John Deere plastic hoods

[Garandman]

Good point why are there so many posts about John Deere hoods ?...my hood has not been abused . I would think reinforced fiber glass would be stronger than a thin sheet of plastic. A five to ten pound rock would more than likely bust mine can't say for yours sounds like you have some good plastic. //

Have you checked the price of boats lately? There is a lot more manual labor and the production rates are much lower for laid up fiberglass. They have used Sheet Molding Compound, which is a closed-mold process that has higher production rates.

Deere has used a number of technologies and plastics. Included in the list are several reinforced-resin processes.

 

[Deere Dude]

Have you checked the price of boats lately? There is a lot more manual labor and the production rates are much lower for laid up fiberglass. They have used Sheet Molding Compound, which is a closed-mold process that has higher production rates.

Deere has used a number of technologies and plastics. Included in the list are several reinforced-resin processes.

Deere has started to incorporate renewable resources into its products. This year, many of the company's combines will sport soybean-based RIM body panels - including the harvester's rear wall and access door.

Deeres are going to be made out of soybeans. The mice will like that.

 

[Garandman]

Deere has started to incorporate renewable resources into its products. //.

From the DN article above:

Tofu tractors.
Just when you thought your coffee cup would be the last place for soy products to turn up unexpectedly, Deere has come up with two new soybean-based composites. These "HarvestForm" materials consist of a polyurethane RIM system developed in conjunction with Bayer Corp. (Pittsburgh) and an SMC concocted with the help of Ashland Specialty Chemicals (Columbus, OH). Starting this year, all combines built at John Deere Harvester Works will sport body panels made from one of these soy-based materials, McCunn reports. Such widespread use adds up to more than a hill of beans. According to McCunn, the RIM panels alone will consume about 225,000 lbs of soybeans this year.

Adopting the soy-based materials shouldn't be too tough for Deere since both of them offer identical mechanical and physical properties to the conventional materials they replace. "That was our initial stipulation," McCunn says. "We had to be able to pick a standard or a soybean material out of the bin and have them mold the same, look the same, and perform the same." Deere initially had exclusive rights to the two materials, but this year they became available for other users. "Part of our commitment to using renewable resources is that we really want everyone to use them," McCunn says.

 

[larboc]

I really hope that works out and the final product can eventually break down. Fiberglass reinforced plastics can't really be recycled which imho is their biggest drawback.

 

[DKCDKC]

Just chippin' in... I've got a JD CUT with plastic hood, etc. I've banged it and dropped logs on it without even a significant scratch. I worried about it when I bought it. I looked hard at other tractors with metal hoods when I bought it, but the cost, fit and pedals on others just didn't work for me. The JD is great and I've had no problem with the hood. I have had tractors with metal hoods and fenders and always had some dents and rust issues. Once thing I can be sure of, rust will not be an issue for me now.

 

[ohiogar]

I have a Fiberglass hood for a john deere 4400 tractor.
It is tractor number 2 ever built.
regards gary in ohio

 

[DanMc77]

I replaced all the front plastic on my 4600 after I got it. After 20 years, the hood was all smashed up with missing grill and side covers. All new plastic for little over $1000 and the machine looks great. So I'm in favor of the plastic parts that are affordable to replace. If somebody can speak up on the cost of sheet metal parts and their cost, that would be good. What is the cost of a metal hood on the typical tractor. The 4600 hood was around $300 with the fuel cap door.

 

[mscheeer772]

I bought Extra Armor protection for the hood, grill lights and belly of the tractor. Not sure how many times it has saved my a**. I'm thinking lots and lots of times

 

[wolc123]

The plastic hood on my 2005 JD 4120 CUT has shed a few rocks and branches over the last 16 years and has held up extremly well. I got to look real hard to find a scratch on it. It is also not faded at all but the tractor has always been stored inside when not in use.

I also have a couple older JD lawn tractors with plastic hoods (LT 155 and LT 150) which havent held up as well. I assume they must use a cheaper grade of plastic. Right now, they are both held together with JB weld. Blue spruce branches did the damage to both of those.

Now I use a cheap old Poulan lawn tractor, with a tin hood, for mowing around those trees. That's all I used it for though, because it is terribly uncomfortable compared to those smooth running, smooth riding John Deeres. I have even grown fond of the grey JB weld stripes on those pretty green hoods. The repairs cost me less than ten bucks.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I just ordered new hood, side cowls and the part that wraps around the keyhole. Still need a grill and decals. Will report on fit and finish when I get them installed. this is the cheapest I've seen them yet $315.57 which includes shipping! I hope they turn out OK.

Hood & Cowl Set Fits John Deere 4210 4310 4410 Compact Tractor Mower - FlipMFG