Ok, we have talked about the pluses of the cab, I will mention one other benefit. Protection from debris and other dangerous projectiles.
Case in point: I know a man in his late 70's (he is a special one, more later on) that was on his big Kubota Tractor bush hogging one day. He was in a grown up field bush hogging, there were some saplings and small trees. A small tree comes up and spears through the calf of his leg. He stops the tractor and tries to assess the dangerous situation. Basically he is pinned on the tractor being that he is now a human shish kabob on a small tree. As far as I know he had no cell phone on him. He has no available saws on the tractor. He heard some guys at a distance rabbit hunting, he yelled at them hoping they would hear him. No luck, no one hears him, he is bleeding from the wound, what does he do next. Considering that no one is coming to help him, he takes his pocket knife and cuts the calf of his leg to free that tree. After he does that he takes off on his tractor and finds help. After months of rehab his wound finally heals up. Oh yea his tractors are now beefed up with metal guards and I think he carries a small chainsaw onboard.
More info about that tough man that would explain how and why he survived that episode. He was a War Veteran, an Airborne, Army Ranger, that served in Nam in the late 60's, early 70's. I forget how many jumps he did in his tour of duty, he doesn't say much about it other than, by the Grace Of God, is the only reason he came back from Nam. He told me one time, if you heard the blast from mines or bombs, you knew you were still alive. He came back from Nam and had a tough time here, one of his wives about shot him at one point. He basically went through H#LL for many years then got back on the right track. I have known him for 22 years, he is much of a man, one tough customer as they say.
One more twist to all this. This Veterans older brother died in a submarine incident in 1968, while serving his country on the USS Scorpion.
