Canopy Fiberglass canopy

[smilingreen]

Thanks, Bird
That helps me a little in deciding what type of canopy I would like to install. I just got done mowing my grass with my JD335. I know, your asking....what is this guy doing mowing grass in the middle of winter? /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif We own a house in Nashville where we are currently staying until they finish hooking up everything out at our property for our new house. This fall, I tilled, graded and seeded our lawn here in Nashville. The straw I used to cover the seed was wheat straw. Evidentually, it had a little more wheat seed in it than usual. The grass came up great, but about 5 weeks ago, here comes the wheat. I had a great wheat field in my yard! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif Needless to say, I had to cut it down before the tax dude rezoned my yard as a farm!
Thanks for your post. I may go with a metal canopy. Hey, how is the noise reflection under the metal?

 

[Kelvin]

I have the steel canopy also, and my tractor is noticably more unstable than before the canopy was installed. I don't know how much of a weght difference there is between the steel model and the Kubota fiberglass model, but if I had to do it over again I would definitely look at the weight differences, just like you're doing.

I have never seen anything but fiberglass canopies from original manufacturers (the steel ones that I've seen are always third-party); assuming manufacturers only offer fiberglass canopies, tractor stability may be the reason.

I think that I remember seeing a green fiberglass canopy at a used tractor dealership here in East TN (on HWY 321 between Lenoir City and Maryville). I have no idea about the size, but if you are interested I'll let you call them: Taylor Farm Equipment, (865) 995-2011. They have weird hours and are there pretty late on some evenings.

Kelvin

 

[smilingreen]

Thanks, Kelvin. I will check into it. Do you have a picture of your tractor you can post?

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>noise reflection under the metal</font color=blue>

Dave, someone posted a message with pictures of the metal he made, and he mentioned a noise problem so he added insulation to the bottom side. Mine came insulated, so I've never thought about any noise reflection. However, I had the dealer install this canopy before he delivered the tractor, so I've never driven it without the canopy to see if there's a difference.

I would assume that plastic or fiberglass would be lighter, and therefore, logically the tractor should be more stable, but I also know that plastic or fiberglass would likely not have lasted long before I damaged it. Bottom line is that I've never seen one I'd swap this one for, but it may not be for everyone.

 

[Kelvin]

I posted a picture of my tractor (Kubota B2150 with FEL & canopy) loaded on an old Ford F350 with a roll-back bed earlier this year. I'll try not to re-post the picture in order to save space on Muhammad's server. Here is the link to get there.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=photos&Number=59792&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=Kelvin&Match=Username&Searchpage=2&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=59792>Link to "Unique Kubota Hauler" </A>

If the link doesn't work, click on my user name, then click on "Show all posts" then look for the post titled "Unique Kubota Hauler".

Kelvin

 

[DDT]

Bird
I have been pricing a few fiberglass canopys. You do bring up a good point, I think I need a metal one I always get in the trees. How thick is the metal on yours? I have thought about building one but the insulation, which type and how to make it stick forever is a concern. I know there will be time I will need to remove it for some jobs so high rafters and a com-a-longno problem. Any thoughts?
DDT

 

[Egon]

Canopies:
Has anyone tried an old car hood or trunk lid for a canopy?

Egon

 

[Alan L.]

My Kubota canopy seems to be plastic - not fiberglass. It is very durable. I have hit numerous tree limbs with no damage, but one day I didn't notice a strong limb and drove all the way through it, causing a an inch or so crack in the edge of the canopy. Seems to be harmless however. I glued speaker baffling material on the underside to cut down on the noise. The canopy was about $400 installed.

 

[jyoutz]

Sorry, but I don't have a digital camera yet. You can see pictures of this product at the company website (www.firebirdfiberglass.com).

 

[Bird]

Dana, I don't remember how thick the metal is. I measured it once with my calipers and posted it in response to someone else's question, but can't find it now. And it's 19 degrees out there right now./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif I know it's very stiff or rigid and hard to bend. And in a prior discussion, we talked about the kind of insulation, but I've forgotten a name for it. If you follow the links above to the picture, you can see it. It looks like a coated fiberboard of some kind between the frame and the sheet metal. As for removing it, I doubt that I'll ever remove mine. I have front and rear work lights, their toggle switch, rear view mirror, and two tiltmeters mounted on it. If it weren't for that, then you'd just have to remove two big U-bolts on either side to take it off, so it shouldn't be a very big job.