IH Cub

[Ben(LA)]

I"m usually on the Ferguson Discussion, but I need some advice. I"m looking in to buying a 1970 IH cub with a belly mower to mow 4 acres of lawn. Asking price $1500, seems to be in good shape. Would I be better off with a PTO driven finish mower? I"ve always liked the older Cubs, but I don"t know too much about them. Are there any negatives about a Cub for this purpose, and what should I look for in buying this particular model? Thanks in advance,
Ben

 

[erik dekeyser]

I bought a 1975 IH cub this summer it has a 59 inch woods belly mower and i just love this little tractor. When i bought it i thought the belly mower was way to big for this little tractor. Well i was really surprized ,i took it out and tried it and it handles that mower easily. The cub just purs and it handles great. I paid 4000. for it with the mower and a front end blade.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

If it is an offset and your property is very hilly you might what to take this into consideration. The price sounds resonable. I'm going to look at a '68 lo-boy today that hasn't run in years with a belly mower and rotted tires and they want $1000. for it?

Kirk

 

[Anonymous-0]

The belley mower on the Cub is pto driven. If its a WOODS you will like it for mowing yard just remember it is not a Bush Hog type. There are tons of them mowing yards.

 

[John M]

To cut 4 acres I think youll be disappointed. Plan on it taking a good part of your day. Any type of mower you use, remember that the PTO turns backwards on a Cub, and the mower will have to match. Unless its a LoBoy with the high/low tranny, Id look for something else.

 

[James Williams]

Ben,I have a small mowing bussiness,I had a IH 154 lowboy,ran better than any tractor I ever sat on,it was very comfortable,and over all in perfect condition.The down fall is it had no power,If the grass wasnt cut each week you were in trouble.If it was me I would look for a SA,not much bigger but twice the hp

jimmy

 

[Jack OH]

It depends some on the grass. Iused a cub with 59" mower at uor previous house and it worked fine. That yard had clay soil so the grass was thin and slow growing. Then we moved to a place with nice topsoil and thick faster growing grass. The cub struggled so I bought a Super A with the same mower and it works great. If you fet the cub make sure you adjust the mower deck so the front is a little lower than the back so you only cut the grass once, it makes a difference.

Jack

 

[Janicholson]

Buy it. Keep the blades very sharp. Adjust the deck so the front cutting edge of the blade when it is turned to the very forward most position is 1/4" lower than the rear most edge of that blade. This keeps the blade from brushing against or recutting the stubble all the way around (saves about 1/4th of the total absorbed power).
If the grass is let go, it may take two passes to get it back in trim, one at 4" or so, and one at desired height. Cutting a half swath will also help get into high grass but opening up the lawn is a bit tough.
They are very fine when treated that way. I always wondered what would happen if a person put a 18 hp Kohler vertical shaft on the back of a cub driving the woods under the deck. This would allow the Cub to run at what ever speed, and the deck to be powered with near twice the HP of the Cub. JimN

 

[Anonymous-0]

No big deal on the pto direction you just wind the belt different. Use the same belt just wind it so the blades go the direction the blade needs to turn.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My grandfather bought a Cub with a 42" mower when I was about 10 years old and it seemed to chew thru the heaviest grass with minimal problems.

I had a Cub about 10 years ago for mowing 5ac with a Woods 59". The grass had been let go and it struggled the first cutting. I couldn't cut it every week and so it struggled after that too.

I'm on 3ac now, got a Super A and it does what I wished the Cub could have done.

Those extra cubes really help. I'd say that my personal opinion is that the 42" mower is a better choice for a Cub.