Intro: Not a Cub Owner (yet)--advice needed
Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:03 am
Greetings all-- This seemed like such a friendly, helpful community that I registered even though I don't own a Cub, or any tractor (yet). I've been doing research, mostly online, for a year or so and as my sig line says, trying to choose a tractor is crazy-making. I live in rural eastern Connecticut, the "quiet corner," mostly forested with hardwoods (except for those danged McMansions that are going up everywhere), lots of stone walls, glorious fall colors, deer, wild turkey, coyotes howling in the distance at night, some surviving dairy farms. Perhaps this isn't what you think of for CT, but the eastern part of the state is not anything like that corner near NYC. My husband and I also own 55 ac. of rural land in Western Maine, and that's what the tractor would be for (details below).
By way of introduction, my name is Jocelyn and I'm a professor at the U. of Connecticut. I'm also a dog lover (have 2) and horse rider (1 Belgian-X gelding--yes, I know I should make HIM earn his hay by doing some work but getting into that is complicated; I ride English), avid gardener, trail maintainer for a strech of the AT/Long Trail up in Vermont, certified Appalachian Trail chain sawyer, singer (soprano & enthusiastic church chorister) and--I'd like to be a farmer when I grow up (ha ha).
Which brings me to Maine, and tractors. Our land is right at the foot of, and going up, one of the foothills in the Western Mts. It is an old colonial farmstead (cellar hole & dug well on the property, lots of rusty maple syrup buckets lying around, neat stuff!). It was partly logged in the past (but more than 10 years ago). What this boils down to is: lots of land that is not usable--wetlands, streams, a waterfall, steep (!) slopes--but enough to make some nice pastures and fields IF it's cleared of the buried wood debris and secondary growth (= some really nasty stuff). You may know what previously logged land looks like--the old equipment ruts and overgrown, half-rotted logs make the ground VERY uneven & spongy in places.
What I'd like a tractor for is land clearing and maintaining some fields, which would at first be pastures and small growing plots. The tasks would be: mowing brush/bush hogging, skidding logs, tilling, harrowing, general hauling. Stability, traction, compact size for maneuverability and a high clearance are important. You can tell that I'm looking for an affordable, versatile working machine, not a show tractor. This may be heresy here, but what I would REALLY like (in my dreams) is a new 4x4 Kubota... blah blah blah. Well, can't afford $13k right now, and that's a fact.
I'm posting today because an old fella nearby has a '53 Cub for sale, real nice & clean looking (he had it parked on the roadside one Sunday and I stopped on my way back from church). Turns out the seller doesn't know anything about Cubs. He got it from a neighbor in a trade. He's never used it and isn't interested in it (gasp) except as a way to get some money. It has the manure bucket (which he says "ain't worth much" -not sure what that means) and "runs perfect." (I haven't actually driven it yet.) Asking whether I should buy a Cub here might be like asking the choir if they'd like to sing, but I'd be grateful for some advice. I am impressed by the Cub's high clearance, compact size and mechanical simplicity (I like a manual trans & something my husband can repair--oooops! don't tell him I said that!). And yes, I admit the affordability is perhaps the biggest draw. BUT there are the drawbacks of an antique tractor: no 3-pt-hitch, non-standard PTO, no ROPS. Hmmmm.
Sorry for such a long post. I LOVE old tractors and I can't afford a bells & whistles new one.... Thanks for reading this!
The Lady Professor Who Wants to be a Farmer (and Tractor Owner)
By way of introduction, my name is Jocelyn and I'm a professor at the U. of Connecticut. I'm also a dog lover (have 2) and horse rider (1 Belgian-X gelding--yes, I know I should make HIM earn his hay by doing some work but getting into that is complicated; I ride English), avid gardener, trail maintainer for a strech of the AT/Long Trail up in Vermont, certified Appalachian Trail chain sawyer, singer (soprano & enthusiastic church chorister) and--I'd like to be a farmer when I grow up (ha ha).
Which brings me to Maine, and tractors. Our land is right at the foot of, and going up, one of the foothills in the Western Mts. It is an old colonial farmstead (cellar hole & dug well on the property, lots of rusty maple syrup buckets lying around, neat stuff!). It was partly logged in the past (but more than 10 years ago). What this boils down to is: lots of land that is not usable--wetlands, streams, a waterfall, steep (!) slopes--but enough to make some nice pastures and fields IF it's cleared of the buried wood debris and secondary growth (= some really nasty stuff). You may know what previously logged land looks like--the old equipment ruts and overgrown, half-rotted logs make the ground VERY uneven & spongy in places.
What I'd like a tractor for is land clearing and maintaining some fields, which would at first be pastures and small growing plots. The tasks would be: mowing brush/bush hogging, skidding logs, tilling, harrowing, general hauling. Stability, traction, compact size for maneuverability and a high clearance are important. You can tell that I'm looking for an affordable, versatile working machine, not a show tractor. This may be heresy here, but what I would REALLY like (in my dreams) is a new 4x4 Kubota... blah blah blah. Well, can't afford $13k right now, and that's a fact.
I'm posting today because an old fella nearby has a '53 Cub for sale, real nice & clean looking (he had it parked on the roadside one Sunday and I stopped on my way back from church). Turns out the seller doesn't know anything about Cubs. He got it from a neighbor in a trade. He's never used it and isn't interested in it (gasp) except as a way to get some money. It has the manure bucket (which he says "ain't worth much" -not sure what that means) and "runs perfect." (I haven't actually driven it yet.) Asking whether I should buy a Cub here might be like asking the choir if they'd like to sing, but I'd be grateful for some advice. I am impressed by the Cub's high clearance, compact size and mechanical simplicity (I like a manual trans & something my husband can repair--oooops! don't tell him I said that!). And yes, I admit the affordability is perhaps the biggest draw. BUT there are the drawbacks of an antique tractor: no 3-pt-hitch, non-standard PTO, no ROPS. Hmmmm.
Sorry for such a long post. I LOVE old tractors and I can't afford a bells & whistles new one.... Thanks for reading this!
The Lady Professor Who Wants to be a Farmer (and Tractor Owner)