Do you regret getting a cab?

[Boondox]

I've always had tractors with foldable ROPS and my only protection from the elements was the clothing I wore. But I've got to admit there are times (winter at 20 below, bug season when swarms of skeeters or black flies torment me, steady soaking rain that eventually finds its way to my nether regions) when I really would have appreciated the protection. The problem is when I sit in a cabbed tractor it just doesn't feel tractor-like.

Do you get over that feeling? Are there other disadvantages of having a cab?

Pete

 

[brin]

Both of my tractors are open platform with foldable ROPS but I have driven my neighbors JD with a cab and I did not like it at all...Yes I was comfortable ..it was hot outside and the AC was cold inside but the problem for me was I felt disconnected from the bush hog I was pulling and the other tractor noises we all learn to listen for. I never have worn ear plugs, or used a headset for radio or anything like that since I want to hear if something goes wrong with the tractor or equipment. I have had too many situations where a link pin broke and I would have ruined a piece of equipment had I not heard it or worse it could have climbed up the back tire and taken me out...So I am destined to operate in the great outdoors hearing only the purrr of the machine...

 

[lawn_king]

Im operating my 3rd cab tractor, 1st 2000, 2nd 2005, 3rd 2008. They keep getting bigger & better. My only regret is that i waited so long to jump to cabs.

 

[Boondox]

Im operating my 3rd cab tractor, 1st 2000, 2nd 2005, 3rd 2008. They keep getting bigger & better. My only regret is that i waited so long to jump to cabs.

Did you start off with cabs?

Bob pretty much hit my concerns on the head. Will I feel cocooned and disconnected in a cab? Will the fact that I'm so much further north than him with all of the associated weather extremes make up for it?

What really got me thinking of this as I prepare to downsize from an L4630 to a B3030 was a YouTube video I found on this forum showing a fellow in Michigan with a B3030HSDC and a front mounted snow blower. My dirt road is eight feet wide with stone walls on either side, so if we get a bit of snow I quickly run out of places to push it and my road narrows till it's just wide enough for the car to pass thru scraping both sides.

A snowblower would let me loft the snow up and over those walls, but on an open platform and any breeze at all that's just miserable work! Seeing that fellow all toasty warm in his heated cab really stirred something in me. And then there's bug season here in Vermont -- really an ugly time of year. Our summer is only a couple of weeks long, so the AC wouldn't see much use.

But did I mention the cold and the bugs?

 

[rbargeron]

I do snowblowing at 8 places all within a half-mile radius of home. We're on a hill open to NW clearing winds so I wanted a cab just for that - its warm and big and has lots of outside lights so its perfect for winter. But I completely agree with brin about being isolated and out of touch with the machinery. So for summer I take off the doors and rear window, leaving the roof to keep the rain off, and the windshield & side glass (tinted) to reduce some of the sun's glare. The cab corners deflect tree limbs when mowing at the edges of fields - pretty handy since pine boughs taking off my glasses!
I'm a full cab fan for winter, and a half-cab fan in fair weather.

 

[Jaylegger]

It's similar to driving a motorcycle or a car, for snowblowing I'll take the car anyday. No regrets having a cab for that purpose but I take it off for summer, but I'm wouldn't be on it for more than an hour at a time, if that.

 

[lawn_king]

Did you start off with cabs?

Bob pretty much hit my concerns on the head. Will I feel cocooned and disconnected in a cab? Will the fact that I'm so much further north than him with all of the associated weather extremes make up for it?

What really got me thinking of this as I prepare to downsize from an L4630 to a B3030 was a YouTube video I found on this forum showing a fellow in Michigan with a B3030HSDC and a front mounted snow blower. My dirt road is eight feet wide with stone walls on either side, so if we get a bit of snow I quickly run out of places to push it and my road narrows till it's just wide enough for the car to pass thru scraping both sides.

A snowblower would let me loft the snow up and over those walls, but on an open platform and any breeze at all that's just miserable work! Seeing that fellow all toasty warm in his heated cab really stirred something in me. And then there's bug season here in Vermont -- really an ugly time of year. Our summer is only a couple of weeks long, so the AC wouldn't see much use.

But did I mention the cold and the bugs?

I ran open station internationals for 20 years, so i paid my dues! There are days here in new england that i wish i had an open station machine, about 3 a year!

 

[Taiser]

No use for a cab at my place much. Used my machine to grub the land first, cab would have been destroyed and scratched to **** if I had one on there while doing that.

Would be handy for snowblowing, but I use a plow anyways, that about the only advantage in winter, but it only takes my about 45 min to plow my whole driveway. In the summer I'd probably have the doors open anyways. Just like to hear and "feel" the machine better, cabs isolate too much IMHO. My $0.02.

 

[TripleR]

That's a hard question and factors such as age and health will play a part.

I grew up driving open station tractors farming as that's what everyone had. The only concession to the elements was an umbrella and years later a hard top on my ROPS. About fifteen years ago I began operating a cab in addition to an open station.

Yes, I do feel "disconnected" to a certain extent in a cab and vision is not as good with an open station, but with that "isolation" comes "protection" from heat, cold, bugs, dirt, pollen, vaporized noxious weeds and the occasional errant limb. I recently decided to buy another cabbed tractor and stop running an open station for the most part (still operate my BX2660 and John Deere 2305) and bought a Grand L5030HSTC.

For some of us older guys, a cab is the only way we can keep using a tractor regularly. My father in law had heart problems and couldn't handle the extremes in temperatures. He died up behind our house in January doing what he loved; if not for a cabbed tractor he would have been house bound.

