Kubota B2650 Cab Fabrication

[bird dogger]

What did all this cost? I didn’t keep every little receipt but for the cab materials itself I’m pretty sure I don’t have much more than $300 in it. With lights and a few extras I’m sure it was well under $400. Other than a welder and metal band saw it was built with a few hand tools, electric drill & grinder, etc. A cutoff wheel in a grinder would have worked just as well as the metal band saw.

Here’s how it sits and looks with my snowblower attached and homemade pusher blade on the front.







There you have it…….my poor man’s version of a custom cab that can be installed and removed easily…..and won’t cost you a fortune…..even if you had to hire a friend to do the welding for you. Maybe this might be the way or a partial guide to build a cab for another model. It sure has worked well for me over the years and I’d be happy to share or take any other pictures or info that someone might want in contemplating their own build.

Next up will be the weather fronts I made for operating in this cold north climate. Thanks for looking!

David

 

[RCW]

Wow - - an orange snow-pushin' Pope-mobile!

Just poking fun - - great job! Enjoyed the progress pictures and explanations in your thread.

Seriously, it looks quite roomy. Being a big guy myself, I look for that kind of thing.

Thanks for sharing - we've seen some real ingenious cab projects over the years. You got a good return on your $400, and it won't be in the way in good weather!

 

[bird dogger]

Wow - - an orange snow-pushin' Pope-mobile!

Just poking fun - - great job! Enjoyed the progress pictures and explanations in your thread.

Seriously, it looks quite roomy. Being a big guy myself, I look for that kind of thing.

Thanks for sharing - we've seen some real ingenious cab projects over the years. You got a good return on your $400, and it won't be in the way in good weather!

Thanks for the compliments, RCW!! Much appreciated. (And I enjoy being poked fun at....life is too short for taking everything too seriously).

It is a little boxy looking for sure. But with that (like you mention) comes ample room inside to move, turn, and just plain be comfortable. And the visibility completely around you can't be beat!! I've always called my first cab (built the same way mostly) and now this one.....my "Vista View" cab!
I'm sure chuckling over your description and that might have to be the new official "model title" !! Since the tractor and cab look pretty good in orange, the plan now is to sandblast, clean up and repaint the blower and front blade. That will really turn the "orange snow-pushin' Pope-mobile" into one snazzy lookin' outfit, don't you think? Maybe the Vatican will want to borrow it??

I've read some people's posts on this site and others that say their soft cab's plastic windows have yellowed, cracked and whatnot over the years. I don't know what kind of plastic that is but the clear vinyl window material I've used is as clear as day one after 25 plus years in the first cab I built. However the tractor is shedded inside when not in use and the cab stored hung up inside other than when mounted on the tractor in the winter. I'm sure that helps some but its still seems odd. The soft cabs must have awful cheap window material used in its construction. I expect to get the same durable use out of this window material as I've had with the other one.

Again, RCW, thanks for brightening my day with your GREAT comment!

 

[bearbait]

Great job!! Actually great job on it all, no blind spots there.

 

[Ping]

Wow! Great job, easy off, excellent visibility and under 4 bills Excellent job of sealing up your gaps. Only fault might be not having a wiper on your rear window.
Enjoy the snow
Regards

 

[bird dogger]

Great job!! Actually great job on it all, no blind spots there.

Thanks, bearbait! You're absolutely right on their being no blind spots. Once you're sitting inside you forget you're even in some kind of enclosed structure except for the fact that you're warm and out of the elements completely. I wish there was a way to better convey just how clear this vinyl window material really is because the camera pics just can't really show it. It is virtually like sitting in a clear glass fishbowl. And if and when the sun does shine it really heats up the interior fast on its own. I have installed a heater also and in no time I could be down to a tee shirt and still wiping the sweat off the brow in -20 degree F temps. At first it feels great knowing how cold it is on the outside but after being in it for an hour plus its time to let some cold air in to cool it down. Of course one could turn the fan off and that would help but that just wouldn't seem right.....

 

[bird dogger]

Wow! Great job, easy off, excellent visibility and under 4 bills Excellent job of sealing up your gaps. Only fault might be not having a wiper on your rear window.
Enjoy the snow
Regards

Thanks, Ping! Yes, you can't beat the price for the return on investment. And a quick easy build, too, that is still quite presentable in the end. Especially if one doesn't mind riding around in a "orange snow pushing Pope-mobile"! That comment still cracks me up and it's a very good observation at that.

Concerning the missing rear wiper: My first cab like this was built in '95 or '96 so that would be what, about 24 years ago. In all that time I can't recall once ever thinking I should install a wiper blade on any of the windows. I drew engine heat inside the cab with the first version and now have a heater installed in this one just because I'm getting older and that's reason enough. But even with the old cab with just a little engine heat coming into the cab it was enough to keep anything from forming or sticking to the vinyl windows. Any snow hitting the windows would melt and being absolutely vertical the droplets would run straight down almost as fast as they accumulated.

I still like to keep it as simple as I can if something isn't needed. Being it's only on in the winter for snow blowing and guessing about 20 to maybe 30 hours of use each winter on the average......it's simply there to do what it needs to do. Keeps me warm and out of the weather while blowing snow.
Plus, I wanted to keep it as simple and light weight as possible so I can easily install/remove it myself if need be. With a helper I know that can be done in under an hour easily and probably more like 30 minutes or less.

Thanks for the nice comments! If you ever would take on an "indentured servant" I'd love to apply for the position and learn some of your tips and techniques. Your work is something that we can all use to judge our own against......pretty impressive for sure.

 

[bird dogger]

I've heard there is something like an enforceable "unwritten" rule on this site that says if there's no pics it didn't happen. So I did some digging and come up with these old pics of my old JD750MFWD and the first cab I built for it back in '95 or '96. Bear in mind that I was younger then, a little less wise, there wasn't any internet access on the "bag phones", and I don't even remember if I had access to the internet at that time, and there probably wasn't many sites like this to share info and ideas either. But you can still heave your best shots at me when you see this first cab build. It still served its purpose well and has stood the test of time. Here it is:


The lower parts were all enclosed with some carpet remnants. Worked fine and was nice and warm too. It just ain't purdy!!

This one looks a lot better:

 

[Ping]

Thanks for the nice comments! If you ever would take on an "indentured servant" I'd love to apply for the position and learn some of your tips and techniques. Your work is something that we can all use to judge our own against......pretty impressive for sure.

I think this has to be one of the nicest compliments I've ever received! Thanks. BTW, as for the servant position, I understand the working conditions are terrible, projects take way longer to complete than expected and the boss is a real 455H0LE! hee hee

Good to hear your design hasn't caused a need for a wiper. And, I agree, simply is always better.
I noticed on your cab you used what appears to be an external bumper to prevent damage to the window frames. Would a limiter made out of strap material work? Think screen door limiter chain. Possibly prevent tweaking the hinges? Just a thought.
If you don't mind my asking, what material did you use for your 'glass'? Reason I ask is I have a friend inquiring about a winter cab for his Grasshopper/snow blower.
Stay warm.
Regards

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

This one looks a lot better:

You must be one short dude, I would kill myself with the window above the door!

 

[RCW]

(And I enjoy being poked fun at....life is too short for taking everything too seriously).

Since the tractor and cab look pretty good in orange, the plan now is to sandblast, clean up and repaint the blower and front blade. That will really turn the "orange snow-pushin' Pope-mobile" into one snazzy lookin' outfit, don't you think? Maybe the Vatican will want to borrow it??

I think the Pope would look pretty good in an all-orange snow-pushin' Pope-mobile! Not sure how much snow they get in the Vatican.....

(Of course, I'm a lukewarm Methodist former farmboy...my wife and kids are Catholic...)

Glad you took my comment in good humor; that's the way it was intended!

Welcome Aboard OTT. Look forward to your continued contributions!

 

[bird dogger]

I think this has to be one of the nicest compliments I've ever received! Thanks. BTW, as for the servant position, I understand the working conditions are terrible, projects take way longer to complete than expected and the boss is a real 455H0LE! hee hee

Good to hear your design hasn't caused a need for a wiper. And, I agree, simply is always better.
I noticed on your cab you used what appears to be an external bumper to prevent damage to the window frames. Would a limiter made out of strap material work? Think screen door limiter chain. Possibly prevent tweaking the hinges? Just a thought.
If you don't mind my asking, what material did you use for your 'glass'? Reason I ask is I have a friend inquiring about a winter cab for his Grasshopper/snow blower.
Stay warm.
Regards

I'd still apply for the position, Ping. The boss I work for in my one man show can be the same way, too. Good to know there's others out there whose projects sometimes hit a snag or two. I though it only happened to me.....at least it always seems that way!

