyway? Suck it up, buttercup, face the elements and take the scars? Or just sell the place and go live in a condo on the beach and forget about the whole thing?

Yeah, I know. Expecting answers mostly beginning with "Well, it depends......."

I recommend cab. I'm 79. Bought my tractor in 2010. Debated same question. Heat/cold didn't bother me. So I bought regular tractor. Bought age 74, extreme Temps got uncomfortable. Texas can have 30 days of 100 plus. I'm presently looking for a used cab tractor. I've missed a lot of days because of the heat. I can work in it, but not as long. Once I go inside to cool off, I stay.
So, that is my experience & opinion.

 

[remco]

I am selling my newer 42 hp 4 cylinder Cab tractor.

It is too hard to get into and out of for me with my larger size and in my physical condition.

I love my 25hp LG. No cab to get in my way. Had a bigger step fabricated to help me on & off.

Good Luck

Yooper Dave

Where are you? If close enough, interested in your cab tractor.

 

[lucky13]

OK, so this will be my first tractor, IF I do buy one. Maybe my last one, too, as I turned 73 recently and don't imagine this will be a periodic thing for me to do over my remaining years.

BTW, my apologies if this is posted in the wrong place. I looked for a section for newbie style questions, but didn't find one.

I am located in north Florida. 50 acres of mostly heavily wooded land. Getting to where doing minor clearing manually is no longer as much fun as it used to be. I had a heart attack last year. Wife has diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer last year. Yeah 2022 REALLY sucked. So, things are stacking against us to be doing a lot of (any?) heavy lifting. I don't know how much and for how long I will have my wife's help when I just need an extra pair of hands. And the hands and arms I have just ain't what they used to be, neither. A couple of weeks ago when I wanted to move a concrete bird bath across the yard, that got me to REALLY thinking that something to help me with the lifting would have been nice to have. Something like an engine hoist on wheels, even.

So I believe I need motorized help. Friend of mine has a tractor and has come over several times to help me with some things. He would just shake his head and tell me he doesn't understand why I haven't bought a tractor a long time ago. "Good exercise" I would tell him, doing this all manually. But things have changed. Of course he says he will always be here to help me, but he has his own medical problems and I can't expect to keep leaning on him for tractor help.

Here in north Florida, we have a few seasons where riding an open tractor into the woods might not be a pleasant experience. Yellow fly season, mosquito season, hot and humid season, and the fall ground nesting habits of yellow jackets are always an unpleasant surprise. Oh yeah, and those large spiders forming webs at unexpected places between the trees. Not keen on getting those webs wrapped around my face. All seem to point to having a cab on a tractor so I could keep on tractoring, regardless of those environmental hurtles and unpleasant surprises.

But I have some doubts. I want a smaller tractor, likely one of the less than 25 horsepower models. My plan is to clear AROUND most of the trees, not try to knock them over or dig them up. So small size would help with that. Now, I know air conditioning robs horsepower from any engine it is attached to. How much would the air conditioning in a cab on a 25 horsepower tractor impact the usefulness of the thing? Wouldn't make much sense to have to choose between using the AC or running a flail mower when needed, if the tractor didn't have the power to run both simultaneously, now would it? So is there a MINIMUM horsepower rating for a tractor engine below which having a cab with AC is just pure folly?

And there is the issue of driving through woods with the cab. Are they designed to take some arguments with tree branches and not get damaged excessively? The way I am thinking about it, I WILL have tree branches to contend with. But it is not too bad. Mostly small saplings that I would want to take out anyway. Pine trees tend to put their branches up high around here. I guess I would rather have those branches scraping and slapping at the cab rather than my head and upper body. And I suppose the ROP guard would likely catch many of them anyway, just hopefully not bending them forward and down to knock my hat off. I guess I could take the time with a polesaw to take out many of the lower branches, but that puts me back in the environmental concerns that had me thinking about getting the cab in the first place. Walking through the woods with a pole saw would not be any more fun than driving through the woods at those above mentioned challenging seasons.

Are the doors and windows of these cabs field replaceable repairs? And are they made of actual glass (perhaps impact resistant?) or just some plastic that would get scratched all to hell from the branches?

Just a silly idea wanting to get a small tractor with a cab anyway? Suck it up, buttercup, face the elements and take the scars? Or just sell the place and go live in a condo on the beach and forget about the whole thing?

Yeah, I know. Expecting answers mostly beginning with "Well, it depends......."

