[whateverweasel]

I picked up a hospital-bed off craigslist for free because I thought -- that looks like a snowcab for my White 1650 (990).

I started by cutting the brackets off the frame ends and rails because I want to be able to lift the whole cab off using these handy assemblies. I mounted two of the receiver pieces between the rear fenders, and made brackets for the other two that utilize the front footrest bolts (1 on each side). They're not attached in the picture below, and I changed it a little -- but you can get the idea.

The swinging frame sections are clearly meant to be the cab doors. I plan for the front windshield to swing up for hood access.

Big bonus -- it came with two 24v linear actuators (one will be a chute adjuster), and a strong reversible rotary motor (which seems like it will work great as an electric spout rotator eventually).

I'll follow up with progress, or at least when it's finished. So far, this seems like it has the makings of a good cheap snowcab.

Peace,

/WW

 

[SammyRye]

Now THAT looks interesting! :thThumbsU

What a bonus to get the linear actuators with it. Free? Wow - what a score!

Keep us posted with pics.

Cheers! :trink39:

Rich

 

[whateverweasel]

I made some more progress this weekend and feel pretty good about how it's going so far. Blackberry + garage lighting doesn't make for good photos, but it's all I have for you. Sorry about that, maybe I'll grab a real camera when it's all finished.

/WW

 

[whateverweasel]

Dear Moderator, would you please move this to backyard-roundtable for me? Maybe some others besides 990 owners might be inspired to build a cab out of bedframes?

Thanks always,
/WW

 

[dmorrill22]

Didn't know White made a version of the 990. Cab looks nice so far.

Don't worry about the pics - the quality is just as good as any camera - not nearly as bad as other cellphones are.

Are you sure the actuators are 12v?

Doug

 

[whateverweasel]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Yeah the White version 990 has a hood styled after their larger field tractors of the era, but otherwise identical I believe.

The actuators are 24v, but I think they will operate on 12v at reduced speed -- which is fine. In all likelihood I will probably be sticking with the manual controls this season regardless. If I get the cab itself completed I'll be more than satisfied.

/WW

 

[km3h]

I like what you are doing but I have just one problem with it. I don't know about the rest of you but when I mount and dismount my 995, i always have an awkward time of it. Getting on I can swing my leg across the seat with not too much trouble. Getting off I usually have to stand almost erect and slide my leg between the steering wheel and the rear fenders. Maybe its my age.

 

[whateverweasel]

Ohboy I sure do agree that the high frame tunnel and narrow clearance between the seatfront and dash controls/steering wheel make the 990 a challenging machine to dis/mount. In the summer it's not a big deal, but in full winterwear it becomes pretty awkward alright. Even without a cab, I've kicked my throttle lever with my big winter boot many times, slipped off the icy floorboards, and even accidentally tripped/engaged the pto lever a couple times.

All the same, I am really looking forward to the prospect of snowblowing from inside this cab -- even if it takes me 5 minutes to get in/out.

But yeah it was an honest concern for me too. You can't see it because of the mediocre photos, but one thing I did was to double the size of the floorboards by integrating an extension with the front cab-mount brackets I made, and I think that has made a big difference for me as I'm actually able to climb in/out pretty comfortably.

As I get older maybe I'll need to add some of those bathroom grab rails.

/WW

 

[km3h]

It looks to me like you made it extra high which will make it a bit easier to get in and out of. You really are doing a great job on it. Keep us posted with lots of photos.

 

[oifla]

what happened to this, any updates on the cab?

 

[whateverweasel]

Yes I finished it, but the thread moved to the BRT forum and completed there...

http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=211267

My latest project involves trying to get a craftsman 2-stage blower to work on the 990.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?p=2362508#post2362508

Thanks for the interest!
/WW