Regret a cab tractor?

[RickB]

I'll bite. What is an insulated four post canopy?

Having trouble seeing the advantage of whatever this may be, although I do know that the canopy will keep the snow off the operator somewhat.

Insulation on the underside of a canopy is a huge help in absorbing noise and harmonic vibration from the chassis being bounced back at the operator. The additional two posts in front stabilize the canopy, further reduce vibrations and in most cases help the canopy meet FOPS certification. (Falling object protective structure)

 

[LouNY]

I have one of each. Since getting the cabbed tractor I've been putting 100+ hours a year on it...it is such a pleasure to use that I'm always thinking up tasks for it to do. The open station is rarely used these days. No regrets getting the tractor with a cab!

The same for me and I even have a soft cover for the open station.

 

[OzarkChris]

I've been on a search this year for a 4WD tractor and was on a path to an open station version. Various members on TBN have swayed me to the cab version and I'm almost there. With 4WD I believe I will use the tractor year round instead of storing it during the winter like I do with the JD 2020. Just to give me a view of something I haven't thought of, has anyone gone back to an open station after getting a cab tractor?

Although I haven't returned to an open station, I will say that now that I have a cab, I probably wouldn't ever go back (for my primary tractor). Several things come to mind for this thinking.
1. When cutting grass, bush hogging, raking etc. I no longer need to wear (or should wear) a respirator to keep the dust, grass etc out if my lungs (he says as he is coughing up straw & grass ). 2 During the summer months the AC sure feels good - and I'm not so cranky when I walk in the house. 3. In cooler months it sure is nice not having to look like the Michelin man to stay warm. 4. As an added bonus, I can listen to my favorite tunes while I'm working - no radio reception out here.

As mentioned above, the worst "habit" you can get into is moving with a (or both) door open. I found out the hard way having to replace a hinge (thank God. It wasn't the whole door!) that set me back ~$200. BTW, the whole door us pushing a grand and 15-50 week delivery these days.

Because of the costs involved with glass, I would definitely recommend getting a low deductible on glass insurance - the difference between $1k & 100 deductible was somewhere around $100/year for me.

 

[Fxfymn413]

Had three open station machines and when I was a younger man I didn't mind dressing like Ralphie in Xmas Story, but now old age and wisdom have taken ahold and I'm very glad I went to a cab machine. And if you finance through Kubota their insurance will cover any lack of concentration moments that result in making it a semi-open cab although I have not needed that yet.

 

[kpsp50]

Check out KENO tractors.com they have the best price of any place I know. That is where I got mine from. no I am not affiliated with them. Talk to Eric or George they will have a new one in your budget range. Good luck

 

[tjandrews]

We have three tractors here, the oldest two are open station, the newest has a cab. Used the oldest two for 50 years and 60 years (originally my grandfather' tractor) respectively, plowed lots of snow with each. It was cold, but I was younger then and better able to take it. They are smaller than the newer one, more maneuverable, able to get into and back out of tight places where the new one can't go. Unfortunately, both are 2WD, and both run on gasoline.

The newest is bigger, runs on diesel, and has 4WD. The cab has a heater, but no AC. With a bucket on the front and a blower on the back, it's the best snow remover we have ever owned. And it gets used more than the others in the summer, because it's bigger and better able to handle the work. But without AC, that cab is blisteringly hot in the summer heat. We have to take the doors off, or we'd die of heat stroke. With the weight of the bucket and the cab, it feels more... ponderous... to me than the older tractors. Also, I find it more difficult to climb my 72-year-old body into the cab than to jump onto the older, smaller, open tractors.

In short, each has its advantages and disadvantages, and I'm glad we have all three of them. We simply choose the right tractor for each job.

 

[Jchonline]

If you get in and out of the machine most of the time when you are working with it like I do, it is a real time saver to have no door to deal with. However if you work in dusty, buggy, or cold/hot weather a Cab is hard to beat.

