Searching for and now building a cab for my 2166

slkpk · Oct 8, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

I like D the best. slkpk

mbkerk · Oct 11, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Looking good man!

This project is going to force you to get going on the chute rotator and the deflector operator!

skerkvli · Oct 11, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

I sent an email to my little brother to see if he had any time to assist with the chute issues. I had forgotten about that until last Saturday. If he is not available to help, I may have to ask my big brother! Not having a welder and those skills is a big issue on that project.

skerkvli · Oct 13, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

It sure seams like a lot of hours and little progress. Guess I am still doing designing rather than just fabricating.

This Saturdays work yielded me shortening the cab by 7" and adding all but the door for framing. I was torn on the height of the cab and after learning the cost of the siding material I wanted to use, decided to shorten the height to match the height of my old soft sided cab to save on some dollars. It is amazing how much more ridged the cab is by adding the additional tubing which will be used to mount the siding material.

slkpk · Oct 13, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Your doing a very nice job. Looks professional. slkpk

skerkvli · Oct 23, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

The work from last Saturday produced the door! I had special ordered a pair of stainless steel hinges. I really only needed one that was at least 64" long but they came in pairs and the hardware store said they did not want to stock the other one. That will be fine as I have two smaller hinges that I need to install yet. I went with stainless steel as my goal has been to make something once. No breaking, rusting or rotting.

This picture shows the cab for the most part all framed.

Here I have installed a turnbuckle to stop the door from sagging. It worked even better than I could have hoped! With only 13" to pull up the door at an angle, it took very little torque to lift the door. I may have to adjust a little once I get the cabs siding on.

It truly pays to walk around the hardware store looking at all kinds of things. Besides the store employees getting to know you real well, you find things to solve problems. Here I found some corner supports that worked well for mounting the turnbuckle. They were a bit thin so I doubled them up. I need to get some larger washers but was able to get them mounted temporarily until my next trip to the store. This picture is from the inside of the cab at the hinge side of the door.

Tomorrow brings my siding material! :bananapow
I stopped at a plastic shop not far from my house earlier in the week with my plans and they helped me pick out what to use. They are doing all the cutting of the plastic except the curves to go around the rear wheels and the hood. Watch for an update this weekend with pictures!

mbkerk · Oct 24, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Are you going to need the turnbuckle after the plexi is on the door? Won't that hold it square?

skerkvli · Oct 24, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

That is a good thought. I was concerned about the weight of the plexi and thought it would be good regardless to have the the turnbuckle pulling things tight into the hinge post.

mbkerk · Oct 24, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

It sure can't hurt anything. You could go with lighter weight plexi because of that extra support.

Looking good! I am anxious to see how you build the lower part of the door.

skerkvli · Oct 29, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

The weekend was to short and the bad weather coming on on Sunday (50 mile an hour winds and snow) forced me to do yard work most of Saturday. Yes, I had to take the cab off to mow :banghead3

I am very happy with the plastics I picked out for the sides. It is easy to work with, light and does not crack, chip or break!

I also can not stress how happy I am that I had the supplier do the cutting. The cuts are perfectly square which makes butting up the black and clear look perfect. It also allowed me make sure the cab frame was perfectly square before I secured the siding. I can not say enough about the Irwin Quick-Grip! I had purchased 4 of them for a project years ago but they have made this job so much easier by holding the plastic perfectly in place as I would push the frame slightly to square things up. For those of you that may not know what I am talking about here is a picture.

As you can see in the pictures below, I was able to get a fair amount done. Besides adding a little more framing to the lower portion of the front sides, I still need to finish the very back, the front around the tractor and trim around the rear wheels. There will be a few other things to do but at least it will look like it is done.

slkpk · Oct 29, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

It's looking good. I'm looking forward to the finished product. slkpk

Toolin · Oct 29, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

That looks pretty neat! Reminds me a little of my days in FIRST working with students building robots. We used a lot of extruded aluminum framing, plexiglass, and rivets.

Something that occurred to me is that it should be possible to make a cab out of materials used to make those springy dome tents -- stretched fabric and flexible fiberglass rods. One would have to use that soft pliable clear plastic for windows which probably isn't as nice as plexiglass, but it would definitely be lighter and probably much cheaper to make. I can see it "leaning" slightly in a stiff wind, but a few strategically strung strings inside should minimize that.

Is such a thing available commercially? Then again, maybe that's the point.. to make something one's self is half the fun.

One thing I have always wondered with these aftermarket tractor cabs... what about CO buildup? Does anyone think you could get enough exhaust accumulation in a do-it-yourself cab environment to cause a concern? (I would think commercially available cabs would have designed around this for fear of litigation). Even if the exhaust is outside the cab it could seep into the cab and build up unless there was sufficient ventilation. Just a thought...

skerkvli · Oct 30, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Thanks Toolin. I just hit you link to the FIRST web page. That looks very cool!

