Loaders on Cubs

[kinelbor]

Im trying to figure out how bad loaders are on Cubs. This way I can see how I want to use mine. If you own or owned a loader did it break your cub? If it did how did it break? Thanks.

[Dale51]

I voted yes.
While I did not own the lowboy the loader was on I did load a lot of top soil and peat humas with it when I was a teenager working for the next
door neighbor who sold both buy the cubic yard.
It never broke the main tractor but I replaced both front spindles & I don't remember how many times I had to straighten or weld the tie rods but It was A lot before I replaced them & it started all over again.
The reason that I say I did it was I was also the mechanic.

[Rick Prentice]

I voted NO. I guess it all boils down to using common sense. The same common sense that we should be using in everything we do. Someone who walks through life with one foot dangling over the edge of a cliff is more likely to fall over than someone who chooses to walk a safe distance back. I think the CUBS are great LITTLE tractors and I want to use mine all the time, but if someone wants something done that's way to big of a job, they should maybe rent or borrow a lot bigger tractor. I'm sure mine could do the same job, but would take much longer. I repeat myself all the time at shows when someone makes a comment about how small and guttless the cubs are and can't do anything, I challenge them to grab a shovel and wheelborrow and I'll grab my backhoe cub, and we'll see who can dig and carry the most dirt, and I'll be smiling while they're sweating, guaranteed. I guess my final statement would be-----If your not a common sense person and able to sense the limitations, then I too would mount it on a bigger tractor, but you'll probably find a way to break that one too. I didn't intend to get anyone mad at me, just my own feelings about the cub and the enjoyment I get with using them for everything. Using another tractor just isn't the same!!!
Rick

[johnbron]

Hey Rick, I like your attitude and answer about common sense. I think common sense should be put on the endangered list of extinction.

[Jackman]

I sure wish I could vote but since I don't own a Cub w/loader I will just comment.... When I see a Cub w/loader I just can't not wonder what IH was thinking by just putting it on a Cub the front spindles and steering gear and narrow front tires must have been under lots of stress when moving a bucket load of anything heavyer than mulch, seems to me that the front axel could have been beefed up abit for the loader, that being said I still want one.....

[Dale51]

Rick,
Very Very well said.

PS:
I should have added in my post that when we were not around it was self service.
Never run a tractor before but tried to load my own.Sorry for breaking it.
Please let me know cost of repair & I will pay you.Should have known better.
That is about the way one note left on the tractor read!
He went in to the pile & did not boom up as he went in and she lifted the front end up & when he pushed the clutch or it stalled don't know which it came down hard and broke the left front spindle right off.
This was the IH 1000 loader & if the ole cub could get the traction she was noted for the above if you did not boom up as you went into the
pile.

[Lurker Carl]

An IH loader has been on my LoBoy for many years now with no ill effects. I use it knowing it is a farm tractor, not construction equipment. Rick's comments reflect my opinion close enough.

[Dale51]

Hey Rick, I like your attitude and answer about common sense. I think common sense should be put on the endangered list of extinction.

John,
With some of the younger generation it is extinct. But thank the lord not all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[allenlook]

Kind of interesting that the conventional wisdom is converse to the voting results...

Safety and caution (and apple pie) aside, and anecdotal evidence aside (I had a buddy whose buddy knows a guy who owned a Cub and accidentally Cub-Sawyer buzz-sawed it in half) - how many of us really have operated an IH-1000 or other loader on the Cub and done damage (*not* due to negligence because all Cubs can be broken due to carelessness with just about any implement)?

[George Willer]

Kind of interesting that the conventional wisdom is converse to the voting results...

I cheated and voted yes even though I've never owned a Cub loader. I have, however owned three Cubs with the front ears broken from the engine, and am sensitive to the issue. I HAVE seen Cubs with loaders with the ears broken, unknown to the owner.

A close look with an objective eye will show why they break.

Keep in mind that the weak spot in the Cubs follows the laws of physics and the voting results will follow the laws of opinion.

[Jim Becker]

Since I never owned a Cub loader, I didn't vote. My evidence is all anecdotal as well. Because Cub loaders are relatively rare, my sample size is pretty small too. However, this is what I have observed:

Looking at the Cubs with loaders that I have seen, if you exclude the ones on show tractors, those that belong to collectors, what you have left are the ones that had been used on a job by average operators. Among those tractors, every last one I have looked at has at least one casting somewhere on it that has been broken and welded.

[Rick Prentice]

I read your reply George--"I have, however owned three Cubs with the front ears broken from the engine, and am sensitive to the issue. I HAVE seen Cubs with loaders with the ears broken, unknown to the owner." Since you were the one who pointed the repaired ear out to me and I'm sure my cub never had a loader before it saw me, if I had to make an intelligent comment on why they break, I would have to say it's because the operator hooked a chain around the right side front axle and jerked backwards, or while moving backwards, hit something with the right front tire. I can see the weak point created while in a backwards motion especially. Just another .02 cents. Rick

[George Willer]

I read your reply George--"I have, however owned three Cubs with the front ears broken from the engine, and am sensitive to the issue. I HAVE seen Cubs with loaders with the ears broken, unknown to the owner." Since you were the one who pointed the repaired ear out to me and I'm sure my cub never had a loader before it saw me, if I had to make an intelligent comment on why they break, I would have to say it's because the operator hooked a chain around the right side front axle and jerked backwards, or while moving backwards, hit something with the right front tire. I can see the weak point created while in a backwards motion especially. Just another .02 cents. Rick

Rick,

You are quite right. Operator skill and common sense play a big part too in eliminating damage to the tractor. I think you will also agree that hitting something with the right (or left) wheel while in backward motion will be riskier when the weight of the loader and its' contents is added. I've always thought that the loader sub frame took most of the direct strain off the tractor, but does NOTHING to help the punishment the front end inflicts on the engine casting.

There's an old saying among pilots: There are two kinds of pilots... those who have made a gear up landing, and those who are going to!

I think the saying can be applied to loader Cubs too.

[Rick Prentice]

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. If there are hundreds of cubs out there that have ears repaired or replaced at one time, some or most of which have never seen a loader, is it really fair to blame the loader. I realize the fact that the chances are magnified, but the root problem is not the loaders fault, and that's why I really like mine alot and use it every chance I get. Rick

This is a fun topic, thanks Nik

[Rudi]

Nik and all:

I am not qualified to express an opinion on the loader portion of this questions although I would be tempted to vote yes partially and no more so. I like both George's thoughs on this and Rick's insight as well. I do not own a loader, but boy would I ever like too It would be really nice and of course would demand it's own Cub -- YEAH

However, I think that I would tend to agree on Rick's observations. If there is one thing that I have learned in slightly over a half century breathin, is this:

If a man can design something to work well within it's desgin limitations, there are ALWAYS a thousand more who can find ways to destroy it, by using it outside it's designed limitations.

The more I get to know these Cubs and their capabilities, the more I am beginning to understand exactly what these Cubs are capable of, which I can assure you not only surprising me, but is surprising a great many people in my neck of the woods.

Good rule of thumb - NEVER, EVER exceed your abilities...

by using common sense, good safety practices and some forethought, most accidents and most damage to our Cubs is entirely preventable.

I have seen my share of cracked ears already, and I have never even seen a Cub sized loader in NB or NS yet... so I have to imagine that most of this damage is Operator Error -- has to be. Also one must remember that anything as old as our Cubs are is going to get broke -- especially if we got out of our way to do so by not using common sense.