A door opening "limiter" of some sort is in the works, like you suggest. I just haven't come up with something acceptable yet. I'm hoping to avoid something that would hang down and swing around with the door closed. I do have an idea of what might work and will post pics when it's proven to work.

I just went out and measured a cutoff chunk of my window material for you. It's .012 inches thick clear plastic. I don't know for sure but believe it to be a vinyl plastic. We have a surplus center here in town that I get it at. It's on a 60 inch wide roll along with the other upholstery products such as Naugahyde, cloth, etc. There was no label on the roll for the product description. The first cab's window material was around .020 inches thick and much harder to work with. This thinner vinyl is much easier to work with and appears to be just as strong and maybe a tad more clear when looking through.

I think 3M makes a super strong tape that would also join this plastic together and you won't get it apart. That could be another option for making a smaller cab or weather front for a smaller blower. A good fabric shop might also have this clear vinyl plastic. It's maybe the same thing that's used for those clear table top covers that they put over the fancy tablecloths to protect them from spills. Sorry I don't have an exact product name for you at the moment. All I know for sure is it works great and was something like $6 or $7 a yard off that 60" wide roll.

 

[bird dogger]

I think the Pope would look pretty good in an all-orange snow-pushin' Pope-mobile! Not sure how much snow they get in the Vatican.....

(Of course, I'm a lukewarm Methodist former farmboy...my wife and kids are Catholic...)

Glad you took my comment in good humor; that's the way it was intended!

Welcome Aboard OTT. Look forward to your continued contributions!

There wasn't any doubt about it.....pretty darn funny.....and accurate too!
Again, thanks for the welcome, RCW. I don't know why I waited so long to sign up.

I see you have a MM tractor. I grew up on Dad's old "U" plowing on our vast 160 acres way back when. Dad would get quite mad when he'd see us jerk the ol' hand clutch lever to raise the front wheels off the ground at the start of the next round. (Can't understand why!!) I also remember dozing off late in the afternoon one gorgeous fall day while plowing. Was easy to do when the front wheel followed the previous furrow left. Not sure what woke me up but something told me I better look ahead and quick! I just barely had time to yank the rope, raise the plow and turn to keep the front wheels out of the ditch!! I think Mom had some extra laundry to do that night.

 

[bird dogger]

You must be one short dude, I would kill myself with the window above the door!

Well, I'm not that short either. After a few lumps on the head it becomes quite natural to stick your head in first as your getting in! The main reason though is it gave a minimum amount (about 10 inches) of framework to have for bolting the two halves together at that point and keeping everything rigid and square. Thanks for looking!!

 

[bird dogger]

I noticed on your cab you used what appears to be an external bumper to prevent damage to the window frames. Would a limiter made out of strap material work? Think screen door limiter chain. Possibly prevent tweaking the hinges? Just a thought.
If you don't mind my asking, what material did you use for your 'glass'? Reason I ask is I have a friend inquiring about a winter cab for his Grasshopper/snow blower.
Stay warm.
Regards

Here's an example of the vinyl window material I used:

Flexa® Clear Marine Vinyl
This double polished clear marine vinyl has incredible clarity
This UV Treated clear marine vinyl is perfect for the outdoors (200+ Hours)
Sold By The Yard: 1 Yard = 36" (length) x 54" (width), 2 Yards = 72"x54" etc.
Width: 54"
Thickness
16 Gauge: .016" = 0.4064mm (approximate) - Widest option (72" wide) best option for wider openings
20 Gauge: .020***8221; = 0.508mm (approximate) - Thinnest Option (54" wide)

This particular brand seemed expensive at $16/yd, probably 'cuz its advertised for boats. I'm sure a google search for "double polished clear vinyl" would turn up hits at cheaper prices. My vinyl must be about 14 gauge, being I measured it at .012 inches thickness. Edit: I think now it's actually 12 gauge double polished clear vinyl plastic.

Hope this helps!
David

 

[Ping]

David
Thanks for the info! I’ll pass it along to my Grasshopper friend

 

[bird dogger]

David
Thanks for the info! I***8217;ll pass it along to my Grasshopper friend

Your most welcome! He, or anyone else can certainly email or PM me (if I can figure out how that works one day) for any more detailed pics, info, help, etc.
It's sure is nice to be sitting inside, out of the cold, while taking care of snow.
And there's no mosquitos to contend with......yet, anyway!

