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Cub, A, B/N, Loboy, Cadet??

H

HemiMoparGuy1981

New User
Hey Guys,

Just purchased a house with an acre to mow. Not many trees to go around. I'm in the market for a used mower cuz I am NOT push mowing...So I need some advice on what to be looking for. I know if money was no object ZTR can't be beat...especially I have a four wheeler with blade to plow snow. But the house is an old farm house, so for the "cool" factor, I really want an older tractor...Such as a select few for sale kinda near by in my price range... Cub, A, B/N, a couple Loboys a 154 and a 184 also a couple Cub Cadet garden tractors (cyclops style that I really like) and a couple Case/Ingersoll Garden tractors. All of the bigger tractors are in the $1500 range and the GTs are in the $600-1100 range. I'm leaning away from the oldies due to non-live PTO. Not sure on the Lo-boys PTO system. Any advice to help narrow down my decision would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric
 
I have a Super A with a Woods L59 that works great. Mowed at my bother in law's before he passed & could do his about 1 1/2 acers in about 2 hrs. Less than 5 gallons of gas a month.
 
Having a Woods belley mower since 65 on a B has worked well for me . You do not need live PTO for a belley mower mowing yars. Nice thing about them is the tractor can be used for other things. You mite like the CUB Low Boy.The A or B with the 6ft Woods and turf tires would be great
 
(quoted from post at 05:26:58 02/19/20) Having a Woods belley mower since 65 on a B has worked well for me . You do not need live PTO for a belley mower mowing yards. Nice thing about them is the tractor can be used for other things. You mite like the CUB Low Boy.The A or B with the 6ft Woods and turf tires would be great
Click to expand...

Another vote for a B, well actually mine is a BN with the L306(6 foot belly). Turf tires would be nice, but unless you are trying for golf course perfect lawn, a well used pair of ag tires have worked for me for over 30 years.

As a side note here. My front tires were getting bad, well one was a flat for about a year! So as the cheap old cuss I am I decided to try something different. I went to the local junk yard and now I'm running a pair of space saver tires on the front. May not make fast turns on wet grass but at least if they do skid they don't dig up ruts like the ribed tires did!

And I'm confident that this BN will easily out live me, not sure if I could say the same for a new zero turn, which we also have for the smaller areas of the lawn.

And when it come time to skid out a tree or two to cut up for fire wood the zero turn would be useless where the BN just says "Is that all you've got I'm just starting to have fun!"
 
I mowed with a Cub Loboy for a few years, but it was not good for getting in most of the tight spots around the house, trees, and buildings. I was spending a lot of time with the weed whacker mowing a 3' swath around each tree and in the inside corners around the house. I was spending 3 hours a week, and I don't enjoy yard maintenance.

Also if I didn't keep a strict weekly mowing schedule, or the rain pushed mowing off for a day or two, the grass would get too tall and thick for the power I had, forcing me to take half passes, making the process take twice as long.

After three years I got sick of it, took my tax refund money, and bought a higher-end Husqvarna 46" riding mower. I could now mow right up against the house and trees, cutting my weed whacking to a few minutes every two weeks. Total time to mow the lawn, just over an hour.

IMHO you have to be dedicated to the old tractor thing to mow with a Cub, or any Cub-engined tractor like the 154/185/184.
 
(quoted from post at 05:02:04 02/19/20)
And when it come time to skid out a tree or two to cut up for fire wood the zero turn would be useless where the BN just says "Is that all you've got I'm just starting to have fun!"
Click to expand...

Granted a BN would do much better at that, but I do have four wheelers that I've always used for that when growing up. We had wooded property and after every wind storm we had a lot of cleanup...hauled 4x8 trailer, 3 ft sidewalls full of fire wood like nothing. And my truck has always yanked out the stumps...but I just want the fun of an older tractor...just want to make sure it will at least fit my needs, with only minimal less convenience as modern equipment.
 
(quoted from post at 05:58:06 02/19/20) I mowed with a Cub Loboy for a few years, but it was not good for getting in most of the tight spots around the house, trees, and buildings. I was spending a lot of time with the weed whacker mowing a 3' swath around each tree and in the inside corners around the house. I was spending 3 hours a week, and I don't enjoy yard maintenance.

