Export thread

I need a little advice/information. I have a five year old John Deere X300 and a two month old X394. I have an eight month old snow thrower on the X300. Eventually I am going to get the snow thrower hydraulic lift kit for the X394, but while the x300 is still healthy and strong I am going to use it. I am going to purchase a X300 Series Weather Enclosure (vinyl cab). There are two different cab kits; one for the older X300 series and one for the newer X300 series. Since the first to be used will be a X300 I have to make sure that I can use the cab on it. I think I can convert one cover to fit both machines, but... Does anyone know which one of the two kits is the larger one? I can take up some slack but I do not think stretching is possible. The two kits are:

LP36740 John Deere X300 Series Weather Enclosure Model Year 2015 and Older, and

LP55438 John Deere X300 Series Weather Enclosure Model Year 2016 and Newer

Thanks, I hope someone knows.

~Lee

Can't say which one is larger but if your going to use the x394 down the road that is the one I would get the cab for.

Bullseye said:

I need a little advice/information. I have a five year old John Deere X300 and a two month old X394. I have an eight month old snow thrower on the X300. Eventually I am going to get the snow thrower hydraulic lift kit for the X394, but while the x300 is still healthy and strong I am going to use it. I am going to purchase a X300 Series Weather Enclosure (vinyl cab). There are two different cab kits; one for the older X300 series and one for the newer X300 series. Since the first to be used will be a X300 I have to make sure that I can use the cab on it. I think I can convert one cover to fit both machines, but... Does anyone know which one of the two kits is the larger one? I can take up some slack but I do not think stretching is possible. The two kits are:

LP36740 John Deere X300 Series Weather Enclosure Model Year 2015 and Older, and

LP55438 John Deere X300 Series Weather Enclosure Model Year 2016 and Newer

Thanks, I hope someone knows.

~Lee

Click to expand...

Decided to make an enclosure for the X300 using 3/4" PVC, aluminum and steel angle, and clear vinyl fabric. I am not gluing the fittings, but using small setscrews instead so I can modify and adapt it to the X394 at a later date. Everything is going well and I'll post a few photos of it when I am through. I hope the wicked winter winds (five bonus points for alliteration!) don't blow it apart.

~Lee (Bullseye)

Bullseye said:

Decided to make an enclosure for the X300 using 3/4" PVC, aluminum and steel angle, and clear vinyl fabric. I am not gluing the fittings, but using small setscrews instead so I can modify and adapt it to the X394 at a later date. Everything is going well and I'll post a few photos of it when I am through. I hope the wicked winter winds (five bonus points for alliteration!) don't blow it apart.

~Lee (Bullseye)

Click to expand...

That's the only problem with any soft sided cab is the wind.It can really shake it around.

TJR345 said:

That's the only problem with any soft sided cab is the wind.It can really shake it around.

Click to expand...

TRUTH!

I finished the PVC frame and gave it a shaking - it was not at all stable.

I added aluminum angle-iron across the back and on the corners - better, but still not good.

Today I am going to run 3/4" thinwall conduit from just behind the front axle to the frame above the windshield area. That should prevent racking and a lot of movement.

I plan on covering the windshield, top and rear with one piece of clear vinyl fastened to the frame with screws and rubber-faced steel washers. I'll leave the front long and run it onto the hood and clamp it with a horseshoe shape piece of 3/4" PVC I have already made.

I am still under my self-imposed $100 budget. About $30 for the vinyl and maybe $50 for the conduit and PVC fittings. The miscellaneous aluminum, steel and fasteners I already had and I am glad to finally use. I literally have hundreds of jars and cans of screws, washers and nuts and bolts. My time is free as I'm retired and this is keeping my mind active and my hands busy.

~Lee

Well, I am almost done with the enclosure build. The diagonal thinwall struts firmed up things. I mounted two LED driving lamps pointing forward and today I'll put a back-facing LED unit on. My neighbor stopped by when I was drilling through the hood to mount the lights. He thought I was crazy to ruin the hood. I grew up on a farm and tried to explain to him that I needed the extra light more than an unaltered hood. We both walked away shaking our heads... I parked it outside for a couple of days and let the November winds beat on it - it held up fine. Hopefully it'll hold up with the added snow and winds coming off Lake Erie.

~Lee

Pics.

I am still putting some finishing touches on it. After I mounted and wired two forward facing lights and a rear light I had another light left over; I bought two pairs. I installed it on our old Troybilt walk behind snowthrower. Afterwards I decided to re-install the Classic Accessories Universal Snowcab on the Troybilt. The fiberglass rods were disintegrating from old age. I gerryrigged replacements out of four foot fiberglass driveway markers.

