My Custombuilt Cab for John Deere 3032E

Rick Moen · Mar 8, 2014

I finally got a good start on my homemade cab for my JD 3032E this week and thought I would share my experience as I got the idea and courage to do it from this site. After my neighbor took delivery of his new Farmall with a cab it gave me a little incentive that I could build one without having to break the bank.

Main frame is 1x1 14 gauge tubing with the exception of rear corners and door hinge uprights which are 1x2 14 gauge. I basically started by making the rear mounts which fastened to the existing rops without modification. I just removed the lights and used the holes. I made one side then copied it for the other side and that is pretty much how I did the whole thing so far. The front mounts were made using the holes where the loader would mount if I had one. After I had the mounts made I just began measuring and measuring, cutting, grinding and fitting pieces together before tacking and welding it together. My biggest problem was trying to keep things squared up but it is turning out pretty good I feel.

I am going to make the doors removable and leave the main cab in place for the summertime as this is my main mower tractor for the 5 acres I mow. The cab will have 1/8" thick rubber washers between the mounts so it should help with the vibration, probably won't eliminate though. For the windows I have not completely made up my mind. I believe I will use Lexan for the side and rear but may use safety glass for the windshield as I think it will scratch from the planned wiper. Any thoughts on what I should use would be appreciated.

I am hoping to have it all framed up next week so I can take it off and finish welding and painting.

dieselcrawler · Mar 8, 2014

Keep us updated... I looked at my tractor (JD 3005) and the hood interference when raised curbed my enthusiasm for the project. I want to fabricate a full ROPS, which will end up with a spreader bar as low as possible without hitting the hood when raised.

Nice work...

ferrari99 · Mar 9, 2014

Nice work keep it up. It is kind of interesting that you blokes build cabs to keep the cold out in winter here in oz the main reason we would have a cab would be to keep the hot out in summer. :laughing:

chim · Mar 9, 2014

Looking good. I know what you mean about keeping things square. not a lot of good points of reference on the tractor because of the shape of the tractor you're building around. I went with safety glass all around on mine. Glass for the front was a no-brainer due to the wiper. I figured the plexiglass on the sides would get scratched sooner or later from branches or even cleaning. I'd consider doing gussets on the rear at the base of the vertical piece that fastens to the ROPS. That looks like a point that will be stressed when the tractor bounces.

One thing I discovered was that the hours were chewed up faster than I imagined. Mine took about twice as long as I thought it would, but this winter made it all worth while. Keep posting. It's interesting to see how others go about a project.

herringchoker · Mar 9, 2014

You're off to a good start. I too recommend safety glass all around. When I built my cab, I used laminated safety glass front and rear due to the wipers, and plexiglass that I had left over from previous cab builds on the side windows. After 10 years the plexiglass is getting scratched pretty bad, so I will be replacing with laminated glass. I strongly recommend laminated glass, not tempered glass. If hit a little too hard, tempered glass will shatter into a gazillion little pieces while laminated glass will just crack. Don't ask how I learned that.

Beltman60 · Apr 15, 2014

keep up the great work :thumbsup:
I'm looking into doing the same with mine some day

It's a nice little tractor that gets it share of bashing on this site being a E tractor
not many bells and whistles but I grew up with no power steering and a trip bucket so this is like a Caddy to me

Rick Moen · Mar 10, 2015

Well I have not posted on here for a while but I started a new job in April right after I started this project and have been quite busy there. I have posted a few more pictures of the progress that I have done since my last post. I have the doors and rear windows made but they are not in the photos. I made them easy to remove for summertime mowing and warmer months chores. Just pull the hinge pins and take them off.

PILOON · Mar 10, 2015

You are doing nice work.
Very satisfying, is it not. Never mind the $$s, its the challenge, $$ come as a side benefit.

mgf123 · Jun 1, 2015

Strong work, Rick!! Would love to do something like this on my JD 955!

Rick Moen · Jan 9, 2016

Well I finally have all the fabrication done on my cab. Everything is sealed up, windows and doors also installed. It took me much longer than expected but with the cold weather it will be worth it. I still have some minor things to finish but overall it is pretty much done. I will remove it this summer and give it a good coat of spray on bedliner for protection from the elements. I also installed a oil pressure and water temp gauge in the console of the right fender after seeing someone on this site do the same thing.