My Iseki Bolens cab project

[amanda11270]

I am new to this forum, greetings all. I am in the process of building/designing my own cab. I thought I would post pics of my progress, I plan on adding plexiglass next and a sheet metal roof. This cab is gonna be my sanctuary for the use of my snowblower or plow, I havent decided which to purchase yet, it may be based on which I can find actually. I did post these pictures on another post, but thought I would make my own post for it also.

 

[Johndeere3720]

:welcome: to TBN! glad to have you aboard! That cab is lookin pretty darn good. :thumbsup: Are you using a front mount snow blower/ or plow or a 3 point one? With the 3 point ones, there are many readily available but are more costly over the angle blade (plow). Im not sure where you could get a front mount snow blower or blade for your machine. I use a Montana angle blade with my added gauge wheels. Does a great job for grading and this is the first winter I will get to use my gauge wheels in the snow, one of the main reasons i added the gauge wheels. Gauge wheels wont scrape the gravel off the driveway when I plow the snow so it wont make a big mess after all the snow melts.

 

[amanda11270]

I am looking for either a plow or blower really, but I would prefer it be front mounted.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I am looking for either a plow or blower really, but I would prefer it be front mounted.

hmm, with the front plow and or snow blower, it will take some research on locating one. Have you considered fabricating a plow with hydraulic lift and possibly angle?

 

[amanda11270]

Yes, im a pretty good fabricator of parts, making other brands fit etc. So that is a possibility.

 

[Johndeere3720]

Here's a picture of my montana angle balde. yes it is 3 point, but with the gauge wheels, it will be graet in the snow this winter. The wheels can pivot and be put in a strait position for reversing the blade or adding weights. Having this on in reverse pushing snow would be graet and the wheels are adjustable through the toplink on the tractor's 3 point hitch. I have done some dirt work with this pushing loose dirt in reverse and it did an excelent job. And being a blade, you can not only use it in the snow, but for grading driveways, dirt work, ditching, etc. Great implement to have around.:thumbsup: Is your tractor 2 or 4wd?

 

[amanda11270]

Mine is a 2WD, and im leaning more towards a front mounted plow/blower if I have a choice.

 

[ampa]

I've just posted a whole bunch of new updated pic's includin' the rear hydraulic cut steel lines and the old under belly mower mount I used to connect the "A" frame to the tractor which fit perfectly (these are just below this post of yours)

I bought a 48"( 4') ATV snowblade these blades are available 48" and 60" size...the "A" frame ( is not included ) can be adapted to mount under the G-174 or G-152 BOLEN ISEKI...I used my old MMM brackets that came with the tractor I modified them to install the "A" frame...the original ATV brackets won't work and besides that.. they are a way too costly

I already had installed a 1/2" plate approx 2 years ago to which I mounted the boom with the chain to install the lift cylinder/ram...is this what your lookin' to install on your BOLENS ?....if you need more info and pic's I have plenty since I first started my project approx 2 months ago...I had a lot of changes to do..once I had to start all over...check em out.....take care Ampa <>

 

[Johndeere3720]

Ampa's plow is really nice. Very good example on what to look for. :thumbsup:

 

[amanda11270]

Ampa's plow is a nice setup, I found this forum searching on the internet for ways to add live hydraulics to my Bolens, and it was Ampa's thread I found. His threads and Q and A have helped me understand whats involved. I think it would be cool to be able to angle the plow left to right from the drivers seat.

 

[Johndeere3720]

Im not sure with your Bolens, but it ios very easy to add live hydraulcis to your tractor from the transmission. It uses the same hydraulic fluid but when you hook up the hydraulics you run the cylinders to get them full of hydraulic fluid and top off the level in the tranny since it will go down as the fluid has a new place to go.

 

[ampa]

I was goin' through my picture files and found a pic of my little LT with the 42" Craftsman snowblade I installed..first I had to rig up a mounting bracket....had to get someone else to do all the welding..

then mount a bracket for an 12 volt electric winch to raise and lower it....not really the best route to go...the only option I could afford at the time and a bit easier to operate than the manual lift....the angle I had no choice but to keep it manual....this LT had no hydraulics at all...

the cost to install hydraulics would have been way too expensive...besides that the tractor wasn't meant to be used for ploughin' snow...this same 42" Crasftsman snowblade was then installed on my ISEKI for which I kept it as is and used the same winch....