I parked the X300 with its cab on the driveway on a windy day last week to see how it will behave. The clear vinyl blew around too much as I expected it would so placed some spring loaded clamps on the lower edge and put it back outside. The results can be seen on the Home Shopping Network - I had created the world's biggest meat tenderizer with me being Mr. T-Bone. I removed all the weights. Next, I am going to try some PVC pipe on the bottom. I still have time; the weather has been gracious so far. Pictures will be coming soon...

~Lee

Here are the pictures of my super-economy grade X300 cab. I used both heavy duty and medium duty clear vinyl fastened to the PCV and thinwall with screws and neoprene backed washers. Three LED lights in aluminum cans provide illumination. Brake rotors from a 3/4 ton Chevy serve as wheel weights. A solid 4X8X16 concrete block is on the rear - I may have to place a second one there to offset the weight of the snowblower. Total costs were under $150.00 and it was fun building.

Love it.

BlazNT said:

Love it.

Click to expand...

Thanks. If all it does is keep the snow off of my glasses I'll be happy. :smile:

~Lee

Had a good snow yesterday and finally tested my X300. The cab worked great; it didn't ice-up and my glasses were perfectly clean and dry. Twice the wind opened the flap-doors, I'll modify them with a latch tomorrow. The wheel weights and the concrete block on the back did not provide enough traction. I added another 4X8X16" on the back and it made a big difference. I am going to add even more when I scrounge around and find something in my garage.

I am very pleased with the cab, it was well worth the time and expense. Next year I may switch the snowthrower to my X390 if my health is good and I can afford the $300+ hydraulic lift kit. I'll use the X300 for sucking up leaves; it does a much better job at that than the X390. Two mower blades on the X300's 42" deck destroy the leaves. The X390 has three blades and my vacuum/shredder system doesn't pick-up everything with it - go figure...

~Lee

Bullseye,

Great build! I love the ingenuity!

swiffer said:

Bullseye,

Great build! I love the ingenuity!

Click to expand...

Thanks, swiffer. Another pleasant but unplanned benefit to running the plastic to the front of the hood is heat from the engine.

So far there is no icing on the plastic or my glasses. ;-) I placed an extension on the exhaust pipe to run the fumes away
from the hood.

~Lee

Just an update on my little project...

A week and a half lying around with the nastiest cold I've ever had put me and the cab on hold. I did manage to add some make-shift magnetic latches to the flap-doors. I used small rare-earth magnets taped opposite each other on the over-lapping flaps. The outer magnet is on the outside of the outer piece and the inner magnet is on the inside of the inner piece. A little rubber cement on the vinyl, let it dry and then tape on the magnet with 3M's new clear duct tape (expensive, but strong-azz stuff). The magnets are strong enough to hold through two layers of the vinyl even with the wind beating against it. I always prime my tape-targets with rubber cement - unbelievable holding power and the tape won't peel away even in below zero weather or wet environments. I mounted the left and right-side magnet sets at different heights to see which height held best; each one held with no problems.

Today I felt somewhat better and got some seat time in clearing my drive. The cab was a blessing. I was out of the wind and the blown snow neither touched me nor my glasses. It was seven degrees outside and I had my gloves off and my glasses were dry and not fogged up. I still have to put some finishing touches on it; a permanent exhaust extension, make the magnetic latches look a little better, and possibly add some more weight. I also want to do a night-time run to verify the LCD lighting is sufficient.

~Lee

I would imagine you could sell your plans and measurements for 50 bucks a copy and easilty make your cash back, that is a great little project!!

bricooper78 said:

I would imagine you could sell your plans and measurements for 50 bucks a copy and easilty make your cash back, that is a great little project!!

Click to expand...

Thanks, Bri! I am past that stage in my life. Every day I get out into my garage is a gift to me. Seat time on my X3xx's is more important to me than making money. At one time I would have put together a nice little booklet or .PDF but that time is gone. Now, if a neighbor wanted to build one, I'd be in on it in a heartbeat.

Have lots of fun on your John Deere. Do you have/need any wheel weights or rear weights with your plow set-up? I can't blow any snow without weights because of the weight of the blower teeters my rear wheels off the pavement.

