Farmall Cub-Still a Good Small Farm Tractor?

[RickB]

OMG. I ran one of those for several years as a kid with a one row cultivator under it. I hated that tractor; but it sure beat hand weeding and bending over in the hot sun. I'm thinking 15 hp was about it?

10.

 

[the old grind]

Two friends that use(d) Cubs to mow 3/4-1 1/2ac lawns weekly have different opinions. One's 48" OEM single-blade did ok for mowing his ~3/4ac back yard. (I had a few turns , few 'hays row') The other just hated the 60" 3-spindle MM Woods, gave me a hook-up deal, and I broomed it pronto.

 

[Solitary Man]

10.

Sounds about right. I once stalled it out cultivating the vegetable garden when I hit an old rhubarb plant. Stopped it dead...

 

[balsamal]

We have a old cub. We mounted a belly mount 4' mower with a Honda motor by making a few brackets and a pully! If you only want to mow, are mechanically inclined it makes a nice setup for that! We mow between xmas trees! Other than that go newer!

 

[Fuddy1952]

My grandfather had a 1949 Cub he bought new since there was an International dealer along one part of his place. He also bought about every attachment at the time for it.
I bought a 1950 Cub here years ago since attachments fit I could borrow.
Four cylinder 10hp and growing up we did amazing things with it like pulling tree stumps.
As a stupid kid once going up a steep hill in first I wondered what would happen if I shoved in the clutch letting it roll back then popping clutch. Of course it stood straight up luckily falling forward it almost went over backwards.
My neighbor friend ran a dairy farm and had to move a loaded hay wagon. His tractor was being repaired but the Cub did the job which he couldn't believe. Very slow but worked.
Great little tractor for about 30 acres or less.
Both the '49 & '50 had a PTO v-belt pulley, mine had a 90deg. adapter so a sickle bar, belly mower, etc could be run off of it.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

Obviously, I love the Cubs. The A and Super A are also great tractors. They both have their limits when compared to a modern compact tractor...but there's something about a Cub that makes my juices flow.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

OMG. I ran one of those for several years as a kid with a one row cultivator under it. I hated that tractor; but it sure beat hand weeding and bending over in the hot sun. I'm thinking 15 hp was about it?

On the newer ones after 1975, yes. Before that, about 9 or so. Wish they had more gears…

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

The Cub does not have a Three Point Hitch.

Finding Cub compatible implements can require time consuming searches.

There was a Cub for sale locally 2-3 years ago for $1,800 that I wanted because it was so interesting but my work is woods related rather than small farm oriented so I passed.

I follow Ledgemere Farm on YouTube.



Tractors changed radically after Henry Ford licensed Harry Ferguson's tractor and Three Point Hitch design in 1939. Further industry wide changes occurred after 1955, when Ferguson's patents began to expire and his tractor and Three Point Hitch design were available to industry participants besides Ford without hinder.

Improvements in approximate order: 4-WD, Industrial Tires, Power Steering, "independent" PTOs, Loaders, Diesel Engines, Category 2-3-4-5 TPH, TPH Landscaping tractors of <2,000 pounds bare tractor weight, hydrostatic transmissions, shuttle shift gear transmissions, Cabs with heat and AC. And, continuously, shields separating operator from moving parts.

Thank You

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I have 2 140s and personally I wouldn't run anything off the PTO. I got mine strictly for farming a garden and there's nothing better than one for that. Jeff said they don't have a 3PH but you can absolutely get a 3 PH setup for them. My preference if I were going to get one would be to get the belly cultivator setup for it. Here in the southeast parts can still be bought for them. I'll post some pics tomorrow showing how my 140 is setup. Really good 140s around here go for $7000 to $10,000.

I have a 140 too. You hop on that and the Cub feels like a baby toy.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Some pictures, my Dad (rip) on granddad's (rip) Cub.
Literature
Good memories...

 

[Solitary Man]

Man, are you bringing back the memories. Hit the turning break too hard and you'd stall it; hit the wrong rut and you'd better be holding on for dear life; that thing wore my @$$ out for about 5 years.

 

[Brendanspapa]

#Farmall #Cub-Still A Good Tractor For Your Small #Farm?

The cub, although once popular isn’t a good farm tractor. They’re a nice collector item at best.
They lack several useful features; 1) power, 2)adequate weight, 3) live or independent PTO, 4) three point hitch, 5) good sources for the required non-standard (non 3 pt.) implements, safety features, such as ROPS. In summary, NO.

 

[RickB]

The cub, although once popular isn’t a good farm tractor. They’re a nice collector item at best.
They lack several useful features; 1) power, 2)adequate weight, 3) live or independent PTO, 4) three point hitch, 5) good sources for the required non-standard (non 3 pt.) implements, safety features, such as ROPS. In summary, NO.

For a 9hp tractor a Cub has plenty of weight.

 

[Sonny580]

I have 6 cubs and yes they are useless for any REAL work---- reasons? under powered , the gears are too fast for any usefull job in the garden and too big for most gardens.---- no standard pto, so that use is out.
I made a 3-pt hitch for one of mine and use it for a sprayer with 12 gallon electric tank on top of my water bar that it will pull only 4 inches deep, so the water bar idea was not a success ! lol---ended up putting it on the SA.
As a farm tractor they are useless!--- THAT'S why so many are around after 70 years,--- NOT because they were ever a good tractor or well built cause they aint!
They are just expensive toys!
Collectors want them cause they are easy to haul to shows on a 5x10 single axle trailer or in a pickup truck bed!