I had many problems...like the ISEKI had way too much power and bein' four wheel drive would cause this snowblade to trip everytime I used it....then the other problem... constantly breakin' winch cables and hooks....I thought I'd share this info to someone with the same idea of goin' this route usin' a 12 volt winch...

it didn't work too well for me....and I'd probley been better off keepin' the manual lift handle....or go with a 12 volt accutator which involves tappin' into the tractors electrical system as well..plus bein' very slow.... and very expensive....here's the picture of this LT......take care Ampa <>

 

[amanda11270]

Well, my cab project is really moving along, I thought I'd post up my progress, it probably doesnt look like much more has been done, however all the windows now have 1/4 plexiglass in them, its hard to notice in the photos, at least when I took them it did. Also I rivetted on an aluminum roof panel. Next I plan on hanging some doors on the posts I have welded to the front lower frame pillars, of course I have to fabricate them first, but hey, if I wasnt doing this my wife might see me sitting idle and put me to work on the Xmas lights (Yikes).

And my search for snow removal equipment is over, I found a great plow setup thanks to another forum member here. I posted some photos of it as well.

 

[amanda11270]

Photos

 

[Storm56]

Hey, everything looks fantastic. Nice plow, looks familiar...even the heater hose to protect the hydraulic lines...Hmm. Great job, hope you enjoy!

 

[Johndeere3720]

Nice job! I see you found a front blade. Looks pretty good. :thumbsup: It will really pay off when its blowing snow outside and you are sitting comfortably in that cab. :thumbsup:

 

[ampa]

I wish to add my comments as well Amanda..here I go....."GREAT JOB" on your whole project....that BOLEN/ISEKI looks to be in showroom condition....either this tractor was recently restored or it is original with very low hr's...I noticed the BOLENS name is marked on the ploughblade which looks to be around 5' or 60".....I could have went the same route....

but our garage is very narrow... my old rear graderblade was 48" which was plenty wide enough to plough the sidewalks at the old place where we lived uptil May of this year...is that a double acting cyliner or a single acting for the lift and lowering of the blade?....are there two cylinders for the angle?.....anyhow I know.... lot's of questions....everyones has different ideas nothin' wrong with this....I had no clue to how I was goin' to do mine.....

until I saw another members setup and decieded to copy the same for mine...my blade was too light to use a single actin' cylinder....just wasn't heavy enough to lower the blade.....so this is why I went the double actin' cylinder....the reason for the boom is that if and when I have the snowblade removed I can use the setup for a miniture lift.....like say if I needed to lift up something from the front of my tractor not too heavy mind you..maybe around 200 lbs.... It would be handy in a way.....anyhow I would like to have a cab for mine as well...but our garage is too low.....once again "GREAT" :thumbsup: thanks for sharin'.....take care Ampa <>

 

[amanda11270]

Well, I've been working on a 24hr "on call" basis for the last two weeks and it is extremely difficult to get anything done at home regularly. However this weekend my wife was out of town and I worked late fabricating the frames for my doors. Originally I welded posts on the cab frame to install doors that drop down on similar to a jeep. I had to buy bushings that are the ID of the pins, then weld two of them together to get the depth of the pin for a rigid hinge point. Also I had to bend and make the hinge bushing mounts from straight band steel. The toughest thing was thinkin of a door catch. I decided on a simple spring loaded bolt type catch, which you guessed it, I completely had to fabricate also. Im going to make the small parallel portion of the doors sheeted in aluminum inside and out to hide the entire door catch bolt mechanism, then plexi/lexan the rest. The painting of this whole project has been pretty stinky also, I have a large garage but it is attached to my house, and my heat sources suck in the smell and spread it everywhere. I think im all done welding and painting now though. Just rivets and screw stuff to do now. I will post more once im even further along. Im thinking of ordering a street rod universal wiper setup for it. Which brings me to a question, I never had a "cab" tractor, is a wiper helpful in snow plowing? thats probably a stupid question, but I really dont know, I mean I dont know how the snow/rain will affect it as the speed in my driveway is obviously gonna be slow.

 

[Kernopelli]

Im thinking of ordering a street rod universal wiper setup for it. Which brings me to a question, I never had a "cab" tractor, is a wiper helpful in snow plowing? thats probably a stupid question, but I really dont know, I mean I dont know how the snow/rain will affect it as the speed in my driveway is obviously gonna be slow.

I've never owned a cab tractor either but have used other cabbed machines at my work place in similar slow speed situations and used the wipers many times and been glad to have them, especially while snowing. I'd say a single wiper would be sufficient for your cab, which BTW is looking great...as does your Iseki.

 

[framer]

Nice fab job. Will you have heat to keep glass from foging over and will you
take it off in summer? Thanks for inspiration been thinking about cab for my
B7800.Like the pictures.