I’m a youngi,only 68, work 13 acres mostly woods with 1/4 acre veggie garden. In central Ohio so plow snow and yellow jackets and mosquitoes abound next to creek. Ive had 6 or 7 tractors over the years and a skid steer, currently have Kubota LX3210 with cab and am quite pleased. Attachments are bucket, 42” forks, auger (10”), 48” tiller, 4 ft. Bush hog and chipper. I navigate a lot of steep grades and narrow passes between trees so needed to stay smaller, I’ve had larger tractors but can’t fit in between trees and hangs up over ditches. Work is more fun when cool in summer and warm in the winter.

 

[Jeep addict]

I'm 61 and used tractors since my teens. I would always pick a Cab tractor for comfort, if the A/C and heat work. A Cab costs about the same as a New Flail mower, or more. Sometimes a Cab will block your view from time to time, but if attachments are throwing up sand and debris you have some protection. You are smart to pass around trees because we had someone who liked to drive into and under trees and the branches eventually tore the mirrors and lights off the 90HP machine. Your 20 HP tractor would not stand a chance against tree branches.
You might be able to use a 20HP tractor as a engine hoist, but look at the horsepower needed for Bush and Flail mowers.
Tractors are pretty cheap to rent from Building centers, or dealers will often rent machines that were traded in. I suggest you rent a machine to see if it is what you want. I rented a 30HP loader tractor when I had to clear a property, as well as a 45HP TLB when I rebuilt a foundation, and learned a lot about what options would suit my mission.
Good Luck.

 

[m7040]

The air suspension seat on the Kubota tractor is a good option to get. It lets me float over bumps

 

[rrrancher51]

I turn 72 in a few days. I bought a John Deere 3038e 12 years ago, with a loader, but no cab. We live on a 70 acre tract that is mostly a tree farm. I bought the 3038e because it is one of the higher horsepower five foot wide tractors, and I wanted a five footer so I could mow and get around trees easier than a wider, longer tractor. And let me say, it does a wonderful job of it. I considered a cab, at the time, but after reading and talking to others, I decided that the cab would probably not fare well. I'm in east Texas, and the pines here have limbs sticking out from the ground up, until they get established good and start shooting up more. Then, most of the lower branches will die out. But even then, many of the dead, lower branches are in the way, if you want to make a path for the tractor and/or four-wheeler. Lots of lopping and chain-sawing goes on around here. We love nature, and have about 3 miles of trails crisscrossing the property, so mowing alongside the trees is what I spend a lot of time doing. I can almost assure you that I would have already destroyed at least one window on a cab by now.

But if you are having medical problems, I would think you would be better off with the comfort of the cab, and it may allow you to use the tractor more years of your life, especially if you have more issues with heat as you age. I know I can't take the heat near as well nowadays as when we bought this place 13 years ago. I use the tractor much more now than when I got it, and there are many days when I sure wish I had AC or heat. But I have just learned to plan most of my tractor work for more pleasant times. Like today, I need to go do some mowing, but my weather station says it's 106 F with the heat index at 116 F. To be honest, I wouldn't even run my tractor on a day like today, even if it had a cab, unless it was a piddlin' little job.

I can't speak to what engine size you need for AC as I have never had that luxury. But I will tell you that I am a very happy owner of this little 38 HP JD. I have put it through the wringer over the years and it has performed, and still performs very well. In fact, we just purchased the same thing again last week, in a 2023 model, and expect delivery soon. Again, no matter how much I want it, no cab. My situational awareness is not near as good as it was, and dead branches and other things tend to sneak up on me a lot more. So again, the cab would probably not like what I accidently do to it.

Good luck to you sir, and I hope you enjoy whatever you get as much as I have mine. Without pushing them hard, it is amazing to me how much these little compacts will do. Once you have one, you won't want to live without it.

 

[yooperdave]

Where are you? If close enough, interested in your cab tractor.

Marinette, WI 54143 Far NE corner of WI.