 

[Gee Ray]

I have 6 cubs and yes they are useless for any REAL work---- reasons? under powered , the gears are too fast for any usefull job in the garden and too big for most gardens.---- no standard pto, so that use is out.
I made a 3-pt hitch for one of mine and use it for a sprayer with 12 gallon electric tank on top of my water bar that it will pull only 4 inches deep, so the water bar idea was not a success ! lol---ended up putting it on the SA.
As a farm tractor they are useless!--- THAT'S why so many are around after 70 years,--- NOT because they were ever a good tractor or well built cause they aint!
They are just expensive toys!
Collectors want them cause they are easy to haul to shows on a 5x10 single axle trailer or in a pickup truck bed!

Yea I guess 245,000 tractors over 30 plus years. You are right they must have been a POS.

In 75 years how many of the tractors being built today will even be around, let alone usable?

 

[the old grind]

How many of them are so limited in o'all ability that we don't wear them out doing real farm work? How many hrs/yr does a Cub spend in a garden? I'm harder on my tractors using the FEL, grapples, and PTO driven implements. (flail, tiller)

I have several film-type cameras, haven't worn one out, and don't use them much anymore. I'm sure there were plenty of them made and that I'm not the only one who keeps a few around as long as they still work ok. I might use a Cub a lot more, but it wouldn't be my 'main' or my only tractor. 'Right tool for the job' doesn't mean for every job. JMHO

 

[Gee Ray]

How many of them are so limited in o'all ability that we don't wear them out doing real farm work? How many hrs/yr does a Cub spend in a garden? I'm harder on my tractors using the FEL, grapples, and PTO driven implements. (flail, tiller)

I have several film-type cameras, haven't worn one out, and don't use them much anymore. I'm sure there were plenty of them made and that I'm not the only one who keeps a few around as long as they still work ok. I might use a Cub a lot more, but it wouldn't be my 'main' or my only tractor. 'Right tool for the job' doesn't mean for every job. JMHO

Why don't we wear them out? They do wear but the beautiful thing about them is they are repairable. I do not need a computer to figure out what is wrong with it. I do not need a dealer to make any computer adjustments. The thing is well thought out and can be repaired with simple hand tools.

As I stated earlier they are good small tractors. They will plow disk and mow hay as well as any modern tractor. The 2 way plow is very nice for large gardens. With the swinging draw bar and a leveling disk the garden prep is pretty easy. With the offset engine the cultivators are far superior to any of the sub or compact tractors. You can see what you are doing!

The Cub was able to do everything that you needed to do to run a small farm. Plant corn, cultivate crops, mow hay, mow lawn or flail mow. Have you ever tried to mow a fence row or a ditch with a rear mount mower? It is much easier to mow with the sickle bar mounted in the middle of the tractor. Yes, some of the tools are hard to find anymore but with the interest in organic farming this type of tractor does a nice job for a fraction of the money that the contemporary tractor can not do as well.

Are there draw backs? Sure. The FEL was not a good fit. So you use a shovel and a trailer to move the mulch around your yard. No, it is not 4 wheel drive. But load the tires and add the wheel weights front and rear you will be surprised what you can do with it. Many on here comment that they will not take the tractor out in the mud anyway.

The PTO runs in the opposite direct then a contemporary tractor. So unless you want to build a reverser for the PTO you must buy Cub equipment. Buy a Swisher tow behind mower, about the same price as a MMM for a modern tractor, and offset it you can mow without the tractor running over the grass to be cut.

With the adjustable wheels and the adjustable width on the front axle you can set up your tractor to work in many different widths of the rows. Let me see you do that with one of the new tractors. Also with the engine offset to the left you can mow some pretty steep slopes with the engine on the uphill side.

With the lay out of the tractor done as it is on the Cub you can use the brakes to make very tight turns. You can also use the brakes to walk yourself out of stuck situations.

Is it an ideal tractor, no, no way in hell but does it make for a good small farm tractor at the fraction of the cost? Well, yes it does.

I only read TBN and OTT but I see many not all the people telling others to buy a big tractor, must have a FEL, you must have 3 remotes and a grapple. It just ain't so. It just has become the norm to have all the bells and whistles. Most of the old tractors did a lot more work then the toys of today ever will. I can pull a lot of trees out of the woods for a $4500 FEL, a $1500 grapple and most of a $1000 for the hydraulics on a new tractor.

And yes I understand there are people that the FEL and grapple are a good investment. But when you see people talk about put 10 or 15 hours a year or less on a tractor maybe a little sweat equity might be a better use of the money.

 

[VroomVroom]

Which model is this? Was down by a local strawberry farm

 

[RickB]

Which model is this? Was down by a local strawberry farm

It's a 140.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I've lived this area 69 years. We used to get more snowfall. Once grandad got his Cub and all attachments everything was easier, especially plowing the driveway with chains on fluid filled tires and weights.
Compared to today's tractors no it wasn't as good but it was a great tractor and did everything well.
In 50 years all remote electric tractors will be even better, they won't even have or need a seat. People with their 6" biceps will say the 2021 tractors were garbage .