jambx
Gold Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2007
- Messages
- 282
- Location
- Southern CT
- Tractor
- B2920 TLB, ZD21-60P, 1949 US Baird Beaver
I wanted to give some feedback on my Curtis Cab install.
I finally unearthed a Curtis Cab off Craigslist - it only took 5 years as I have been looking since 2009 for a used one in like new condition.
Initial take-a-ways;
Quality - I actually was skeptical on the build quality of these cabs until I received mine and took it down to the last screw, cleaned everything up and put it back together and installed on the tractor. Quality is very very good and now understand they are priced accordingly. I have the soft doors and soft rear window. I have zero experience with the hard door cab from Curtis but can say that the soft one work very well. I do know a lot of guys keep their cab on year around but mine will come off in the summer as I enjoy an open cab and working in the woods quite a lot requires a much lower profile than the cab. Although I just don稚 see the reason to have hard glass for the doors a nice touch on the B2920 model is that there is a hard rear side glass which works great and really gives the unit a quality to it. They did not go cheap on this design. The wiper motor works great however the front lights are very weak and was shocked to see how much Curtis demands for these I will replace with some trapezoidal ones in the future. I purchased some off Amazon in the past for a fraction of what Curtis gets and they work much better.
Noise - wow - yeah its loud. So loud I do use ear muffs - I could not do without and use the muffs with a Radio and iPhone hook up. Stream music while I play...er.... plow. I can not tell you how happy I am. Yes it is LOUD at 2X maybe 3X however with the ear muffs its a non issue and brings tractoring to a whole other level. I just do not understand however how guys can operate a Radio through cab speakers in one of these cabs since I would think you would have to crank up the radio to overcome the interior noise...I did see a post where the member Waxman soundproofed his cab and from all indications it does a very good job for what appears to be a little outlay. I will go this route next year.
Impression - the door opening is huge and climbing in/out is very very easy. The door handle mechanism is top quality and locks firmly in place when shut. The front and side visibility is excellent - the front window is huge and curved backward providing visibility upward as well as straight out. The side doors have large clear openings and as I stated there is a solid side glass behind the doors. The rear window plastic is acceptable but not outstanding. Of course a solid glass or plastic like they use on the doors would be better than what comes as standard as it kind of takes on a clear plastic wrinkled look - but I think they make it so the user can roll the rear window up.
Heater my cab did not come with one and have operated in single digits. While I do wear a carhart Bib and ONLY a sweatshirt - I find I am never NEVER cold - in fact I almost at the point of too hot. Why someone would shell out an extra $400+ for a heater is beyond me. I hear guys blowing snow in shorts and T shirts - sounds like fun - until you have to get out of the cab to shovel, change blade angle etc. Its winter - dress for it. I just dont see the point.
Installation very straightforward and took me about 2 hours to install. Basically there are four brackets that bolt right onto ROPS. The side frame has a floor plate that bolts to the floor however I decided to hold off and was surprised how solid it was without the need to drill the floor. I also was shocked to see how air tight it is I have heard about fogging issues but I have yet to experience any. All the parts that touch the tractor use rubber to protect any scuffing. I am a one of those nuts and was hoping there would not be any marring of the paint and I can now say this is a non issue the rubber does a great job protecting the paint. Unfortunately I had to rework my lights that were on brackets fasten to the ROPS since they interfered with the back of the Cab roof. I decided to use some channel and u-bolts which I was now able to pull both the fronts and rears inward under the ROPS which gave me the clearance I needed. You will notice the U-bolts are upside down the washers and nuts actually rubbed against the back of the cab so for your guys looking to put a Curtis Cab on a B take note.
Removal - Since I will be taking this off in the summer I will plan to make a rig to be able to hoist it off in one piece and have prepared all the electrical connections for the lights and wiper with quick disconnects.
Conclusion for those that are considering a aftermarket cab I would highly recommend one (Curtis or Sims etc). I did look and research some other manufactures at considerably less cost however there is a HUGE difference in quality. I also agree that Kubota should consider offering a factory cab for their smaller platforms I think it would sell quite well. Since I require the ability to take the cab off for the summer and a factory cab will not give me that capability. So the aftermarket Curtis Cab hits that sweet spot?.,,,then again?....for me the Craigslist score makes it even sweeter
Below are some pics of the fit and finish. Sadly I do not have many pics of the cab apart as I was rushed to get it all together since we were being pummeled with snow the very weekend the cab was delivered and wanted to get it installed. Curtis has a web site which you can download the installation manual so it will give you a idea of what is involved but it was one of the more fun projects.