Also if I didn't keep a strict weekly mowing schedule, or the rain pushed mowing off for a day or two, the grass would get too tall and thick for the power I had, forcing me to take half passes, making the process take twice as long.

After three years I got sick of it, took my tax refund money, and bought a higher-end Husqvarna 46" riding mower. I could now mow right up against the house and trees, cutting my weed whacking to a few minutes every two weeks. Total time to mow the lawn, just over an hour.

IMHO you have to be dedicated to the old tractor thing to mow with a Cub, or any Cub-engined tractor like the 154/185/184.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the riding mower was a better bet for you...but before that, when doing the 3 ft swath around anything...did you try a push mower for most of it?? I respect your comments a lot as you stated up front you dislike yardwork...Which I do as well...unless it involves chainsaws and hauling brush. Just to me, I'dve push mowed around the trees and call it good, and knock down most of the path around buildings with a push mower, then grab the trimmer. Also, the comment about half passes is helpful, as from what I can tell between snowfalls is that the grass seems pretty thick.
 
(quoted from post at 05:58:06 02/19/20) I mowed with a Cub Loboy for a few years, but it was not good for getting in most of the tight spots around the house, trees, and buildings. I was spending a lot of time with the weed whacker mowing a 3' swath around each tree and in the inside corners around the house. I was spending 3 hours a week, and I don't enjoy yard maintenance.

Also if I didn't keep a strict weekly mowing schedule, or the rain pushed mowing off for a day or two, the grass would get too tall and thick for the power I had, forcing me to take half passes, making the process take twice as long.

After three years I got sick of it, took my tax refund money, and bought a higher-end Husqvarna 46" riding mower. I could now mow right up against the house and trees, cutting my weed whacking to a few minutes every two weeks. Total time to mow the lawn, just over an hour.

IMHO you have to be dedicated to the old tractor thing to mow with a Cub, or any Cub-engined tractor like the 154/185/184.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the riding mower was a better bet for you...but before that, when doing the 3 ft swath around anything...did you try a push mower for most of it?? I respect your comments a lot as you stated up front you dislike yardwork...Which I do as well...unless it involves chainsaws and hauling brush. Just to me, I'dve push mowed around the trees and call it good, and knock down most of the path around buildings with a push mower, then grab the trimmer. Also, the comment about half passes is helpful, as from what I can tell between snowfalls is that the grass seems pretty thick.
 
Here's my lawn...Yellow is approx property lines. Red lines are where we are thinking about
mvphoto49523.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 07:43:59 02/19/20) Here's my lawn...Yellow is approx property lines. Red lines are where we are thinking about
mvphoto49523.jpg
Click to expand...

Red is where we are thinking about planted pine trees to help block road noise
 
I enjoy my Cubs. A 59 inch mower does great till the grass gets very tall, then its first gear. It's easy to get Ms. Window to cut the grass too. She thinks it's cute.lol The hydraulic lift is a big plus. Snow plows are easy to find, but a pain to swap off the mower. Enough grass talk, lets see the Mopar
 
An A, B, or S.A. with hydraulics provide more horsepower, quickness, and will handle a 59" mower much better than a Cub.
 
(quoted from post at 10:46:37 02/19/20)
(quoted from post at 07:43:59 02/19/20) Here's my lawn...Yellow is approx property lines. Red lines are where we are thinking about
mvphoto49523.jpg
Click to expand...

Red is where we are thinking about planted pine trees to help block road noise
Click to expand...

That's a bit less area than my BN mows, see picture below:
To give some scale that Red "X" is next to a 24 foot swimming pool.

mvphoto49531.png

[/img]
 
A, C, or SA. A Cub will just be too darn slow. I use to cut that much, maybe a little more with my 154. Dont know how I did that for 3 years. My old Crapsman was faster at cutting it than my 154, but it bit the dust.

In all honesty, Id just invest the money in a Zero turn. Lifes too short to waste it mowing the lawn.
 
I mow 11 acres every week during mowing season. I mow about an acre around the house and all the trees and fence line with my cub. Then do the large part with an H and a belly mower. I hear people talk about how tall grass slows their cub down. I have not had a problem with that. Love the cub.
 
