Tractors with Air Conditioning, your opinion

draftx

Member
Pushing the 60 yr mark and no way of stopping making hay. Just wondering how people feel about a tractor with air. I have never even sat in one. I know its probably not a great thing to not be able to hear how your implement is sounding. Does it make life a lot better? Pros & Cons? Thanks
 
If you have a cab tractor, it has to have air!

You can open the rear window slightly if you want to hear the implement. I have.
 
Being the same age and having had heat stroke twice and heat exhaustion more times than I can remember,a cab with air is a must for haying. I cut and rake with open tractors with a canopy and survive,but for baling,with the heat and dust,the A/C keeps me alive.
 
I have only recently drove a tractor(not mine),(also a combine) with cab and a/c.The comfort is great,and I can keep a small cooler on the cab floor.I have not baled hay,only tillage/planting,manure spreading,which the cab is safer from rocks flung by the spreader.And your a/c has to work because the sun warms all that glass quickly.But,I sorta miss hearing the implement,smelling the earth.You feel a little removed from your implement.But again,no dust or sunburn with a cab.I guess for a large tractor,long hours I'd much prefer the cab,but not on a small tractor in small areas.Mark
 
I have sinus issues, not having to breath that dust and pollen all day would be money well spent in my book.

Local dealership shop manager said keeping those AC units properly suited was a high priority on most farmers list.
 
I remember it being an issue to keep working, repair or whatever the problems were with the JD 6620 combine and the 4440 tractor. More or less specific problems, not used all year, never was sure what was going on with each of those, it was imperative to get the A/C working and be reliable, unbearable in each without it. Enclosed cab, its hard to imagine once the sun is out, heat is rising, and not have A/C. Open station, with a canopy is certainly liveable, but I've worn goggles, and dust masks when in dusty conditions, just to deal with it, Cab with A/C is a really nice feature. I'd say there is good benefit, I've operated tractors with it, never owned one though. We have a '00 NH with a cab and A/C, my father could not deal with it unless it was so, same with heat, obviously. I think for some, given health or age its going to be needed. I can do without it still, would be nice at some point, but my exposure is not all that much, can work around it and a non cab tractor of the right size/class will fit into my garage, so that's a plus too. You would definitely appreciate it for hay, and to listen in on the implement in use, can't be too hard to wire in a camera and mic with all the electronics available today. There has to be a simple solution for monitoring the equipment. When the wind is sending all that dust and chaff your way, its definitely a plus. One direction its with you, the other it is not, cab solves that problem. Farmer I used to help would come home from the day job, get cleaned up, likely have dinner, then head out in the newer 7420, shorts and t-shirt, aside from any break downs or similar, very comfortable.
 
I have the start of farmers Lung and the doc said avoid dust so we bought a Deere 4230 with cab and ac for round baling and working ground. You will not be sorry as I find myself enjoying in the winter as much as the summer. For mowing and raking I still prefer my 3020's and 4020's some are fender tractors and some have rollguard and roof on them. I have one 4020 with a year around cab and I try to avoid using it in very hot weather as it is loud and hot,sometimes we remove the doors and windows but with a dozen tractors it mostly sets in the summer. You will not be sorry if you get a nice cab tractor. Tom
 

draftx
Very Important thing to remember is equipment air conditioners operate in more extreme conditions than most automobiles so it's imperative to keep the radiator,condensers & filters blown out regularly of the dust/chaff. If properly maintained as a whole I think farm equipment AC's perform very well.
 
If it wasn't for a cab with air-conditioning on my JD 4420 combine and JD 6105R tractor, I probably wouldn't be able to continue my hobby farming. Also, I farm a mile from lake Michigan and you wouldn't want to be working up land for planting oats when the temperature is 39 degrees and a strong wind is blowing without a tractor cab. Al
 
I wouldn't farm with a tractor without a cab and air conditioner. There are plenty of good used tractors with air out on dealer lots. Why eat dirt all day and put up with the wind? I really don't know why you need to hear the implement. A tractor with a cab would be no different than a combine.
 
I'm like Roger ,turn air on full blast, crack back window to hear baler. 4230 jd gets used almost every day because it has a cab with working air and heat.
 
Let's see: JD 8430, 4440, 7800, and 9500 combine. All with functioning air. The older two get a new compressor every couple of years. They just don't last (JD replacements). It ends up costing me about a grand, but there is NO reason to suffer in that cab without it.

Growing up we had aftermarket cans on the 856 and 966 - neither without air. The windows opened more and the doors swung completely around and stayed horn. Anymore you get side winders that open three inches. Those sound guard cabs are a crockpot without a/c.

I've had two 4440's. If you want a unit that will freeze you out, that is it. I've never had a 100 degree day where I didn't need to adjust the temp knob warmer and keep the fan on low. They will make you wish for the humidity and heat.
 
I am only 32 and I can not stand air conditioning of any sort, I don't know if it is my vertigo or what but it seems to bother me. I can with stand heat pretty well but I hate the cold. Baling hay got a lot better when I went to baleage, a lot less dust.
 
I bought one in '07, my second AC tractor and first 4wd vehicle of any sort, with FEL. I was here before Pearl Harbor; time is taking it's toll. Well worth the investment in skin cancer reduction and comfort.
 
My cousin bales a lot of hay and he but it this way, I baled a lot of hay out in the sun and heat and it just burned me up. Now I sit in a cab in the cool air and can bale all day and be cool and comfortable and I don't look like pig pin at the end of the day. He will not bale (square or round) with an open station tractor now, Cab with air only! If you can get a tractor with a cab with heat and air that works it will make your working day a lot easer, And at the end of the day you feel a lot better and cleaner. Bandit
 
Got to agree with banditfarmer. Used to bale a lot (round bales) and the first few years with no cab. It was the most dirty job I've ever done; even worse than the old 55 & 95 combines with no cab. Swore I would never bale again without a cab tractor, and haven't. Same with swather. First was an old 620 Hesston cabless. Remember cutting brome which was blooming and pollen almost made me blind for a day or two. Now with cabs and AC I can run 10-12 hours a day and still feel better at the end of the day. The newer cabs offer great visibility however, with the sun low there is sometimes reflection thru the back glass that can be irritating. On the AC maintenance comments, I bought a used 55 series JD tractor about 5 years ago and haven't had ANY problems with the AC yet. Sometimes I think there are too many shade-tree AC mechs out there that don't know what they are doing. I have a couple of brothers who are constantly adding refrigerant to their tractors and combine AC's and replacing compressors, etc. and I think if they would get them fixed right their problems would disappear.
 
I use 40 year old tractors with a cab for haying, the airco units were already trashed when i bought the tractors.
I just open both door side windows and have the fan going full blast. There is usually enough breeze to keep it livable in the oven
I would not use an open station tractor for any field work,.I rather put up with the heat than the dust.
 
You can still hear things break in a cab. Still hear everything just at a lower decibel. Only time I didn't like a good cab is when I was stacking on the wagon and the tractor driver would zone out. If you needed to stop for some reason, it can be difficult to get the drivers attention. I started a no radio rule at 1 point. Can be dangerous.
 

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