more discussion on towing/wagons

[Cruiser]

I’ve been thinking about Jill’s post asking “what will my cub tow?” and the various responses to it. Interesting how the answers vary from “not much” to a “6,000 pound boat trailer”. Obviously, the issue isn’t what can it tow but rather what is a reasonable load under various conditions. On flat railroad tracks, with a chain around the coupler a Cub could easily pull an empty freight car weighing 40 to 50 tons (two men can do the same thing)! That is a lot different than pulling wagons on the hilly farm. I noticed Rudi’s log wagon is designed with 4 wheels that are relatively small and a tongue so that the Cub is simply pulling the wagon. I have a small dump trailer that is a single axle centered under the trailer and when the trailer is loaded forward there is weight on the cub’s hitch. I built up the sides with ¾ plywood to be able to haul lighter bulkier things but the combination makes a great “woods tractor” where I can get back on the 4-wheeler trails to load firewood.
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n71/ ... Cub016.jpg
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n71/ ... Cub022.jpg

I’m curious to see other’s ideas about the most practical kind of trailer for various tasks. In other words discuss advantages or disadvantages of putting a little weight on the drawbar for increased traction versus pulling with no tongue weight like Rudi’s log wagon. My setup has no difficulty with a load of wood as long as slopes are not more than about 10%. You can see from the photo here
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n71/ ... day053.jpg
that when pulling up a graveled slope with patio doors the cub wouldn’t do it—it would just spin the tires—so I added a 4 wheel drive ATV to get it up the hill safely.

I’m curious to see photos of the various wagons you all use and what you like or don’t like about their designs.

[Eugene]

I have an old 2 wheeled homemade trailer. I keep the towed weight under 500 to 600 lbs on any type of incline. I live in Ozark hill country. Stopping and controlling the Cub, going down hill, is a problem with much of a load.

I use the trailer behind the Cub for general farm work. Fencing materials, picking up rocks, hauling chainsaws, fuel, tools, gardening supplies, etc. If I am going to load the trailer up with rocks, a ton or so, I use a bigger tractor.

Not sure why your Cub would "spin tires" on a gravel road with a light trailer load. Unless all of the weight was on the rear of the trailer.

I'm using creek gravel as a road surface. The Cub rear tires will slip if one of the rocks roll under the tire. The Cub rears slip much more than the larger tractors.

Eugene

[Cecil]

I pull full haywagons around the property but its pretty flat. I tried to take one to a remote barn the other day up a hill. Good thing the brakes are new. Even then I couldn't stop it from going backwards. I did slow it down enought so that I could control it. Whew was I lucky.

[evielboweviel]

we had an old horse drawn manure spreader when I was young. Grandpa took the front wheels off and used a tree for a tongue. The cub just spun the wheels when it was four wheeled pulled just fine as a two wheeler. loaded that spreader as full as we could by hand and hauled it out. When we loaded the droppping pit out of the chiocken house on it there was a good load on the cub. Cub never was much good with loaded hay wagons or loads of corn.
Ron

[Rudi]

Cruizer:

My Log Wagon project is designed specifically to haul 4 foot logs out of the bush. It is not designed to cart firewood. For that I use a much larger trailer.. it is a home brew..uses 13" rims from an old Austin Healey.. something like that.. solid maple beams for the a-frame and a big old wooden box.. holds about 1/3 cord of hardwood.. The Cub also handles the McCormick-Deering 100 Manure Spreader and the Massey-Harris spreader fully loaded, so I have no worries for when I actually go up the road to get the manure. Just got to make sure that you have good brakes.. cause you don't want to roll back down the hill....

My Massey-Harris #1 Potato Digger first came to me with the front dolly section as in the brochure. Ellie could not even move it unless it was on flat terrain. Once the dolly and extra weight was removed, Ellie could pull the Digger all day long harvesting taters with no problem.

So, weight on the drawbar is an ideal scenario, but in some cases, the opposite is true. For the Log Wagon, I needed to make sure tha I could haul a fair amount of wood with no problems hooked up to Ellie.

[Jim Becker]

You can see from the photo here
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n71/ ... day053.jpg
that when pulling up a graveled slope with patio doors the cub wouldn’t do it—it would just spin the tires—so I added a 4 wheel drive ATV to get it up the hill safely.

I STRONGLY recommend that you not pull your Cub from the front axle again. You could end up with your tractor in 2 pieces. Always run your chain or strap back to the drawbar.

Someday when you are already in a bad mood, you may want to give your engine block a close inspection and see if this warning is already too late.

['Country' Elliott]

Hey "Cruiser"...Another risk you take (When pullin' your Cub from the front axel and not from the drawbar) is cracking, or breaking the torque tube Our FRIEND CALVIN from West Virginia broke his torque tube in half by tryin' to PUSH TOO MUCH DIRT with his front-mounted Cub plow

ALWAYS...ALWAYS...ALWAYS PULL FROM THE DRAWBAR. AND...NEVER PUSH ANYTHING with your Cub...unless your pushing devise is mounted to your Cub's drawbar and frame (like a front-mounted snowplow would be AND, even then, don't try to push too much weight. Cubs are strong, little machines, but they have their limitations. Trying to "see how much more" a CUB WILL DO usually ends in an UNSAFE situation

[WKPoor]

The Cub pulled this ok but I was on flat ground and would not have taken it far. This wagon pulls easy. A trailer with a similar load probably would have been too much for the Cub.

[George Willer]

Someday when you are already in a bad mood, you may want to give your engine block a close inspection and see if this warning is already too late.

I hope you don't find damage here. This is the weakest area.

[Cruiser]

Wow WK--that is one big load of firewood! And thanks George for the warning about not pulling on the front axle--I won't do that again. I figured with the tow strap being a little "springy" compared to a chain and the smooth torque from the 4-wheeler it probably would be OK. Most damage comes from "shock loads" which I didn't subject to cub to but I won't argue with the experts--no more pulling from the front! Thanks guys, I love this forum and like I said earlier I've been lurking for 3+ years before coming out of the woodwork.