Will a Cub pull...

[Mac AR]

Seems like this question has come up quite a bit recently, and it's gotten me thinking. What, exactly, will a Cub pull? They aren't the strongest tractor ever built, but for their size they'll hold their own. I've always compared the work a Cub can do to that of a good team of horses, when determining what I could and couldn't do. And, like a team, they can do some difficult jobs. I've plowed with my #152 disk plow, and pulled my #23 disk a few hours too. But those implements are made for the Cub to use, or perhaps I'm just misjudging what the little fellers are capable of. What I'm talking about is things that aren't necessarily made for the Cub. Like spring-tooth harrows for instance. How many sections can you pull? Or what about trailers? I know some guys haul firewood with their Cubs. What do you all consider to be the difference between a "good load" and an "overload"?

Now, I want to hear from the rest of you. What have you pulled with your Cub? Did you think that it was overloaded? I'm interested to hear about everyone's experiences, especially with ground-engaging implements. If you know for a fact you can or cannot pull/run a particular implement, please chime in!

Mac

[radioguy41]

I can't speak to implements but as far as hauling goes I think the important question is not how much it can pull but how much can it safely stop. When it comes to hauling the weak link with a Cub will always be the brakes.

[Eugene]

The important question is not how much it can pull but how much can it safely stop. When it comes to hauling the weak link with a Cub will always be the brakes.

Ditto on the brakes.

Living in the Ozarks, stopping is a major concern when trailering with the Cub going down hill.

My other concern is the trailered load weight going up hill. To much of a load and the rear tires spin. I don't run out of power.

[Mac AR]

Very good points. Cub brakes aren't the greatest I know. I guess I was thinking more in terms of ground engaging implements. Still, the information you guys have provided does satisfy my curiosity somewhat.

Mac

[cub67]

Well, I pull a 8 foot plug aerator with 10 discs each popping out 3/4" plugs. Pulls good on flat ground in 2nd gear but hit some inclines and you can really tell it is back there. Cub is probably a little under powered for this unit but it gets the job done. Other than that and the occasional wagon pull my cubs are just mowers.

[Ruralguy57]

I have a 1968 Cub Lo Boy. It has an Alternator in place of the Generator. On the draw bar there is a plate bolted in 2 places with 2 hitches attached to the plate; using a 2" ball and a 1-7/8" ball. I use the Cub with an aux gas tank where the hood is off; as I have been working on it since I got it earlier this year. There are pictures of it in my thread.

I live with my Mom as a 24/7 caregiver. She has health issues and is 87. Mom and Dad bought the property in 1962, which is about 3 acres of land. Approximately 2 acres are flat or hilly and about one acre is a ravine that runs into the Norfolk and Southern Rail Line and a crick. The rail line is a main route East and West. The ravine area is over 50 yards wide and over 100 yards long and probably 30 feet or more deep. The East of the property is a State Route Road that goes over the railroad tracks heading North and South. The elevation drop is about 20 feet at the first driveway. The distance from the road to the house is about 2 blocks East to West. One block being driveway and the other block being the flat drive and parking area. Behind the house going West there is another block or more of property. A good part of this area is flat and some of it adjoins the ravine and crick area. The south side of the property is mostly a flat area. From North to South it is over 100 yards. We have a second driveway that is South of the main drive and has at least a 10 foot drop in elevation from the State Route Road to ground level. I mow that drive and the South side of the driveway. From the front of the road to the rear of the property East to West is over 100 yards in some spots. All the flat hilly usable mowable area has been mowed with the Cub this year. It does not get stuck like the JD my father has to mow the property.

I have pulled:

*A 1963 Mallard Trailer. It has a full Birch interior. There is 1 door and 7 windows, a table, 2 bench seats [this area converts to a single bed], a small counter with a sink, stove, fridge and cabinets, 2 bunk beds [upper is a single and lower is a full with a ladder], a furnace and cabinets. It is loaded with a lot of stuff. I pull the Mallard out of the barn with the Cub. I set the Trailer in different places on the property. When I want to put it back in the barn, I back it to the pad in front of the barn with the Cub and unhitch it. I have to hitch it to the Ford Edge to back it into the barn as I need to see both sides of the Mallard when backing it in. Once in, I unhitch it from the Edge and move it again with the Cub.

*A large branch broke off a very old tree in the North Yard in an ice storm we had in February of this year. A month ago, I tried to chain up the Cub to the broke branch on the drawbar. The Cub's back wheels just spun in place. It rained a lot and I could not get back to the branch for some time. A week ago, I got the chain saw out and cut the branch into 2 large logs and other logs and branches that were pulled with the Cub. The two main logs cut up drug ruts into the ground. A photo of the pile is shown in another thread. The Cub pulled everything very easily. I have a trailer that you can purchase from a Hardware or a Farm/Tractor Supply place that was piled higher than the seat of the Cub with branches and stuff I did not pull with chains. The trailer was emptied many times. There was a lot of wood moved. The Cub worked fine.

*In August my Sister visited and She and I cut a lot of branches off of trees and bushes all over the property. I had 3 long chains; I placed 1 chain on the ground and laid a lot of branches in a huge pile over that chain. I flipped the second chain over the top of the pile and latched it to the lower chain. I attached the third chain to that pile and drug it to the area where it eventually got shoved over the hill with a Skid Steer. I moved 3 piles like this. Each pile was larger and longer than the tractor. My other thread shows a photo of this. The Cub grunted when the piles got snagged hitting trees. Other than that it worked fine.