Two years ago I did purchase a Craftsman soft sided (front and both sides) cab. It had the clear vinal windows and black fabric. It did a nice job protecting one for the most part. My problem is with my wife running a home based daycare and me officeing out of my home, I have to blow the driveway 3-4 times a day if it is snowing hard. Being in dress cloths I hated either getting cold and wet or getting snow gear on. With this I hope to just hop in and go.

I have never seen a pop-up style cab but I suppose one could do it. I had considered using fiberglass flexible poles at first but then did not know how to properly secure them to anything.

As for the CO2, my wife had the same concern. I am hoping it was that I might get to much rather than not enough! :sidelaugh

You are correct with the exhaust going out the front of the tractor but some could still come in. Both the bottom of the cab by the floor board and back by the rear fenders behind the seat are open. This won't prevent the warm air from going up and staying in the cab but should help. I will have to monitor the air and see how it goes.

Toolin · Oct 30, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

skerkvli said:
[Regarding CO buildup in cab] I will have to monitor the air and see how it goes.

Trouble with carbon monoxide (CO) is that it's odorless and colorless. You can't detect it "by nose" and it doesn't take much to harm or kill you. Here is an informative short article about CO poisoning on Wikipedia. Here's another on Emedicinehealth. Kinda scary stuff. I don't mean to be an alarmist, but I would hate to see harm come to such nice people (well, to anyone for that matter).

I might suggest getting a battery-operated household carbon monoxide detector and mounting it inside the cab, probably near the top (CO is lighter than air, plus that's where your head goes!). I'm sure that nice sturdy cab you're constructing could handle a little bit of extra weight hanging on the inside.

And while you're picking one up, get a few for the house too. You might even ask your homeowners/hazard insurance agent if it entitles you to additional discount on your insurance, like smoke detectors do. Unlike in the cab, I think in the home the recommend mounting location is near the floor, usually in the bedrooms - something about fire making CO sink instead of rise for some reason. Follow the manufacturer's documentation in any case.

(alarm mode: off). I now return you to your normal mirth and merriment of tractor cab construction...

skerkvli · Nov 4, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Not much new to report. I worked many hours on this on Saturday but was not able to finish it. I am happy with the work and will post pictures as soon as I can get back out there to to take them.

Until then, does anyone know of an LED based light I could put on top of the cab? I want to use something bright running off of the 12 volts but not take a lot of amps due to the little alternator on the tractor.

m7boondocker · Nov 4, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

I have used these guys before for my motorcycle LEDs. I bought the 6 LED pods and they are very BRIGHT. One or two pods should light up the cab nice

Custom Dynamics

and the LEDS

mbkerk · Nov 4, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Looking good Stephen! I am anxious to see how you work out the rest of the door detail.

Try this link for some lights. Maybe there will be something there that will work for you...

http://www.ledlight.com/

skerkvli · Nov 16, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Before I filed the receipt, I thought I would pass along the information on the siding and window material I purchased. I am very happy with the thickness and quality. It has not cracked or become damage during all of the construction. I am able to drill holes very close to the edge and have had no issues. The material is very light.

Black: .090in Thick ABS Black H/C
Qty 2: 5.75" x 33" (Front & Back top)
Qty 2: 5.75" x 48" (Both sides on top)
Qty 1: 33" x 48" (Top of cab)
Qty 1: 11.75" x 33" (Behind the seat)
Qty 1: 26.25 x 48" (Right side lower)
Qty 1: 26.25 x 46.75" (Left/door side lower)

Windows: .093in Markrolon Ultra Mask Clear
Qty 1: 20.5" x 33" (Windshield)
Qty 1: 31" x 33" (Lower front around tractor)
Qty 1: 24.5" x 33" (Back window)
Qty 1: 24.625" x 48" (Right window)
Qty 1: 24" x 46.75" (Left/door window)

skerkvli · Nov 23, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Though it took a long time to do this one piece, it worked out well. The front plastic around the hood of the tractor was the final test of skills I learned during this project. To trim the plastic in a way to go around the hood of the tractor and still allow opening of the hood.

I started out with some tag board taped together to match the size of the plastic I was going to cut. I put it on the tractor and cut away material until it fit the way I wanted it to.

This picture shows the plastic mounted with the protective plastic film still on so you can see the custom cut/trim I did.

Here are the same shots without the protective plastic on. This will offer a great view out the front!

slkpk · Nov 23, 2008

Re: Want a cab for my 2166

Your doing a good job on it. Thanks for the pics as well. slkpk

Searching for and now building a cab for my 2166

slkpk

mbkerk

skerkvli

skerkvli

slkpk

skerkvli

mbkerk

skerkvli

mbkerk

skerkvli

slkpk

Toolin

skerkvli

Toolin

skerkvli

m7boondocker

mbkerk

skerkvli

skerkvli

slkpk

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities