Tractors Owned: 1951 Farmall "M" - Restored 1949 Farmall Cub - Original "Blue Ribbon Reconditioned" 1929 Farmall Regular 1956 Ford 640 1967 John Deere 112H 1973 John Deere 140H3 1985 John Deere 420
Circle of Safety: Y
Re: Hay Rakes for Cubs ???
Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:19 am
Here's pictures of my Poppy & Granny raking hay the summer of 1951 with their new Farmall Cub. Poppy purchased the Cub with a No. 22 mower and No. 8 14' dump rake. He used that rake for years...
You want one of the smaller ground wheel powered side delivery rakes - and not a pto powered rake.
Cub can easily handle a 10 or 12 foot rake. The side delivery rake is easy to operate. Makes continuous wind rows. No stopping and starting to dump accumulated hay.
There are usually several side delivery rakes for sale at the local machinery consignment auctions. Price varies. Usually $150 to $200- for one in excellent condition.
What is the tongue weight on the rake in that picture? Can the Cub's drawbar carry that weight without bending and would it risk damage to the final drives? I noticed that Phil Lenke's rake has the extra wheels on the front to help bear the weight..
Eugene's answer pretty well covered what I would recommend. The newer rakes with the rear drive wheels are more gentle on the hay than the earlier ones with the front drive wheels. The front drive wheels are a carry over from horse-drawn days. The rear drive style would have needed a foretruck for horses. The tongue weight shouldn't be too much for a Cub.
Some examples aside from the IH #4 above would be an IH #5 which apparently is about the right size for a Cub and others that I found when I googled IH Side Delivery Rakes along with this one:
As for tongue weight, most would not be a problem, but you should check it when you are looking at a prospective purchase. Most of our neighbors had New Holland rakes, that were no problem to pick up and hitch to the tractor. However, my dad bought a Massey Ferguson rake that had a tongue weight well over 100 pounds, took two people to lift it to hitch easily. One person could hitch it in a pinch, but it was an absolute bear.