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OT- How to Fabricate a skidsteer door?

Bodgit

Hot Rolled
Joined
Sep 27, 2002
Location
Glen Allen, VA USA
This is OT for sure. Have any of you fabricated a front door for a Skidsteer? This one has a steel ROPS cab and glass back window. The weather's about to get bad and I was thinking of making one out of steel and Plexiglass, hinged to the frame.
I'm interested in doing this fairly soon.
I have the fully equipped metal and welding shop at my disposal.
TIA,
Steve :confused:
 
If you're going to have a door on it, make sure you have some sort of shoulder restraint in addition to the lapbelt. I knew a guy who was using a bobcat to clear snow, and hit a transition in the sidewalk with the blade, and hit his face on the door. It wasn't pretty.

Nick :cool:
 
I think most doors hinge on the side, and fold out over the bucket arms. Sooner or later many get torn off when you lift the arms with the door open. The new John Deere doors open up and slide back along the roof to stay clear of the arms. I don't have either type, just seems like a good idea, but much harder to fab.
 
My Bobcat didn't come with a door, so I first got the "soft cab" cover. It came with a cheesy front door frame that looked like it was made of bent coathanger and covered with clear vinyl. It was better than nothing. Later (after my neighbor put a tree limb through the vinyl) I updated to the glass front door. It has an interlock kit to keep you from lifting the arms into the door as gbent mentioned.

If you're going to fab one, it will probably have to be like the soft cab door since the glass one is curved like the back glass in a '63 corvette. FYI, the hinges are on the drivers left side for both types. The wire frame of the "soft" door follows the front edge of the cab and makes a forward bend at the top 8" or so (at least on Bobcat brand)to clear the front of the cab roof. It appears to be made of approx. 3/8" steel rod, and is only a perimeter with one cross brace. There is no latch, only a little elastic strap with a hook. Good luck with it- if you need measurements, post here and I will try to help.
Bluegrass
 
I've checked with commercial vendors and there's no door available for this New Holland Ford skidsteer. It's 13 yrs old. I was thinking of making a steel frame of rectangular cross section steel and hinging the door to the driver's left pillar of the rops cab which is pre drilled for one. for glass, I was thinking of acrylic flat sheet material. For side windows, I thought of acrylic sheet material bolted to the side open grates.
Have any of you done this to your machines?
Steve
 
Well I don't know what everybody is trying to make this complicated for. Take some 1" angle iron, make a rectangular frame from this. Take some 1/2" Lexan and secure (screw/bolt) to angle iron frame. Go around outside of lexan with silicon caulking. Attach one side of windshield to skid steer with two hinges. Put a latch on the other side.

Should be able to knock it out in a few hours easy.
 
I recommend Lexan, instead of Plexiglass... Plexiglass is too easy to shatter, especially in a Cold place like Rochester... A warning about Lexan, though... never get any oil, fuel, or other hydrocarbons get on it, they will create stress cracks...
 
Use some nice beefy hinges. It will make the door shut easier. And it would be nice to give it a positive stop at the top and the bottom on the latch side. A non-metallic stop would created less noise too. A stop that would be in a slightly compressed state when latched would cut down on the clanking of the door during operation.

And here's a tip. Make sure you can open the door where it's mounted (don't mount the hinges where the door will open up and hit the roof).
 
Regular Bobcat hinges are basically just an upper and lower pin (pivot) welded to the cage and a couple of matching pipes welded to the door. Then the door can be lifted on and off easily as it's nice to have it off in the summer or when you need to hear what's going on.
 
I went out at lunch to a glass shop and bought the 1/4" acrylic. Lexan was 2.5 times more and the local glass guys thought acrylic was best. 90 bucks for it door and side windows. I like the pin and pipe idea and will have to make a door handle latch as suggested. Thanks guys. I'll get to work on it shortly. The snow's a comin'.
Steve
 
Thanks guys. I bought the steel tubing 1x2" and some 14g sheet metal to make the door. Once it's welded up, I'll cut out the window opening with the plasma cutter and then cut the plexiglass to fit it. If it cracks, I'll replace it.
At least it was cheap. I'm going to make an expanded metal grate for the summertime to keep rocks for landing on me.
 
I enclosed the side Expanded metal "windows " tonite with 1/4" plexiglass. Two cracks while drilling the holes only. Yes, I know, it cracks.
I decided to go a little lighter on the rectangular door tubing 1 1/2 x 5/8 thin wall tubing. I'll weld the 14g sheet steel to its face when made.
Steve
 
Project finished. Looks great and worked well today.
skidsteer1

skidsteer2
 








 
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