Cabs

tnmtn

a few weeks ago i got to spend some time in a 580 case backhoe. not trying to start brand wars but that thing was nice. it had been raining for a couple days and when i was at the dealer it was the first really hot sunny day. very steamy outside. the machine had a cab w/ AC and all the amenities. i couldn't believe how fast it cooled off despite all the windows. it was very quiet as well. the idea of working on such a hot day didn't seem so bad in that kind of comfort. i know many of you guys are from the northern climes and was wondering how important a cab with heat and ac is to you when equipment shopping. after that day it is hard to imagine not going that route for equipment you will be in everyday.
good luck,

BrianHay

Well I haven't got to go equipment shopping myself yet but I do know machines without cabs and a/c are quickly fading out here. There is a serious shortage of experienced operators so the companies with the most operator friendly equipment generally get the best operators. It used to really bother me seeing a new machine show up on the job with no a/c. A scraper for example is about the hottest machine there is to operate. The engine is right beside you and a lot of heat comes out of the floor as well. You usually don't even need the heater until it gets below freezing. They can be well over a million dollars new but that a/c option for the operator is to much money.

tgeb

My first machine purchase was a Case backhoe and I did order it with enclosed cab w/heat, I have heat in my New Holland skid steer, but I added that along with the door and windows years after I purchased it.

My newer machines, a 2003 takeuchi track loader and my Bobcat 435 excavator are fully enclosed with heat AC and the 435 even has stereo in it.

For the small amount of money upfront, I think it is foolish not to get heat at the minimum and AC is not that much more.

Anything I look to purchase in the future will have both.

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

jmic

As far as I'm concerned closed cab, heat, and a/c is a must now a days. The stereo is nice also.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

denick

Joe left out the heated and cooled cup holders, ice dispenser, microwave, recliner seat with vibrating massage he has set up in his Kobelco's

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Nick

"Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving" Albert Einstein

jmic

What I really want to see is a seat that has memory and goes back to it's originally set position (mine) after some ninny gets in the machine and changes all the seat settings.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

jmic

Actually Nick we do have a compartment that the heat and a/c goes through where you can put your drinks.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

rino1494

Our Cat has that too. We have 13 machines and only 1 has A/C and heat. The rest are all OROPS or no ROPS. Our Kobelco, Terex haul truck and our 580 have cabs with heat, but no A/C.

__________________
Life is hard. It is harder when you are stupid

Uncle Sam wants YOU....to speak ENGLISH

Cat385

Everything we have has heat a/c and radio except the skid steer it has heat and radio. We are in the process of trading the skid steer so pretty soon everything will have a/c. Unless its to good of a deal to pass up I think full cab heat a/c and radio is a must.

LNG24

My New Holland Backhoe had Heat, A/C and a radio. I use to get quite a razing from my friend with the excavator & skid steer. Until we were on a site that was very dusty. He was operating with the cab open and a bandana. I had it nice and cool and no dust inside.

A couple of weeks later he asks me to haul his machine in for some service. Didn't need service, they were putting in A/C and a Radio!

I always thought the radio was just over the top until 9/11 hit. We were both working a Church Site ironically enough. He was listening to CD's and I got to hear the whole thing play out on the radio. Since were were only 35 miles North of the city and just a couple of miles from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, we shut down the job site and sent everyone home.

denick

Boy what a bunch of sissy's

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Nick

"Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving" Albert Einstein

apexexcavation

I agree that A/C is a must. For the little bit of money it cost all new machines that have a cab should have A/C. I will only try to by machines that have it because no one including me wants to work when it is hot.

__________________
Matt
Apex Land Contractors LLC.
Excavation and Landscape construction

Cat385

Correct but comfortable sissy's

ctkiteboarding

the dealer lent me a 160ex. this summer with a/c and tunes
i ordered a/c units for my 580 , my 130 ex. and a/c as an option in my mini,, i wont buy another machine without it,,
at the end of the day im not as tired and the dust in my cab is less so that means my lungs will thanks me later
worth every penny

MC Excavating

We recently bought a new Bobcat S300. We didnt get the A/C because it was an extra $4,300 and my father in law said that he would feel real wierd cruising around in a cab with A/C while all of the guys we work with where suffering in the heat. I didnt agree with his choice but its his money and his decision in the end. I said, "You dont have to use it all the time. You could just use it when doing house demo, concrete demo, lot clearing, loading trash, etc." But the price was definately the deal breaker.

Wolf

For all the money it costs for thes machines, you gotta have AC and tunes. TUnes are essential, because there is nothing like rocking out while running the hoe and doing demo or loading trucks. Totally great man.

jmic

My feelings exactly Wolf! Raise the volume and make that baby dance.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

denick

Sissy's, sissy's sissy's

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Nick

"Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving" Albert Einstein

ruskent

You can buy a pair of work tunes for 50 bucks at HD and have tunes where ever you are!!!

BrianHay

Hey Nick when you traded in your horse and buggy for a car did the old timers of the day call you a sissy?