zero hour BX25D Curtis Hard Cab

[Gdemos]

Marvin from Barlow's pulled into Lil' Rhody with this new BX25D, and off went my good 'ol BX24. I enjoyed 800 hours on her, served me very well but her time had come. polar vortech, 30 below windchill, and 18" snow, meet heated cab. I'm very fortunate to have this and appreciate all the tips on this forum. can't wait to bolt on all the fun stuff and get to work.

 

[Kubota_Man]

Very cool Oooops I mean warm

 

[t33jetman]

Gdemos

Congratulations on the bx25d , and the Curtis Cab.

Got to love it on these cold days and the ease of taking the doors and back wall off for the summer months.

Put all the goodies on her and post some pics so I can enjoy with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhuYK_fa94c

Jetman

 

[Gdemos]

thanks guys. only thing I'm going to change for now, I've got some rear lights on order and I'm going to swap out the switch box that powers the accessories with Curtis' molded top radio/speaker/switch box. the one I ordered takes up a significant field of view whereas the molded panel seems a bit more integrated.

Jetman, the heater is on a double pole, double throw switch for High/Off/Low settings as I understand...yet I couldn't notice a difference between the High and Low output. How's yours? BTW, thanks for the inspiration to go cab!

I had asked my own questions here on the noise level that the cab produces, so a little app on the iPhone measures 90dB at 2500RPM, 70dB at idle. quite tolerable given the advantages in comfort. you hear a bit more whine of the hydraulic than the open air. I really like the fit and finish, there is a lot more of a sealed-up feel than I anticipated. the flexibility of popping off the rear glass, the rear wiper, the doors. all seems very well executed in design.

 

[t33jetman]

Gdemos

The heater fan is hi/lo, and I can feel a difference, but like you said not night and day. But if you get your tractor working and she is warmed up you will see a deference then. I have mine on hi all the time unless one of my grandson's is standing in front of it. He will feel the heat.

During that cold snap last week I did tape off my radiator screen to block off air and to get it warmer. Just a thought if it gets really cold again. This did not send my temperature up hi, and I still had plenty of air to cool the engine.

Block off all the open air places in your cab , big point is under the seat.

I have been out when it was zero at night and just having some place to climb in and get my fingers warm , stopped me from getting frost bite! If your windows fog up just turn on your over head fans in the console, seams to do the job keeping the fog down for me. I also never turn my engine off when outside , because a warm place makes me want to work outside longer.

Yes I love the overhead console and how simple it makes wiring up the cab. I did replace the overhead light which is junk, Sorry Curtis that is the way I see it, because mine did not work . You know how I feel about junk, it wound up against the wall HARD.

 

[Gdemos]

jetman,
looks like your switch/stereo console is mounted approx. in the middle of the ceiling. I thought it might be designed to tuck right into the front of the ceiling? when you did the install did you follow their precise instruction or was there room to put it where ever you wanted? my reason for looking at the molded console is I thought it would really tuck up tight to the front. my current switch box is at the top right, bolted to the front lip but taking up windshield space on the top right.

 

[t33jetman]

Gdemos

My console is installed on the roof where I can tilt it open , so that the rear glass wall can be removed..

You would have to come up with some kind of brace to hold the console if and when the roof is tilted to the open position to use the backhoe. If you tuck it in tight, how would you support the rear end of the console. Now you may want to build a support for the rear console so you can move yours more forward than mine. You could tucke the console up tight to the front, only if you never plan on opening the roof or you don't plan on making a support bracket.

If I knew what I was doing I may have done that to. I only had two weeks off from work so I was in a hurry to complete all my add-on since I didn't know how long it would take.

I looked at all the pictures I could find on Google before I did this to get an idea what others did and why they did it that way. I searched every picture of a BX25D with a cab on the internet before I started this project to get all the ideas I could. I never had an idea of how to do any of this kind of stuff before.

Curtis does not tell you in the instruction where to mount it. It is your choice where to mount the console, and that is why they give you so much cabling wire. They don't even tell you what to mount it with you have to figure that out.

My dealer wanted $750 to install my cab , so i did it myself, but it took me two weeks to do it. I did it right as you can see the wiring is very neat and my cab installation was per the book. Some times you have to make changes so things work well for your use of the tractor.