 

[BEAGLES]

I just turned 72 myself. I am about as far away from Florida as a person can be and still be in the lower 48. I Live in desert country. If the temperatures are mild I prefer the open station, but being desert, there are fewer nasty little bugs. When it is blistering hot and dusty or freezing cold with wind and snow, the Cab tractor is the one I use. In Florida, I can't think of any reason to not choose the cab tractor.
For 50 acres, I think you might be looking at too small of a tractor. The one in my icon is 50 hp and I am on 20 acres. Between mowing, grading roads and in particular, clearing snow (not your problem, I know) the 50hp is about right. For 50 acres in Florida, I think something in the 35 to 45 hp range might be better. I really don't notice the AC drawing away noticeable power.
The glass in the doors in particular, are going to be a bit much for single handed field repair. Mine are fairly thick tempered glass and I wouldn't want to have to buy them. I believe I read where it cost one member around $1000 for the door glass. Keep the doors closed when moving and don't roll the tractor, and I don't think replacing door glass will be a problem.
My recommendation would be a 40ish or more horsepower cab tractor with a hydrostat transmission, a loader, weighing in the 3500 pound range. My recommended color in alphabetical order would be blue, green, orange, red. In other words, check them all out for features, comfort and price.
You might want to check Hank Hamilton's YouTube channel. He is in the Florida panhandle area. Also check out Tracto Time with Tim on YouTube. He does a lot of work with his John Deere 1025R.
Words that are almost never heard in the tractor world: "I wish I had gotten a less horsepower tractor."

The post from

OK, so this will be my first tractor, IF I do buy one. Maybe my last one, too, as I turned 73 recently and don't imagine this will be a periodic thing for me to do over my remaining years.

BTW, my apologies if this is posted in the wrong place. I looked for a section for newbie style questions, but didn't find one.

I am located in north Florida. 50 acres of mostly heavily wooded land. Getting to where doing minor clearing manually is no longer as much fun as it used to be. I had a heart attack last year. Wife has diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer last year. Yeah 2022 REALLY sucked. So, things are stacking against us to be doing a lot of (any?) heavy lifting. I don't know how much and for how long I will have my wife's help when I just need an extra pair of hands. And the hands and arms I have just ain't what they used to be, neither. A couple of weeks ago when I wanted to move a concrete bird bath across the yard, that got me to REALLY thinking that something to help me with the lifting would have been nice to have. Something like an engine hoist on wheels, even.

So I believe I need motorized help. Friend of mine has a tractor and has come over several times to help me with some things. He would just shake his head and tell me he doesn't understand why I haven't bought a tractor a long time ago. "Good exercise" I would tell him, doing this all manually. But things have changed. Of course he says he will always be here to help me, but he has his own medical problems and I can't expect to keep leaning on him for tractor help.

Here in north Florida, we have a few seasons where riding an open tractor into the woods might not be a pleasant experience. Yellow fly season, mosquito season, hot and humid season, and the fall ground nesting habits of yellow jackets are always an unpleasant surprise. Oh yeah, and those large spiders forming webs at unexpected places between the trees. Not keen on getting those webs wrapped around my face. All seem to point to having a cab on a tractor so I could keep on tractoring, regardless of those environmental hurtles and unpleasant surprises.

But I have some doubts. I want a smaller tractor, likely one of the less than 25 horsepower models. My plan is to clear AROUND most of the trees, not try to knock them over or dig them up. So small size would help with that. Now, I know air conditioning robs horsepower from any engine it is attached to. How much would the air conditioning in a cab on a 25 horsepower tractor impact the usefulness of the thing? Wouldn't make much sense to have to choose between using the AC or running a flail mower when needed, if the tractor didn't have the power to run both simultaneously, now would it? So is there a MINIMUM horsepower rating for a tractor engine below which having a cab with AC is just pure folly?

And there is the issue of driving through woods with the cab. Are they designed to take some arguments with tree branches and not get damaged excessively? The way I am thinking about it, I WILL have tree branches to contend with. But it is not too bad. Mostly small saplings that I would want to take out anyway. Pine trees tend to put their branches up high around here. I guess I would rather have those branches scraping and slapping at the cab rather than my head and upper body. And I suppose the ROP guard would likely catch many of them anyway, just hopefully not bending them forward and down to knock my hat off. I guess I could take the time with a polesaw to take out many of the lower branches, but that puts me back in the environmental concerns that had me thinking about getting the cab in the first place. Walking through the woods with a pole saw would not be any more fun than driving through the woods at those above mentioned challenging seasons.

Are the doors and windows of these cabs field replaceable repairs? And are they made of actual glass (perhaps impact resistant?) or just some plastic that would get scratched all to hell from the branches?

Just a silly idea wanting to get a small tractor with a cab anyway? Suck it up, buttercup, face the elements and take the scars? Or just sell the place and go live in a condo on the beach and forget about the whole thing?

Yeah, I know. Expecting answers mostly beginning with "Well, it depends......."

The post from 3 horse ranch says it all imho. The only thing that I could possibly disagree with is the order in colors(that is a debate for another date)LOL. Quite a lot of wisdom in his response. Read it over and make your decision.