To cab or not to cab? Tired of being cold snow plowing

[Sono]

Because motorcycles, have a Gerbing heated jacket liner.

Ran an extension cord from the 12V SAE plug we use for the trickle charger, and bought an adapter cable SAE -> Coax.

This one comes with an integrated controller: Olympia 12V North Bay Heated Jacket Liner - RevZilla

Adapter: Hotwired SAE DC Adapter - RevZilla

You can also buy heated motorcycle or snowmobile gloves. There are connectors in the sleeves.

They work great. The technology was developed in WWII for bomber crewmen.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, The coveralls are great as well... Depending on how warm you want or need to be. I used a smallish rechargeable battery I tucked into a pocket with mine when I was out in the property doing stuff. If I got cold Id flip a little switch I rigged into it, warm up and turn it back off ( especially the gloves, fingers get cold easily ) but its nice to be able to stay comfortable.

 

[ruffdog]

After injuring my hands so many times in my life, my fingers get cold easily and I don't feel it. I had to get leather mittens if I was going to be out plowing/shoveling snow for a while. Between the cold in the winter and sun/heat/allergies in the summer, it is better having a cab. My wife even brought out hot chocolate and cookies as she rode shotgun while I was plowing snow.:licking:

 

[LouNY]

All the heated gear in the world is just a bandaid compared to a cab.
I went without a cab for years, I did have manufactured and home made canvas heat housers or cabs,
they are much better then nothing, and then astep up would be the aftermarket hard cabs with heaters and fans installed.
I have and have used the heated gear on my motorcyles.
But I have a cab now and I have absolutely no desire to go without one.
Yesterday I was tedding hay in a cabed and AC'ed tractor complete comfort and enjoyed the radio,
when I finished that I ended up on the JD 4430 pulling the round bale wagon, then dropped that and hauled small square bale wagons back to the farm.
The several hours tedding with the cab was much nicer then the few hours hauling with the open station.

 

[rScotty]

Washington County Fair.

I like the idea of having two tractors. It's super handy, so consolidating might be tough. snip

That's what we did. One with a cab and one without. We bought them used and fixed them up so the two tractors only cost what one new one would have.
Tractors were meant to be used for a long, long time with good maintenance. The big items: engine, tranny, hydraulics....are good for an easy 10,000 hrs. So if they run and work OK those items are more proven than used up.
I don't mind simply going through and replacing soft goods like all the tires, hoses, battery, sometimes the radiator and seat. It still saves serious dollars and it's handy to have summer and winter tractors.

What puzzles me is why buying used tractors is not more popular? The money saved on the first purchase more than pays for any tool I'd ever want. And simply replacing old parts with new ones and doing it all at once is way easier than the whole negative of fixing broken parts would be. The trick is to replace a lot of used parts up front when they look worn & before they fail.
It used to be called "preventative maintenance".
rScotty

 

[OrangeMuscle]

What puzzles me is why buying used tractors is not more popular? The money saved on the first purchase more than pays for any tool I'd ever want. And simply replacing old parts with new ones and doing it all at once is way easier than the whole negative of fixing broken parts would be. The trick is to replace a lot of used parts up front when they look worn & before they fail.
It used to be called "preventative maintenance".
rScotty

Because half of us are dopey homeowners that only know how to put fuel in the machines. Anything other than that and we get to call the service dept. and hope they fix it quick. I marvel at those of you who are so mechanically gifted. If I had your skills I would certainly buy used.

 

[rScotty]

Because half of us are dopey homeowners that only know how to put fuel in the machines. Anything other than that and we get to call the service dept. and hope they fix it quick. I marvel at those of you who are so mechanically gifted. If I had your skills I would certainly buy used.

I don't think it has anything to do with "mechanically gifted" or not.
Maybe it is for some people, but that didn't apply to me.

In my case it's just that I made a conscious choice to learn a mechanical skills because I could see how useful they would be. It was sorta like learning to read and write.
It was initially hard to learn, but the amount of effort wasn't really very high compared to the real dollar benefits I saw very quickly.
Basically I could see it was a smart thing to learn, so I did.

I'll admit that the first several projects didn't turn out so good. But over time, it has not only freed me from mechanical hassles, but pretty much freed me from debt as well.
And I get to own a lot more toys....which my wife puts up with because she has figured out they are at worst going to be a break even proposition financially.
rScotty

 

[metalbender]

When I was looking, there weren't any used cabbed compact tractors on the lots. Acreages popping up all around, small tractors get bought up quick. Being a mechanic all my life, I don't need the practice fixing a tractor just when I need it to work.

 

[Sono]

Because half of us are dopey homeowners that only know how to put fuel in the machines. Anything other than that and we get to call the service dept. and hope they fix it quick. I marvel at those of you who are so mechanically gifted. If I had your skills I would certainly buy used.

Truth... My wife will drive her car and that's it...drive it until the engine blows up because she wont check the oil or anything when the idiot light comes on. When it starts smoking and knocking she will continue until it dies ( replaced engine last year and already on its last leg ) I wont let her touch my truck...lol.

 

[deserteagle71]

To get back on topic....
I found it ironic when I checked TBN this morning to see these two topics next to each other:
"To cab or not to cab"
"Out of commission due to wasp sting"

Mowing last month the outside of the windows of my cab at one time must have had a hundred bugs crawling around on them...while I sat smiling inside the cab!

 

[Imold]

I would like a soft cab for winter and use a 12 volt heater then remove it for the summer and put the sunshade back on, the one I am looking at is called The Original Tractor Cab and it’s only 1k which isn’t all that bad for a SCUT.


Jim.