Around here you can buy larger tractor (Super A, B or C) with belly mower for less money than a Cub. Is your land level? Cub will struggle if you have any slopes to mow. I'm a Farmall guy, but I see some good prices on Allis Chalmers B and C tractors with belly mowers. These tractors have good horse power. Also, a tractor with narrow front wheel spacing basically is a "zero turn".
 
(quoted from post at 09:15:54 02/19/20) I enjoy my Cubs. A 59 inch mower does great till the grass gets very tall, then its first gear. It's easy to get Ms. Window to cut the grass too. She thinks it's cute.lol The hydraulic lift is a big plus. Snow plows are easy to find, but a pain to swap off the mower. Enough grass talk, lets see the Mopar
Click to expand...
mvphoto49562.jpg
 
My Dad bought a Cub Lo-Boy the same week I bought my 982 Cub Cadet. Both had about 50 inch mowing decks. I paid more but I still have the 982 and Dad only kept the LoBoy 2-3 years. He bought a 154 that was in better shape, mowed nice, but the live PTO clutch failed, cost $400 to rebuild.

I mow 2.3 acres, have something around 100 trees and bushes. I bought a Cub Cadet Tank zero turn 4 years ago. First time I mowed with it my mow time went from 4 hours with the 982 to 2-1/2 hours. I've done some pruning, have mowed in 2 hours and 5 or 10 minutes several times. Want to prune more and see if I can get down to 1-1/2 hrs. The Onan engine in the 982 does NOT have a great reputation, the 27 hp Kawasaki in the Tank is a great engine. The Kawi runs the 54 inch deck great, and the zero turn deck mows so much nicer than the older garden tractor mower decks. I also have a Cub Cadet 70 and 72 with IH 38" 3-blade decks. The Zero Turn mows SO much better, and if to can't mow for a day or two due to rain, NO Problem. And the zero turn burns over a half gallon less mowing my lawn. 3-1/2 gal vs 4 gal with the 982.

I'd look for a slightly used commercial grade zero turn mower. I wish I had got mine 25 years ago! If you want a little tractor, By ALL means buy one, an A, B, C, even an H or M FARMALL. I have a 1954 Farmall Super H and a '51 M, both have loaders, Super H is my #1 snow mover, M gets some of the bigger landscaping or brush removal projects.
 
For that size yard, if you could find an old Case 448, 446 (the one I had was bullet proof) or a JD 318 in good shape you would be happy. I traded my 446 for a Kubota B7200 HST 22 years ago, now that's a tractor. Probably overkill for 1 acre, but it will last you a lifetime. Mines a 92 that I bought used in 98. Nothing but oil, filters, and one fan belt. My 446 (16hp) had a 48" deck and it took a little over 3 gallons of gas to cut 3 acres. My Kubota (16hp) has a 60" deck and it will mow the same grass 3 times on 3 gallons of diesel.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. Although, I think I am more confused now than I was before I asked the question, LOL.

I feel I received enough information to understand that what I really want isn't the best for my situation, but that I will likely enjoy having it more than I thought I would.

I started falling for Case garden tractors when I realized they were hydraulic, not hydrostatic...and was super convenient to run like a log splitter right from the PTO; so I'm leaning that way a bit.

But I've always wanted a Cub or Cub Cadet after researching them as a kid when my dad said that's what he was going to buy, and ended up with a Ranch King "cuz he can buy 3 of them for the cost of the Cub Cadet, and didn't want the maintenance of something older" Well, I ended up working on it after 90 days...and about every month of mowing season.

Now I'm wondering if I should get a small Toro tractor or something to mow the tight areas and still go with a loboy, cub, or slightly bigger for the more open areas, just for the cool factor of having it. While I have the four wheeler with a 48" plow, I think It'd take a while to plow my entire U shaped driveway, so maybe a bit bigger tractor like an A or B could handle it faster.

Still just so lost. Some of you say you wouldn't want anything else, but the other half seem to prefer nearly anything besides the small-mid tractor.
 

Have you considered a finish mower for your atv?
I had one on a honda rancher, front mounted deck. Worked good and I could trim real close to and shove it under untrimmed trees and bushes.
Most are trailing types like a Swisher.
 
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