Hello

I'm Oli (new to the FW machinery desk). We are trying to decide what the best gadgets you can get for your tractor cab are? All suggestions are welcome... the more bizarre the better

 I was looking at a new Branson tractor yesterday and it came with a built in cooled/heated lunch box.

That kind of appealed to me for those long days in the hay field.

 Ive just bought a new stereo for mine with a USB socket which means i can now have all my music on a memory stick instead of CDs bouncing around the cab & ultimately ending up under your feet. A 4Gb memory stick will hold around 6000 tracks & however rough the road is it never jumps like CDs do

sirloy:

 I was looking at a new Branson tractor yesterday

As in  Richard Branson ? Didn't know he made tractors.

 I said the same, but to myself

Click

Definitely the Parrot handsfree kit. I've got an MKi9200

I can plug anything into it that holds digital music or just talk talk talk. The voice recognition system is really good too and very accurate and if you say a person's name it will even ask you whether you want to call their home or cellphone. The noise cancellation is very effective so the person you are talking to hears no echo like you get with those "clip on to your sun visor" kits.

Installation was a breeze. It just plugs in between your existing radio and the wiring harness of the vehicle. The unit is controlled via a wireless remote so can be stuck anywhere you like in the cab via a sticky pad. Simple but effective.

Well worth the price tag and it's one of the safest ways to talk on the move (no wires dangling down or things stuck in your ear)

Go get one! 

 one of those mobile phone holders that suction onto the window, or a parrot handsfree kit for annoying people when your a long way from civilization:D

farmerdavid:

 one of those mobile phone holders that suction onto the window, or a parrot handsfree kit for annoying people when your a long way from civilization:D

 

 I have a very simple phone holder that's very cheap, reliable & can be fitted easily in any vehicle. Bit of velcro stuck to the back of the phone & the other half stuck to the dashboard. One tip though you need to use the furry bit on your phone cos if you have the loops on it they attract every bit of fluff etc out of your pocket.

 

knob to steer the steering wheel

henarar:

knob to steer the steering wheel

+1

Really handy for reversing ! The simple things are often the best.

my dad used to hate a knob on steering wheel, now he refuses to drive my tractor as i dont have a knob on steering wheel

i think a hydrulic top link is a great gadget

henarar:

knob to steer the steering wheel

yes, i know of one that lives around here.

It all depends what I'm doing:

If I'm spraying or fertilizing, then it's the GPS box, especially on grassland.

If I'm doing something late into the night, it's the CD player to listen to books on CD (I'll be converting to memory sticks by next summer, as someone said, CDs get scratched and squashed and don't like the dust).

If it's something really slow and boring, then having the phone opened up and the internet on is a very handy. Mind you, having the internet is so useful for so many things when you're away from home for many hours!

I know it doesn't really fit into a cab, but when we're haymaking it's nice to take a genny, a kettle and everything you need for a proper cup of tea with us. So I suppose that means I should look out for a 12V lorry/caravan kettle, I know they make them!

bovril:

 

If I'm doing something late into the night, it's the CD player to listen to books on CD (I'll be converting to memory sticks by next summer, as someone said, CDs get scratched and squashed and don't like the dust)

 

 

If you buy one with a usb socket Bovril then make sure its one that you can browse through the albums. I bought a sony & that has the ability to do that but quite a lot don't. It was only luck that i got one that did cos i didn't know enough about them. It didn't cost an arm & a leg, i think it was about £130 from halfords

 

 Not in the cab, but we fitted a worklight socket onto our 6465, properly wired into a spare worklight switch and not just into the sidelights, some kit does need worklights (baler with trailed wrapper) and the tractor ones aren't good enough (shadows).  Apparently not even an option on Massey tractors.

Kettle has got to be the best bit of technology! ideal when out hedge cutting, other than that Parrot hands free and radio with usb for ipod is just the job!

I got a small fridge box sits on the floor of the cab and has enough room for your lunch and a bottle of zider I mean water

cupholder that holds my thermos mug!

also cabs should come with adjustable phone holders as standard, and fag packet holders, although they usually live in the ashtray on the 6630 im driving at the moment,surprisingly a very good fit, and they don't bounce out and disappear behind the seat.

 

has anyone come across televisions in cabs? Not sure they would be practical in small fields...

Talking of television, just came across a TV catch-up app on the ipad which has every freeview channel. Including one I'm not familiar with called Movies 4 Men... insert witty comment here.

 Not sure how easy it is to stream information when working in the middle of no-where though

oliver.mark:

Talking of television, just came across a TV catch-up app on the ipad which has every freeview channel. Including one I'm not familiar with called Movies 4 Men... insert witty comment here.

It'll be all the rage at next year's ploughing matches, a new class, who can plough the straightest furrow whilst watching 'Movies 4 Men' on their in-cab TV sets !

I found Movies 4 Men (there are two channels I think) when I set up my parents satellite tv system. It seemed to be all westerns I'd never heard of. It looked quite good actually!!

I fitted one of those radio/dvd players in a cab last year. It lasted about three weeks before giving up to the dust and vibration! It played CDs for a little while longer, but even the radio has packed up now. (My little JD 3050 still has the original radio from 24 years ago fitted and working perfectly!)

Has to be air con just try to imagin life without it now.

rodtheblue:

Has to be air con just try to imagin life without it now.

For the last couple of years I've only had one tractor with reliable air con, and I often turn that off if the tractor is working hard on a hot day, to keep the engine temperature down. It's what you get used to, I've worked in far hotter conditions than we ever get in this country, and so long as I have a plentyful supply of water to drink, I'm happy!

bovril:

I've worked in far hotter conditions than we ever get in this country, and so long as I have a plentyful supply of water to drink, I'm happy

We had a McCormick CX95 with a stockman cab and everyone including myself would refuse to drive that thing on a warm day.

Let's just say it was like being a Turkey on Christmas day !