I finally unearthed a Curtis Cab off Craigslist - it only took 5 years as I have been looking since 2009 for a used one in like new condition.
Initial take-a-ways;
Quality - I actually was skeptical on the build quality of these cabs until I received mine and took it down to the last screw, cleaned everything up and put it back together and installed on the tractor. Quality is very very good and now understand they are priced accordingly. I have the soft doors and soft rear window. I have zero experience with the hard door cab from Curtis but can say that the soft one work very well. I do know a lot of guys keep their cab on year around but mine will come off in the summer as I enjoy an open cab and working in the woods quite a lot requires a much lower profile than the cab. Although I just don稚 see the reason to have hard glass for the doors a nice touch on the B2920 model is that there is a hard rear side glass which works great and really gives the unit a quality to it. They did not go cheap on this design. The wiper motor works great however the front lights are very weak and was shocked to see how much Curtis demands for these I will replace with some trapezoidal ones in the future. I purchased some off Amazon in the past for a fraction of what Curtis gets and they work much better.
Noise - wow - yeah its loud. So loud I do use ear muffs - I could not do without and use the muffs with a Radio and iPhone hook up. Stream music while I play...er.... plow. I can not tell you how happy I am. Yes it is LOUD at 2X maybe 3X however with the ear muffs its a non issue and brings tractoring to a whole other level. I just do not understand however how guys can operate a Radio through cab speakers in one of these cabs since I would think you would have to crank up the radio to overcome the interior noise...I did see a post where the member Waxman soundproofed his cab and from all indications it does a very good job for what appears to be a little outlay. I will go this route next year.
Impression - the door opening is huge and climbing in/out is very very easy. The door handle mechanism is top quality and locks firmly in place when shut. The front and side visibility is excellent - the front window is huge and curved backward providing visibility upward as well as straight out. The side doors have large clear openings and as I stated there is a solid side glass behind the doors. The rear window plastic is acceptable but not outstanding. Of course a solid glass or plastic like they use on the doors would be better than what comes as standard as it kind of takes on a clear plastic wrinkled look - but I think they make it so the user can roll the rear window up.
Heater my cab did not come with one and have operated in single digits. While I do wear a carhart Bib and ONLY a sweatshirt - I find I am never NEVER cold - in fact I almost at the point of too hot. Why someone would shell out an extra $400+ for a heater is beyond me. I hear guys blowing snow in shorts and T shirts - sounds like fun - until you have to get out of the cab to shovel, change blade angle etc. Its winter - dress for it. I just dont see the point.
Installation very straightforward and took me about 2 hours to install. Basically there are four brackets that bolt right onto ROPS. The side frame has a floor plate that bolts to the floor however I decided to hold off and was surprised how solid it was without the need to drill the floor. I also was shocked to see how air tight it is I have heard about fogging issues but I have yet to experience any. All the parts that touch the tractor use rubber to protect any scuffing. I am a one of those nuts and was hoping there would not be any marring of the paint and I can now say this is a non issue the rubber does a great job protecting the paint. Unfortunately I had to rework my lights that were on brackets fasten to the ROPS since they interfered with the back of the Cab roof. I decided to use some channel and u-bolts which I was now able to pull both the fronts and rears inward under the ROPS which gave me the clearance I needed. You will notice the U-bolts are upside down the washers and nuts actually rubbed against the back of the cab so for your guys looking to put a Curtis Cab on a B take note.
Removal - Since I will be taking this off in the summer I will plan to make a rig to be able to hoist it off in one piece and have prepared all the electrical connections for the lights and wiper with quick disconnects.
Conclusion for those that are considering a aftermarket cab I would highly recommend one (Curtis or Sims etc). I did look and research some other manufactures at considerably less cost however there is a HUGE difference in quality. I also agree that Kubota should consider offering a factory cab for their smaller platforms I think it would sell quite well. Since I require the ability to take the cab off for the summer and a factory cab will not give me that capability. So the aftermarket Curtis Cab hits that sweet spot?.,,,then again?....for me the Craigslist score makes it even sweeter
Below are some pics of the fit and finish. Sadly I do not have many pics of the cab apart as I was rushed to get it all together since we were being pummeled with snow the very weekend the cab was delivered and wanted to get it installed. Curtis has a web site which you can download the installation manual so it will give you a idea of what is involved but it was one of the more fun projects.
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