 

[Ductape]

If you are considering the large B series, spend the extra money and get the factory cab........ you won't regret it ! I can snowblow in my underwear listening to my favorite music all winter long. I use the A/C all summer too. No bugs, no hornets, no sweat ! I don't feel disconnected from my tractor at all. I'm on my third tractor, but first with a cab...... and wish I had justified it sooner also. If there is a drawback, its that you have to trim a few branches where you mow each spring. I can live with that.

 

[Earl Ohl]

I've always had tractors with foldable ROPS and my only protection from the elements was the clothing I wore. But I've got to admit there are times (winter at 20 below, bug season when swarms of skeeters or black flies torment me, steady soaking rain that eventually finds its way to my nether regions) when I really would have appreciated the protection.

The problem is when I sit in a cabbed tractor it just doesn't feel tractor-like.

Do you get over that feeling? Are there other disadvantages of having a cab?

Pete

You'll get over that feeling really fast when you're cutting grass & hit a hidden bee's nest. It's nice to be inside the cab & not get stung!

 

[DelSc]

Im in New Hampshire and switched from open station to cabbed primarily to get out of the cold during snow blowing. Put me in the group that wished they had just bought the cab in the first place. It is hard for me to overstate how much more enjoyable chores are in the cold/hot/wet/bugs of New England when there is protection. I dont have a sense of being disconnected except when the wind shifts while Im snow blowing and it melts on the glass instead of on my face and clothes.

Since you are asking for downsides to a cab, I can think of a few. One is the cost. It is several thousand more to get a cabbed B3030 vs open one. To me those are dollars well spent (I have a B3030 with cab), but others will see it differently.

Another is that a cab raises the center of gravity of the tractor. I have a hilly property and am careful how I operate the tractor so I dont find it to be a problem, however the effect is real. I got rear wheel spacers so I could use chains and not have it interfere with the backhoe subframe, but they improve stability as well.

Another is that a tractor with a foldable ROPS can get into a standard 7 ft garage door easily, where a cabbed b3030 is just slightly taller than that. Some guys have removed trim from their garage doors to accommodate the height.

The only other one I see is that it is harder to thread a cabbed tractor through dense wooded sections of the property because I dont like branches whacking against the glass and mirrors. In an open cab you can just duck and not worry as much. I have always kept trees trimmed in areas I mow to avoid hitting the ROPS, and its no different for me with the cab, but chores like skidding logs in unmaintained areas of the property are a different story.

 

[Boondox]

Thanks for the sound feedback, guys. I'd forgotten that I tend to disturb ground bees at least once a year! Those suckers are nasty!

Scott, your weather is a lot like mine, as is your property. My 150 acres has about half an acre flat, and that's where the farmhouse sits. The last time we harvested timber I wisely left plenty of trees within winch reach of solid logging roads so I didn't have to struggle gathering firewood.

My R4s will be at the wide setting, but no spacers as that would take away the ability to muck the sheepshed in the hands free style I am eagerly anticipating. No backhoe, as I have a mini-ex. The cab height is about two inches less than my garage opening, but I never shut that door anyway so might just remove it and the trim as suggested. I have a low breezeway that precluded cabs on the Grande L tractors I've owned, but the B3030HSDC will fit with five inches to spare.

Thanks again.
Pete

 

[crazyal]

My Case backhoe has a cab and it's the main reason why I'm not going with one on my 4240. My plans incluse draggin logs out of the woods and a cab would just hinder getting into the tight spots too much. Secondly (and this is what I learned with the BH) is that I'm always getting in and out and having to open the door to do so is a pain. Yes that may sound silly but I would give up the heat and AC 90% of the time to be able to quickly jump down look at what I'm doing from a different angle then get back in. I often leave the door open but find it always closes just before I go to get out.

I also don't like having windows. It's just not as clear as the unobstructed view. That being said it's real nice to have a dry place and I think the extra weather is real hard on the display but then again that cab could be the difference between inside garage storage or being stuck outside.

 

[Oleozz]

Age was a factor in my last tractor having a cab. When I was younger I liked being out in the elements, now I'm more for the creature comforts. My ole IH has a YearARound cab, no AC and it's like sitting in a tin can, extremely loud. The other tractor has ac, heat, music, and is quiet, tractors have come a long way.

 

[Doug_D]

link to a great discussion regarding a Cab vs Open station...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/162807-been-year-cab-not-sure.html

 

[buckeyefarmer]

you all chip in and buy me a cab tractor, then I'll let you know.

 

[TripleR]

I spent yesterday bush hogging and will do the same tomorrow and for the rest of the week. When finished, I come in the house catch up on the news, eat, watch a little TV and relax. With an open station, I use to have to strip my clothes off in the garage, immediately check for ticks, hit the shower and spend hours sneezing with burning eyes and a headache.

Nope can't say I miss my open station tractor so much; actually still have it, just don't use it much.

 

[forester2]

I'm just dittoing whats already been said by other happy cab owners. My wife let me get our B3030HSDC 4 years ago and I love it. No snow in the face in winter, allergies under control in the summer. Was concerned on hills too, until I loaded the tires and now it doesn't feel top heavy at all. If I was in the woods all the time,I would not have a cab; fortunate to have another tractor for that. The real plus to the B3030 is that we now have a tractor my wife feels comfortable driving.

 

[Car Doc]

I think I would seriously regret it at least a permanent cab. I have thought about fabric cabs just for winter and still managed to talk myself out of it.

I can always change sunglasses if they freeze over but dealing with plastic windows all around you iced over. I dont know but to me it seems like a cab is better for an hourly job where you have to pay someone to tractor for you or you are the one getting paid. Of course I am not saying I wouldn't enjoy an all weather cab with music just cant see myself ever really needing one is all. jmho

Steve