I used elevator bolts with rubber washers and self locking nuts to hold my console up. Curtis recommended to me to us double sided tape to hold it up. I wanted nothing moving in my cab or someday falling down so I did my way, built to last.

I hope that answers your question. If you need better pics let me know and I will provide them.

I plan on in the future to make a cover to hide the wires behind and paint it dark gray like the inside of the cab. That job is not an important issue at this point because it will not be put in a show or magazine.

 

[Gdemos]

thanks jetman. as it turns out Curtis has discontinued the stereo console for this cab. so i'll stick with what I got. my guess is their supplier stopped making it and it will be a while before they get a new supplier.

getting used to the cab, will definitely be appreciating it tonight when I get home to plow the driveway in the dark in the snow & rain.

some of the quick workarounds with the open tractor will have to get used to, e.g., knealing on the seat facing backwards for quick backhoe work, reaching from the seat to get the pins on the FEL when connecting/disconnecting. after all said, I feel the cab is worth every penny.

 

[t33jetman]

thanks jetman. as it turns out Curtis has discontinued the stereo console for this cab. so i'll stick with what I got. my guess is their supplier stopped making it and it will be a while before they get a new supplier.

getting used to the cab, will definitely be appreciating it tonight when I get home to plow the driveway in the dark in the snow & rain.

some of the quick workarounds with the open tractor will have to get used to, e.g., knealing on the seat facing backwards for quick backhoe work, reaching from the seat to get the pins on the FEL when connecting/disconnecting. after all said, I feel the cab is worth every penny.

Wow , I am glad i got a console when I did or maybe not if they come out with a better one. I ordered everything but a rear wiper. I just added an ac inverter to my cab also this week.

You will get use to moving around in the seat and off of it. I never sit in the seat when I use the backhoe, it's just me.

Be careful, this tractor is very strong , so think before doing heavy jobs.

 

[t33jetman]

thanks jetman. as it turns out Curtis has discontinued the stereo console for this cab. so i'll stick with what I got. my guess is their supplier stopped making it and it will be a while before they get a new supplier.

getting used to the cab, will definitely be appreciating it tonight when I get home to plow the driveway in the dark in the snow & rain.

some of the quick workarounds with the open tractor will have to get used to, e.g., knealing on the seat facing backwards for quick backhoe work, reaching from the seat to get the pins on the FEL when connecting/disconnecting. after all said, I feel the cab is worth every penny.

On Curtis Cab web site they show a new overhead console.
http://www.curtisindustries.net/accessories/

Here is a Curtis Cab, console for sale on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polaris-Ran...Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b542a816&vxp=mtr

 

[t33jetman]

You just cannot beat a warm cab to work in tonight.

 

[t33jetman]

Here is the pic off the net that started me on the over head console installation.

 

[Jeff H]

Thank you for the nice you tube walk around, it let me get a good look at the new Curtis Cab.

I am trying to figure out why it would not fit my 2008 BX25. I like the looks of the new Curtis 1KBX70AS much better than the 1KBX25AS they sell for my 60 series BX25. I like the hard rear panel and larger side doors.

 

[forceten]

Not to bring up an old subject but I'm about to do my console install this weekend. Finally found one on ebay last month and snatched it up fast

Debating to have it further back like t33jetman did and mount it to the roof, or build a bracket and have it all the way up front. Even thought of cutting out the front bracket (the size of the console) so the console will fit all the way up front but will still be flush against the roof and still tilt up with the roof.


So I went searching for other posts on the net to see if anybody did anything unique to give me some ideas. I know one guy mounted the console to a piece of plywood and then made a bracket for it so the roof still tilts but the console stays put.

If only the two shocks/struts werent on either side to lift the roof and in the way- I would just weld a bar straight across. But can't do that.


Main reason for the post was t33jetman - you said the stock light didnt work.

I had put the console on my bench and hooked it up to 12 v power to test everything. Sure enough the light didnt work until I looked at it better. Something you dont see in the instructions - but the light did work if you clicked on it. It has a built in switch. So you push the light left or right and it clicks and turns on. Then push it back to center position and its off. I would never have thought thats how it worked without taking a good look at it. Almost took it out and tossed it like you did.,

Just in case somebody down the road buys a console and finds this thread