Canopy Cracked the Supersuite roof

[Tuomind]

Good morning,

I accidently hit a low hanging tree branch my TC40 with supersuite cab. Unfortunately this caused my supersuite roof cab to crack. Is there anyway to repair the damage as I don't want water to seep into the cab roof. Failing that can the roof be replaced?

Thanks,

Darryl

 

[nickel plate]

Welcome Darryl,
There probably is a fix although it most likely won't be pretty but in order to go there, please post photos of the damage.
If you need help posting photos to this site, send me a PM and I'll walk you through the process-it's actually quite easy after you post your first photo!

 

[LoneCowboy]

More than a couple times.
DO NOT try and replace the roof.

ALL the wiring for the cab goes up and thru the roof.

MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR time (30 hours or more, seriously)

It's fiberglass, any fiberglass shop can do it, or you can do it yourself with bondo

til you get around to fixing it, put duct tape on it and seal it up because all the A/C air goes thru there and if it isn't sealed, all the crap getting sucked in will plug up the condenser.

crappy design and CHEAP plastic.

 

[Tuomind]

Thanks for the replies. I will post some pictures shortly. I spoke with my local New Holland dealer who has always treated me very well. They advised the roof section is "glued" and would take a lot of labour to remove and replace. The roof is also close to $1000.00 Cdn!

They suggested using a high grade exterior silicone to seal the cracks (luckily the are only thin cracks and no major pieces broken / missing). Any thoughts about using the silicone??

Thanks for the replies,

Darryl

 

[nickel plate]

Before you go and apply silicone into those roof cracks, run a test strip bead somewhere on the roof and see if it does adhere after curing. A lot of residential silicone caulking will peel off quite easily.
I recommend a clear Loctite product, "Stick'n Seal ORIGINAL" waterproof adhesive, (key word, "adhesive"). Contains toluene and hexane-highly flammable when first applied. I have used it on a multitude of cracked plastics with good results. You may want to make up a "sandwich" with another piece of plastic over the damaged section with the adhesive bonding the two.
No photos from you as of yet so if there are severe cracks, take a drill and put a small hole at and beyond the end of same to stop any further cracking, Maybe your dealer can tell you if the cracked area has any wiring that needs not to be drilled into.

 

[Jackfr]

I would not waste my time with silicone the racking of the cab while using the tractor will cause more problems. Repair the crack with fiberglass matting and resin this will reinforce the cracked area, feather sand and paint and the cab will be as strong as new and you wont have a problem later.

 

[RickB]

More than a couple times.
DO NOT try and replace the roof.

ALL the wiring for the cab goes up and thru the roof.

MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR time (30 hours or more, seriously)

It's fiberglass, any fiberglass shop can do it, or you can do it yourself with bondo

til you get around to fixing it, put duct tape on it and seal it up because all the A/C air goes thru there and if it isn't sealed, all the crap getting sucked in will plug up the condenser.

crappy design and CHEAP plastic.

So is it plastic, or fiberglass?

 

[LoneCowboy]

So is it plastic, or fiberglass?

You can repair it with bondo, I assume it's fiberglass
not a chemist.

thin, cheap crappy fiberglass

 

[LoneCowboy]

Thanks for the replies. I will post some pictures shortly. I spoke with my local New Holland dealer who has always treated me very well. They advised the roof section is "glued" and would take a lot of labour to remove and replace. The roof is also close to $1000.00 Cdn!
l

Not understanding what i was getting into 2 years ago, i bought the roof. It was $550 then. I figured it's a couple bolts, the A/C lines and boom, pop it off, pop it in, maybe 3 or 4 hours of labor. So did the shop foreman.

Then it turned into a disaster. As I said, ALL the cab wiring runs thru the roof. It took them 30 some odd hours to do. It was a $3000 bill.

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just bondo the crack and move on. (duct tape it for now)

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I have no experience with tractor tops, but quite a bit with boats. I wouldn't use bondo on it. There is, or used to be, a product called "Marine Tex" which is quite strong, but I would still go with the idea of laying fiberglass cloth (or mat, but cloth is stronger) and using EPOXY resin, not the other stuff whose name escapes me but it's cheaper and not as strong. (I used gallons of it in my day and it's going to bother me until I remember it now... Polyester!! There.)