I should add that after a quick internet search there appeared a number of vendors of the material. On Flea Bay a search revealed material from $6 a yard (54 inch width) and up. All with shipping included, or most anyway. I found the .012 inch thickness (12 gauge?) is working excellently for me.

Here's a few pics today, looking outside of my windows from inside this cab on a nice sunny day.

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=41255&stc=1&d=1551566776
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=41256&stc=1&d=1551566798

 

[bird dogger]

In looking through the pics it appears I neglected to include some pics about closing up some gaps and adding just a bit of insulation to the inside lower cab areas. From some foam “headliner” type insulation that was ¾ inch thick (gray in color) I made pieces that fit into the lower door, front, and side areas and around the Rops openings.






The cold breeze would still flow in and cause the feet to get cold so this piece was cut to shape and inletted into place. I first measured the center to center distance and diameters of the pedal shafts. Then a larger piece of cardboard with those holes cut out to fit around the shafts was held in place while I traced the outline of the opening from the underneath of the floorboard. +/- ½ inch was added around the perimeter of the outline and this became the pattern for the insulation “plug”. After the holes in the proper location were cut and a slit to each one from the lower edge was made, I carefully cut a narrow channel around the outside edge of the insulation piece and created what’s essentially an insulation grommet. The travel of the brake pedals stay pretty true to the same spot so there was no need to oblong the holes at all. The give in the foam took care of any deviation of the shafts when depressing either or both brake pedals. To install: From inside the cab, first place the piece around the two pedal shafts and then work into place by fitting the slot around the perimeter into the floorboard opening. If it seems to tight to go in at first, just increase the depth of the edge "channel" a little more and try again. It only took one try, it was quite easy to do (even for me), and you couldn’t have a better seal around those pedals. And just as good…..it comes out the same way when your done with the winter work. Just slowly work one edge around while pushing it upwards from the underneath and pop it out to the inside for removal around the pedals. Can't get any better or easier than that!

 

[bird dogger]

Just for an FYI I'll throw in these two pics in case anyone might be interested.
The first is of my older Lorenz snowblower purchased new in '91 or '92. Originally it was hooked up to the JD750MFWD and with only 17 HP at the PTO it was a little underpowered. But inside the trees here the snow seldom drifts into hard pack so it wasn't ever an issue. Plus, instead of the usual auger type components this has the two rollers with angled paddles on them to break up any hard pack. And boy, do they ever do that well. Even with just 17 HP powering the blower those paddles still broke up the hard crusts and cleared a path. The new Kubota B2650 with 19+ HP at the PTO is a noticeable improvement and turns this blower into one mean snow eating machine. I can't imagine what it would do with 25HP input! Years ago the kids had left a basketball out under the hoop and a heavy snowfall had covered it up completely. I thought and explosion had taken place while blowing snow the next day! I couldn't imagine what I had done or broken. Upon shutdown and inspection I couldn't find a thing wrong. Started things up again and all was normal. Happened to look out into the yard and saw something black laying on top of the snow. Walked out there and found the carcass of their basketball cut and split into pieces that were still all clinging together.



This is an extra cutting edge I welded to the top of my snow pusher blade. When I tilt the bucket almost all the way forward I can nose up real close to the garage doors, etc. and pull any snow or hard packed snow from tire tracks away from those openings with ease. It sure makes life easier!!

 

[bird dogger]

You must be one short dude, I would kill myself with the window above the door!

North Idaho Wolfman, I was thinking about this comment today when I used the tractor for a short bit. I really haven't bumped my head on it when getting in or out and was just kidding earlier when I mentioned that. But today your comment got me thinking.....Why haven't I, when it looks like such a short door? So I thought I'd answer your comment again with a little more insight in the hopes it won't mislead someone else into thinking it's a head injury just waiting to happen. It really isn't.

The top of the door and bottom of that window frame is 74 1/2 inches above the ground with my size tires on the tractor. That leaves me a good 4 inches clearance standing outside. When stepping up into the tractor the natural tendency is to lean in for something to grab onto before you even begin hoisting one's bod up inside and into the seat. Tried it many times and didn't hit the noggin' once. It never occurred to me to try to explain it before because it was never a problem. However, I have bumped my head on the horizontal mirror when I forget to flip it up or forget to get up a little carefully when leaving. Plopping my butt on the seat without minding the mirror's position too can reposition my cap. No blood yet, though! And once or twice is enough to remind you of the proper procedures to follow. A small price to pay for sitting inside, warm, out of the elements. Hope this might shed some more light on that subject.

David