canopy

[winchman]

I am building a steel canopy for my 2410. I'm down to trying to decide what to use for sound deadening. Of course I'm building my own canopy because I have more time than money right now so I'm trying to come up with some cheap material. I have searched and read everything under sound deadening, and canopies. Just wondering if anybody had any new ideas? Would styrofoam insulation board work? How about spray-on bedliner on the bottom side of the sheet metal? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
winchman

 

[wichiwichi]

I used 3/4" styrofoam in mine. Glued it in place with a good adhesive caulk.

 

[TonyC]

My Kubota factory canopy just has about 3/4" upholstery foam glued to the top. In thinking about it I suggest you consider the goal. A lot of sound deadening material, such as the spray on type, is designed to keep the sound from traveling to the other side of what it's adhered to. With a canopy, the purpose is acoustic in nature. It's designed to stop the sound waves coming at you from bouncing off of the canopy causing sort of a barrel effect. What you need is the most sound absorbing foam you can get. For such a small area you can even look into the type they sell for that purpose at high end stereo stores etc. What I've seen is black and it has cones formed into it to deaden the sound even more than a flat foam.

 

[Soundguy]

My new cannopy from new holland had a 3/8" piech of 'chipboard' mounted to the underside of the cannopy.

Soundguy

 

[winchman]

Soundguy,

What is "chipboard"?

winchman

 

[AndyR]

I think the simple way would be to take a piece of bituthane (aka Ice Shield, nasty-sticky-black stuff, etc.) Cut to fit and carefully apply. You can proabably glue something nice on to it after it is on there but the resilient nature of the bituthane should make a great sound dampener.

 

[Boomerboy]

Attach a piece of carpet to the underside of the canopy. Carpet remnents come in all sizes and type, and cost practically nothing. It works really well, and you can just about select the perfect color for your use. Get a good tight pile on a jute backing. If it is stretched across with a minor air gap, the sound deadening is better, as the air space helps in deadening the return waves.

 

[kokopelli2]

use ice shield.....it is the same thing as dynamat (what they use for deadening in car stereo world) you can find it at home depot or a roofing supply company....usually about $20-40 for a 2ft by 250ft roll. you could then cover or paint it after it sets.

 

[JRP]

Lumber yards have some 4 ' x 8' panels of asphalt sheathing that is used for making furnace plenums. About $7 a sheet. It is what most of the metal canopy companies use. Workd great for my canopy.

Why not use aluminum? My top piece cost about $140 and will never need paint. it is almost 1/8" thick, so it won't bend.

email if you want a picture.

JRPoux.

 

[winchman]

Thanks Guys,


"Why not use aluminum?" I would have loved to but, I'll be saving over $100 by using steel and would prefer it painted bota orange anyways. I saw a picture of Bird's canopy and liked the looks of it. Thought about glueing eggcrate matress material to the underside, but worry about the spray on glue holding over time!?! How heavy is this "asphalt sheathing"?

Thanks for all the suggestions Guys,
winchman

 

[DocHeb]

Check out the thread <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=custom&Number=68665&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>Canopy Makes it Loud</A>. There a picture of acoustic foam used for sound deadening on the driver side of a canopy

 

[JRP]

The sheathing is a fiberous material pressed like chipboard. It is engineered to dampen the sound of the AC system in your home. Lighter than the same thickness of plywood, but heavier than foam. In my application, it is sandwitched between a 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" aangle frame and the aluminum top. For my installation, weight has not been an issue. The egg crate material will be much lighter, but I chose to use the sheathing for three reasons: 1. It is what the canopy manufacturers in this area of Texas use. 2. It is less expensive. 3. I put a layer of paint on it, so iit won't soak up water and mold if I wash it off. For your application, egg crate might be better. Try 3M "Super Weatherstrip Adheasive" as a glue. Also called "Gorilla Snot". Body shops use it. Good glue.

Photo above. How big is your canopy ? I have a piece of Aluminum left over. Another advantage of aluminum I left out: The material I bought has a diamond plate mirror finish on the top, like the tool boxes at Tractor supply but thicker, so probably reflects 95+% of the radiant heat. Important in Texas.

JRPoux

 

[winchman]

jrpoux,

My canopy will be 48" by 56" with a 2" lip bent on a 45 degree angle on the long edges, so it doesn't just look like a flat piece of tin. After reading TonyC's post I thought the eggcrate may work better for the sound deadening aspect, but I may take your word on the asphalt sheathing and sandwich it like you did. Then, no glue to deal with. I'm going to have to call around for it. I've never seen or, heard of it before.

Thanks,
winchman

 

[Soundguy]

Chipboard is a plywood -esque type product... a bit more robust and light than particle board.. but without the strencth of plywood.

My NH has this at the top pf the cannopy as a sounf absorbant.
Acoustic fom would work ok as well.. will work better.. but also wear out in the elements. Anything will be better than a hard reflective surface.

Soundguy

 

[ewoss3]

what do you use to bend the edges of your top. I was thinking of finding someone with a large metal brake

 

[winchman]

ewoss3,

Exactly! A buddy of mine has a sheet metal fab. shop, so he used a brake to bend the edges. The 2" lip bent on 45 degrees looks good in my opinion.


winchman

 

[JRP]

The 45 degree lip also adds a lot of strength.

The asphalt sheathing stuff might be called plenum board. It looks similar to chip board, but the strands of material almost look like strings and it is much lighter. It also is painted black with asphalt. Not enough paint, however.

When I made the angle frame, I cut three slots with a chop saw in the shorter pieces that run perpendicular to the length of the tractor. The slots divided the angle into four equal sections. Then I heated and bent the angle so the ends of the slots touched. Then I filled the slots with weld. The result was the perpendicular pieces loooked bowed down. It put a gradual curve in the canopy to shed water and add strength. If you don't understand I can send a picture.

 

[winchman]

jrpoux,

I'm going to call around today about the ashpalt sheathing stuff. I understand the curve you put in the top and it is a good idea, but I don't think I'm going to do it. As far as rain run-off goes, I don't think the tractor will ever be sitting in a position where the top would be perfectly level and the water would not run off.

Thanks for the input,
winchman