*I have a drag I ran over the mill run stones on the driveway. I started from the bottom flat area and drug it to the top where the driveway adjoins the State Road. I was trying to straighten out the ruts. The drag did not work well even with concrete blocks on it. I eventually stopped using it and decided to use the Skid Steer. I was able to move more stones easier. The Skid Steer smoothed out the ruts a lot faster. Maybe if I had a better drag or York rake that mounted to the hitch or draw bar, it might have work better. I have not found these items for sale here.

*I have a large roller. The tongue has a peg rusted in place. I drop the peg in the 2nd hole to the left or right of the plate. This allows movement of the roller and does not bind it as I turn, it is offset. I have run the roller all over the property. I have run it up and down both driveways. When we had endless rain I used it to smooth out the areas where the Skid Steer had rutted the lawn after pulling the JD out. The Cub has only been pulled out of 2 different ditches. That was because the mower got wedged. I have pulled the JD out multiple, multiple times, even once when the JD was pulling the roller and the whole mess was stuck in mud. In wet ground the Cub seems to work a lot better than the JD. I am guessing it is because the wheels are larger and have cleats.

*I am looking to use a single bottom rope trip plow. I can not find one currently. I plan on using it to open ditches on the property here. I had tried to buy an International 3 bottom plow. It was for sale on Craigslist. Ok stop laughing. The picture did look smaller than it was. I am not exactly familiar with what a 3 bottom plow looked like. Yes I had seen them in passing but never really paid attention to them. So this plow was for sale at $300.00. I went to the man's house. As soon as I saw it I knew ….. nope this is not happening. The plow was like 2 feet longer than the Cub and the upper deck of the plow was a few inches lower than the top of the rear tires. OK - FAIL....live and learn

*A true Cub Story: I have a friend who as a boy, used to live in a city near me. He is over 75 now. He recalls his friend's father had a Cub. He only said it was "Just Like Mine". I don't know if it was a Standard or a Cub Lo Boy. His friend's father purchased the Cub to mow ditches and pull grain wagons from the field to the barn. The wagons were both empty and full. There is a lot of weight in a full grain wagon. The friend's father basically said the smaller tractor could be used by anyone. It would not tie up the larger tractors that were needed to work the fields. In the man's thoughs, it was a win win. I am sure there are other things one can find to pull.


Richard

[Indy4570]

I hooked up a Fcub to a 18ft tandem axle trailer with ramps attached, wood sides, all the steel tubing to assemble a 30x40ft hoop frame barn also the vinyl for said building. maybe 50 steel commercial shelves, brackets for the shelves, 2 dozen wooden shelves and hardware and more. I honestly expected a fail. no front weights, nothing. I expected the front end to rise up off the ground from tongue weight alone. it did not. I pulled that load out back and up an incline with no issues. I could not have done this with my wide and very long truck. I would not do this on a regular basis but I needed to move it and thats what I had.

[outdoors4evr]

If the front tires are touching the ground good enough to steer, then in my book it is good to go.
If the front tires were off the ground and you are steering with the brakes, then ya need someone to sit on the hood. (pretty sure that was my job as a kid)
Anyone have some numbers from the cub tug? How many pounds were on the sled?

[inairam]

If the front tires are touching the ground good enough to steer, then in my book it is good to go.

Next safety issue after breaks - when will you flip over backward?

[outdoors4evr]

Next safety issue after breaks - when will you flip over backward?

With this load, I wasn't at much risk of flipping over backward even though the front tires were tickling the grass.


Definitely a good concern when lifting and pulling though! I don't want to end up being a grease smudge under a tractor!

[mcwinter]

My 48 will pull more than expected based on size, and seems to be limited by wheel slippage. I use it to grade our gravel drive with a 6' DR grader. It will start slipping going up a slight incline in 2nd gear with a load of gravel in the grader.

I also use it to pull a 2 section drag harrow to smooth out areas I have disked. Didn't expect the cub to handle the drag, but it pulls it with no problem.

[Crimson Tim]

One of my Cub’s main chores is to groom a cochina shell riding arena. I have a 4x4 spike tooth harrow of unknown origin when it needs to be broken up or “fluffed” and a standard TSC 4’ pasture drag for when it needs to be smoothed. The Cub will actually pull both in series, though I get better results running them separately. I can run the pasture drag in 3rd as long as it’s not too bumpy.

[BullDAWG]

I've used cubs to spread manure, I have a JD 1108G (g=ground driven) its 80 bushels in size so slightly bigger than a IH-200 manure spreader. It does fine if chicken litter is dry but is hard to stop when its wet as weight is then over a ton + implement weight. So close to 2 tons I believe but never weight it to see exact weight. I prefer using my Super A when its wet but most of it is under a roof so its dry (usually lol)...

[Mac AR]

Very interesting guys. I confess to being surprised at what some of you guys have moved around with your Cub. Then again, I refer back to my original post: A Cub can do what a team of horses can, usually. I underestimate mine often, but after using it more I admit to liking it for certain tasks over the 300. Plus, I don't have to start a 45+ horsepower, gas sucking row crop tractor to do a 15 minute when the Cub can do it in the same amount of time and only use a quart of gas (maybe). Keep the discussion going guys, I'm enjoying it!

Mac

[Gary S.]

As a teen I remember dad moving their 27' Airstream around the yard to park it behind the house with the '49,but supposedly you could pull a small one with a bike