 

[Garson]

After 50 years of tractor experience my vote is like most people here- a cab is a must. There are many individual considerations, however.

Factory Cab Cons:
#1- Window fogging. Any cabbed tractor I've blown snow with here in Canada well below freezing will result in fogged windows. The defroster system in fully cabbed tractors is far from sufficient so the only way to blow snow is to open all doors and windows.

#2- Cost. It adds roughly $10,000 to add a factory cab to a new tractor.

#3- Yarding logs is tedious when having to open and close a cab door for each hookup.

#4- Not many of us have a tractor shed with a 10 foot high door. Your cabbed tractor may end up staying out in the weather?

#5- Visibility can be lost if the cab was not designed for a particular tractor. For example, if you cannot see your loader bucket, landscaping is difficult. Be very wary of generic after-market cabs.

Factory Cab Pros:
#1- More comfortable summer or winter when isolated from wind, cold, heat and snow.

#2- Switches and instruments are protected from weather

#3- Security when parked outside, even temporarily.

#4- Dry storage space allows commonly used items to be "always there" (coat, water, tools, chains, etc).

#5- Safer from flying or falling objects.

Having said that, I would always have a cabbed tractor but with some caveats:

A tractor canopy has the advantage of rain protection if there is no wind; sometimes in other words. It can also block mid-day sun. If strong enough a canopy may also offer protection from falling debris, but it does not block wind. It's a bare minimum for any tractor in my opinion and a simple one could be built for a few hundred dollars.

If you are a welder (or have a welder friend), you can build a nice cab for $1000-2000. And the homebuilt cab on my RX7320 Kioti enters an 8-foot high door opening so it lives inside away from sun, rain, snow and thieves.

My side entry door generally stays in the tractor shed. It hasn't been on the tractor for years. This allows easy entry/exit and prevents window fogging on cold damp days. The cab still blocks winter wind and in the summer the pop-out mylar rear window allows good ventilation to replace air conditioning. This may be a problem if your local temperature often exceeds 90°F.

There's an abundance of tractor cab designs and building techniques on YouTube. It's a great summer project and rewards can be reaped thereafter.

Hope this gives some insight to making your personal decision on a tractor cab .

 

[rScotty]

I'll bite. What is an insulated four post canopy?

Having trouble seeing the advantage of whatever this may be, although I do know that the canopy will keep the snow off the operator somewhat.

It's just a nicer canopy. Heavier duty. More coverage, mounts for lights, and a convenient hand hold.
This one shown below is hollow with two hard shells surfaces (upper and lower), some more steel framework, and glue-up insulation.

Apparently it is available on some Kubotas - the TBL line has it. We have one and here it is shown in the brochure. Other manufacturers have something similar, So it wouldn't surprise me if it was an option on others and there were aftermarket sources.

Obviously it isn't going to work mounted to a loader upright on machines with quick detatch loaders. So it would have to mount somewhere else.

Worth looking for, IMHO.

rScotty

 

[4570Man]

A tractor cab really leaves room for improvement when it comes to getting the glass out of the way. In my mini x the front window rolls up inside the cab if you don’t want to use it and the side door pins against the machine body when it’s open. I wouldn’t personally go with an aftermarket cab either. If you want one I’d get the factory one.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

In my experience, most people have confirmation bias when it comes to their choices. Comparing the comfort of a cab to the discomfort of an open station is hard if you are in the cab. What would you do with the extra money?

In my case, the cab would mean having to settle for less tractor as the budget is somewhat fixed.

So you'd have to get one of those little tractors with a big cab.

 

[MHarryE]

My first tractor was open platform - what we felt we could afford. Eleven years later wife had no objection to trading for a cab. I have used open platform tractors owned by my nephew over the past years since I got my cab and after using them, have no regrets at all going cab. I now have 3 cab and 1 open - our GR2120 21HP diesel lawnmower. For that - open platform definitely right.

 

[Doughknob]

... With 4WD I believe I will use the tractor year round instead of storing it during the winter like I do with the JD 2020....