~Lee

Well,just the chains and my "maxed out for size of mower" buns on that seat do a decent enough job :laughing:
I've got that K46 tranny, and I've got myself spooked about it's reliability due to reading on here and other sites, so a little tire slippage doesn't concern me, I'm worried more about blowing it up from too much weight.

I completely understand you helping a neighbor vs trying to put up with a bunch of internet people trying to figure out pretty clear instructions... reading, it's tough, so many people can't figure it out! :laughing:

I'll be watching for your next project, have fun with your warmer, dryer seat time!!

bricooper78 said:

View attachment 35262

Well,just the chains and my "maxed out for size of mower" buns on that seat do a decent enough job :laughing:
I've got that K46 tranny, and I've got myself spooked about it's reliability due to reading on here and other sites, so a little tire slippage doesn't concern me, I'm worried more about blowing it up from too much weight.

I completely understand you helping a neighbor vs trying to put up with a bunch of internet people trying to figure out pretty clear instructions... reading, it's tough, so many people can't figure it out! :laughing:

I'll be watching for your next project, have fun with your warmer, dryer seat time!!

Click to expand...

I'm a big guy: 260 pounds. I thought that would suffice for traction, but nope! I probably am pushing the limits of my K46, but if (when) it goes I'll get a rebuild kit for it and hopefully get it going. I have great neighbors who can help me. I suffered a brain aneurysm a few years ago and it left me with a learning disability; I have to read instructions over and over to do something new. Things I've done before come easy, but new procedures take a while to learn.

Our daughter gave us an eight foot tall ornamental windmill. I am trying to figure out how to add a small generator to it to power a couple LED's. When I keep busy my bride of 49 years is much happier. :laughing: I'm thinking of a small generator like the old English racers (bicycles) had for powering lights in the '50's and '60's. The windmill is green and yellow so it's okay to write about it in this forum. :laughing:

~Lee

:laughing: I am 261 myself!!! I would say that generator would be a perfect fit, since it's green and yellow, maybe if it found its way into the background of a picture of one of those x3's of yours....

I'm not sure exactly what it's worth, but I just have about 600ft of sidewalk, which is concrete, and a neighbor's driveway, which is really short, and concrete, and I run downhill (only like 8%, it's not much of a hill) on the asphalt to shove everything out of the way so the city doesn't plow us in. It is entirely possible I've got help from the concrete maybe? I really don't know anything about plowing, until I got this blade I'd never done it at all on anything, and after the 1st snow, I realized it was the 2nd best money I'd ever spent, first being this rider, I've never had one of these either. Absolute little miracles of getting things done!!:wink:

bricooper78 said:

:laughing: I am 261 myself!!! I would say that generator would be a perfect fit, since it's green and yellow, maybe if it found its way into the background of a picture of one of those x3's of yours....

I'm not sure exactly what it's worth, but I just have about 600ft of sidewalk, which is concrete, and a neighbor's driveway, which is really short, and concrete, and I run downhill (only like 8%, it's not much of a hill) on the asphalt to shove everything out of the way so the city doesn't plow us in. It is entirely possible I've got help from the concrete maybe? I really don't know anything about plowing, until I got this blade I'd never done it at all on anything, and after the 1st snow, I realized it was the 2nd best money I'd ever spent, first being this rider, I've never had one of these either. Absolute little miracles of getting things done!!:wink:

Click to expand...

Right now the windmill is standing in our dining room! I wish my X300 was there with it. :laughing: It snowed throughout yesterday and I got lots of seat time in. I always take my old Troybilt (pre-MTD) walk behind snowthrower and clear a path for our miniature Schnauzer in the backyard. My neighbors thought I was crazy until they realized I was doing it for Scooter.

~Lee

:laughing::laughing: Oh we've all been there!!!!!!!

So now I'll need to make sure Scooter is in that picture, too! Just whenever you get around to it, no rush, I'm a dog guy, and if anyone isn't, well I just don't care about that hahaha!

I'll get a shot of the Scoots soon. We always had hunting dogs; proud majestic, faithful Labrador Retrievers, fun loving Setters, and two crazy Beagles. I never thought I would ever have a dog with "Miniature" in her breed. When we go for walks she protects me! She doesn't know she's small and has tried to intimidate German Shepards! Thank goodness the Shepards had senses of humor.

Just received two 54 watt, 4320 Lumens Cree LED lamps that I'll put on my X300 in place of a pair of smaller ones. The smaller LEDs will go on the X390 that I use for grass cutting and leaf collection. I haven't really needed any lighting for those tasks yet, but ya never can tell...

~Lee