Later Lowboy plow question

[ebrathole]

Hello everyone!

New to the forum, Eric from Indiana here.

I just bought my first tractor, an unknown year (serial plate missing), square nose IH Cub Lowboy. I also have what appears to be a 193 moldboard plow and depth lever assembly with it. I have scoured this forum as well as the rest of the internet, but haven't been able to find a conclusive answer as to why the 193 plow will not work on the lowboy. I have never plowed anything in my life before, so while I think I understand the basic theory involved, I would greatly appreciate any and all thoughts and feedback from the years of experience here.

Things I think I understand, please let me know anywhere i am mistaken:

-the 193(suspected) plow is not designed to be used with a lowboy

- the height of the drawbar is changed by the depth control lever ( which will need to be modified / custom build) which in turn changes the the angle the plow is pulled at. The plow climbs or digs based on these changes until it runs level. The chain coming from the rear rockshaft serves only to lift the plow to transport. It should have slack and effectively does not play a role when the plow is lowered/ operating.

- the depth control lever will not bolt to the lowboy without modifications. It appears it's only operational function is to hold the drawbar at a particular height. I have seen others posting builds of diy depth controls. This leads me to believe if i have a way to control the height of the drawbar i can plow.

-I have seen other posts stating this plow can not be used because the drawbar cannot be reversed. I can absolutely reverse the drawbar on my tractor. It even appears to be at approximately the same height (based on photographs found around the interwebs) from the ground/ bottom of tires as on the regular cub (assuming the regular cub has the same tire size).

-From looking at the instruction manual for the plow as well as reading online and from you tube videos, when the drawbar on the regular cub is reversed, the holes it pivots on are slightly ahead of the rear hubs. It does not appear that i can reverse my mounting brackets to achieve that position where the pivot point of the drawbar would be ahead of the axle/hub. Does this fundamentally matter for the plow to operate, or is this simply how the regular cub was designed.

In my mind at the moment, it seems to me if I bolt the plow up and have a way to adjust the drawbar height, i can plow a garden into my backyard. It also seems the only real challenge would be the height adjustment of the drawbar. Am I missing something major due to lack of experience where this would not work? From every piece of information I can find it, including anything from garden tractors and subcompacts with a 3 point, it appears the single moldboard style plow simply plows at the depth where its bottom parallel to the ground.

Obviously this is not IH/ Farmall pure, but I'm sure hoping it will work, considering i have everything needed to mount the plow and modify / make a depth control laying around the shop. Plus the cost of finding and adding a 1pt fasthitch and 194 plow as IH intended for the lowboy to run means I might as well just buy another cub, non lowboy (not saying that's a bad thing).

Would a universal sleeve hitch plow (brinely) or a trip plow be a better, more cost effective option? Or just build a 3pt since those implements are a dime a dozen?

Thanks in advance for the knowledge and replies!

-Eric

[tst]

welcome to the forum, if you want to plow with a lowboy you need a fast hitch and a fast hitch 194 plow, 193 will not fit a lowboy

[Bill Hudson]

I have scoured this forum as well as the rest of the internet, but haven't been able to find a conclusive answer as to why the 193 plow will not work on the lowboy.

Things I think I understand, please let me know anywhere i am mistaken:

-the 193(suspected) plow is not designed to be used with a lowboy

You have the "conclusive answer" you are looking for. To explain further:
- the LoBoy sets eight inches lower
- the final drives are eights inches forward
- both of the above equals not enough clearance for a 193 to operate between the rear axle extension and the soil surface, even if you could fabricate a depth control lever assembly
- a LoBoy fast hitch assembly and plow solves this problem because they are "designed" to work as a unit

If you are planning to garden, then Cub cultivators would be a welcome addition of Cub equipment. They, too, will not work on a LoBoy very well.

Your best approach for gardening is an F-Cub. You have the plow already, F-Cubs are easily found, as are cultivators and a disk. Use the LoBoy for lawn mowing.

I am impressed with your depth and breadth of your research on what you have and I hope this adds to your body of knowledge.

Enjoy your Cub and don't hesitate to ask more questions.

Bill

[Glen]

Hi,
The Cub and LoBoy operator's manual will help you learn about maintenance that the Cub needs.

Below is the 1965 Cub and LoBoy operator's manual, if you don't have it. The experts on here recommend people read it. It has lots of info about operation, maintenance, and lubrication. There is a table of contents on page 1, and an index beginning on page 75.
It shows how Cubs and Loboys originally looked in it. The lube section begins on page 59.
Changing the trans, final drive, and steering gear oils are on page 70.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... index.html

The Touch Control uses Case IH Hy-Tran fluid. It is sold at Case IH dealers.

I would check or change all the oils before using the LoBoy. Using a Cub or LoBoy with low oil in a gear housing can damage the parts in it.
There are 3 separate gear housings at the rear area of a Cub, or LoBoy, with 3 separate oil levels to check, the transmission, and 2 final drives.

You might be able to find what year the LoBoy is from the date codes cast into the larger housings.
The Cubs and LoBoys usually have date codes on the larger castings.
Below is info from TM Tractor, showing what the date codes are on Cubs and LoBoys.

http://www.tmtractor.com/id/id_004.htm

The info below shows where the date codes are.
The date code on the clutch housing, in the 1st pic, is usually partly behind the clutch pedal.
The date code on the steering gear housing, the last pic, is usually mostly hidden when the tractor is assembled.

http://www.tmtractor.com/id/castdate_loc.htm

[Eugene]

Welcome.

I realize the topic question is about a plow for the low-boy Cub. You will need more implements than a plow for your garden. Consider a fast hitch for your Cub. Fast hitch sure beats having to change implements on a Cub.

How much land, area size, are you planning to use for the garden?

Might be cheaper to have a neighbor plow, disc harrow, till, the garden the first time. Specially if the area has not been worked in several years. Also if you don't plan on a large garden, consider a walk behind tiller.

[ebrathole]

Thanks all for the replies! I found copies of all the manuals as soon as I got the tractor, unfortunately they only told me what the plow was originally designed to go on, not why it wouldn't fit the lowboy, really looked like it would work. But it will still do what I initially wanted it for, which was to stop towing the gardening trailer with the zero turn. I did go through the tractor when I got it home and change and fill all fluids.

As far as land and garden size, I live on just over an acer, so the garden would be relatively small work for what a tractor is capable of. My gf and I have slowly been taking up very small scale gardening as a hobby, and the enjoyment of driving the tractor has caused the desire to find more things to do with it. Realistically I could just take the walk behind tiller out, but how is that fun?

I guess I'll have to have my eyes open for a parts machine with fast hitch or an f cub. Oh what did I get myself into lol...

[Barnyard]

I guess I'll have to have my eyes open for a parts machine with fast hitch or an f cub.

Keep in mind that a fast hitch from an F Cub will not fit a Loboy.

[Eugene]

I guess I'll have to have my eyes open for a parts machine with fast hitch or an f cub.

Keep in mind that a fast hitch from an F Cub will not fit a Loboy.

Tow behind, draw bar attached, implements may be easier to find and less expensive.

Buy a standard Cub.