I will suggest you store the 2020 because it is 'old', 'not 4wd,' 'not easy to change implements,' 'maybe hard to start,' 'controls not super easy,' etc. In other words, it is Not the fact that it does not have a cab. I mean, how long do you actually sit on any tractor in the winter for any task?

And that leads me to next point - I am constantly on/off mine unless brush hogging maybe. I do not want to get in/out a cab continuously. BUT, if you do indeed plan to spend long hours in the seat at a time, sure - get the cab version.

 

[gejandsons]

It depends on the type of work. If you blow snow or bale hay or use a rotary cutter mostly a cab will be great. Intricate grading dirt or crop tillage where you need to see , the cab isn’t so good.

 

[SGreene]

A cabbed NX6010 was $9,500 more than the open station model. That can buy a lot of implements. I don't mind the cold or snow and the summers here are usually 80's to low 90's. So I just use a canopy and I wired in a 12v plug for a seat heater. I'll wire in a fan next year.

 

[Farmer495]

Next one will have a cab....for stay in seat jobs.....but I am keeping the open stations.

May or may not get a loader on a cab tractor either. Most jobs I use loader for an open station is far more convenient and visibility is better. Only loader work I do that a cab would be nice is snow removal, but I do 99% of that with 3pt blower anyways.

Doing jobs you are on and off a lot the cab is in the way...and leaving the door open is just damage waiting to happen.

 

[PeteN]

I will suggest you store the 2020 because it is 'old', 'not 4wd,' 'not easy to change implements,' 'maybe hard to start,' 'controls not super easy,' etc. In other words, it is Not the fact that it does not have a cab. I mean, how long do you actually sit on any tractor in the winter for any task?

And that leads me to next point - I am constantly on/off mine unless brush hogging maybe. I do not want to get in/out a cab continuously. BUT, if you do indeed plan to spend long hours in the seat at a time, sure - get the cab version.

You must have had or driven a 2020 since you hit every problem it has. But it is green.

 

[RickB]

You must have had or driven a 2020 since you hit every problem it has. But it is green.

Compare a 2020 to a Ford 5000 or an IH 674 and it looks a lot better than comparing it to something 50 years newer.

 

[wolc123]

My neighbor was regretting it during hay season this summer when the AC was giving him trouble on his relatively new cab tractor. I saw it parked, on the hottest days, and his father in law’s 1960 something, open station JD 3020 pressed into service on the baler.

That old JD has a nice big sun shade on it and I suppose was pretty comfortable, as the tractor was moving at a good clip, under the hot sun. He said it was almost unbearble in the glass hot box on his much newer, cabbed red tractor, even with the doors and windows all open.

His auto mechanic buddy tried charging the AC system for him, but that fix only lasted a couple hours. His regrets increased sharply then and continue to escalate when the nearest tractor dealer mentioned how much a service call would cost.

A salesman would have his work cut out for him to get that guy to buy another cabbed tractor.

 

[Oz_Kioti]

To go along with the pole saw comments, I would add check your shed clearance if you want to store it inside. I upgraded my little 755 John Deere to a New Holland TC40 with an after-market sunshade bolted to the roll bar. I didn't check the clearance until the tractor was parked in front of the shed. Now the sunshade sits against the shed wall and the roll bar is flipped down so the tractor can be parked in the shed. If it had a cab, it would be parked outside all the time. This does give me an excuse to build a bigger shed...

Two of the "musts" for me with the new tractor were (1) a cab, and (2) that it would fit in the shed.

Reference (1), with summer mowing/slashing for 30 or so acres of pasture, it's nice to climb in to the cab on a hot and humid day, crank up the (excellent) aircon, and get the job done in comfort.

With (2), there's not a lot of margin regarding the height - maybe 100mm (4"). Fortunately the roof slopes down a little at the front, so the Trimble satellite antenna mounts nicely without adding to the height. Interestingly, the ROPS version is 75mm higher.