First off, AWESOME build and I will absolutely be using your experience when I build my own! You say it's far from perfect, but it's a hell of a lot closer than most any other DIY cab builds I've seen!
I'm curious, have you run this in cold weather yet? And if so how is the fogging/icing of the glass? I assume I'll need a heater and ducting to the glass when I build mine... but maybe not?
I'll be snowplowing in anything from 0C to -20C so the least bit of moisture will fog/ice up windows in a heartbeat.
Also, did you mention cost? If you don't want to, that's fine. I'm mostly curious about the glass since I'm assuming that was the most expensive part.
DanR,
Thanks. Im happy with how it turned out. No way was I going to throw together something that looked like a Red Green Handyman project! I sure miss that show. In my mind, Perfect = 0 defects! For one, I really need to improve on my body work skills. Good thing that's not my day job!
I have less than 2 hours run time with the cab on. Outside temps in the low to mid 40's (F). I didn't notice any issues with fogging of the windows. However, I have not yet installed any form of auxiliary heat other than my fat behind!. I do have a fan to blow across the windshield and left both front and rear windows operational to allow even more fresh air in. I've tried to seal up the exterior gaps between the tractor and cab but, haven't done a lot with all the interior penetrations other than throwing a couple old bath towels under the seat. All the floorpan holes for hydrostat peddle, etc are still wide open. I plan to run this winter without aux heat and see how things go. At least, I***8217;ll be out of the wind. If the windows fog up too bad or decide I really need to be plowing in shirt sleeves, I'll add a heater next year.
Because I intend to remove the cab during the late spring, summer, fall time of the year, I haven't yet come up with an easy solution to install/remove the coolant lines. I know I can remove the bypass hose and install heater lines but, won't that just allow coolant to flow out? After all the level in the radiator is substantially above the bypass hose. What I'm looking for is an easily dis-connectable solution that will be compatible with the antifreeze and not restrict flow too much. I thought about mold coolant quick couplers (similar to air line quick connects) but rated for temp and pressure. Not sure if they have enough flow? I've got all winter to figure this out.
As for cost, no, I never mentioned $. Some of the materials I had laying around. If I had to go out and buy everything, I'm shy of $2k. And, you're right, glass and rubber gasket alone was over 35% of that. It's expensive but, I only have to cry once. I ended up going laminated based on my local glass guy saving me a few dollars over tempered. And, if I break a pane, it'll stay intact or I can use my templates (assuming I can find them) to have a replacement made.
If your BX is an 80 or 60 series an older, the cab doesn't have to be as tall as mine in order to keep the ROPS in place. If I would have chosen to remove the upper portion of mine, I could have shortened the overall height about 6" without limiting level forward visibility if that makes sense. If you were to fix the front windshield and move the wiper to the bottom, you could gain another couple inches. I say that because bigger & taller comes at a price. More steel, more glass, more paint, etc.
Hope this helps and let me know if I can help in any way.
Regards
and give you some ideas how other people have done it. If you pinch off the rad hose you shouldn't loose too much.
