Coming Back to the Family (Maybe)

R

Rocketman Two

Member
Good evening!

Originally registered as "Rocketman", I worked with "Teacher" (Dan England) and "Rudi" to help develop Rudi's original and then restructured website. Dan would mail me original implement manuals and I would scan each page and forward to Rudi to compress and assemble for posting. I sold my '48 to another board member around 25 years ago. My then 8 year old daughter cried her eyes out when it went down the road.

I was in NJ then and the Cub was more of a toy. I did fit a landscape rake on it and used it to grade my yard for sod. Fast forward, I am retired now and in the process of building a home in SC with a couple of acres of "grass". I still own my 46 year old zero turn, walk behind mower that I bought new for $1200. The tendons in my hands and arms are shot! I can't get myself to spend $7-8k on a commercial zero turn mower and am investigating the feasibility of another Cub. I am super rusty on the knowledge I once had and I hope y'all can help me.......................

There are about 12 Cubs within 20 minutes of where I am renting in NC while the house is being built. How reasonable is it to use a Cub for mowing 2 acres? I do not need a bush hog, just a finish mower. I am guessing that a belly mower would be the easiest to build. Is that correct? To run a belly mower, I am sure I need a rear PTO to drive the mower and hydraulics to raise and low the unit. Is bracketry unique for a mower, and if so what specifically should I be looking for? Is there a brand and model of mower you want to recommend?

I don't think a pull behind mower with work with a Cub because of the PTO setup. True? I don't want a pull behing mower with its own engines to turn the blades.

Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you
 
Welcome back to the Cub world! Where are you in North Carolina? I'm in Chapel Hill, and first I would like to thank you for all the scanning you did, because I use the information all the time!! 🫡

I have five cubs, three with Woods 42 belly mowers, one with a Woods 59 belly mower, and one with a Mott flail belly mower.
The Woods 42 mowers will mow just about anything, since they are basically bush mowers. The 59 does a nice clean job, as does the flail mower.

If you're doing a "yard", you might prefer turf tires... I have two with turf tires and I like them. I don't do any plowing or disking or planting of any kind... Only mowing!

Let me know if you need a hand with something if you're nearby. And again welcome back! 🙂
 
The Woods RM59 is a pull behind that uses the Cub PTO for power. It will be much harder to find than a belly mower. When looking at Cubs, I'd try and find one with the mower mounted so you could drive the Cub and see how it mows.
 
Hi,
Below is a picture of a Woods 42 Mower, made for Cubs with a Fast Hitch. :)
 

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I mow 10 acres with a cub so 2 should be easy but I would look for a newer yellow cub as they have different steering ratio, easier on those old hands, almost like power steering plus they are 12 volt, 1964 and up
 
X2 on the steering ratio. The big steering wheel helps on the older cubs.
I only mow about 2 acres with a 65 Loboy and a woods 59. Soooo relaxing vs the high intensity zero turn game.
Takes me a bit over an hour.
 
Great info guys! Thank you!

I was considering the turf tires and 12v conversion, if required. Ours was original with 6v, generator and magneto.

Dale, I'm currently in Hillsborough, staying near our son in Mebane (up next to Prospect Hill on 14 acres). I'd love to get together. I'll try to PM you my info.

I mentioned the possibility of another Cub to our daughter and she got so exitied that she wants one too!
 
Hi,
Below is a picture of a Woods 42 Mower, made for Cubs with a Fast Hitch. :)
Click to expand...

I remember how hard it was to get someone to part with a fast hitch! Either buy one with it or forget it..........

I had to fabricate a way to mount the rake. The drawings are on Rudi's old website labeled "Johns Landscape Rake".
 
There is an older offset Loboy near me on fb with fast hitch and all the implements. $2500….CFO nixed the acquisition.
 
Welcome back and thank you for your past contributions.
I've been using an all original '48 with a hand lift and a Woods 59 to mow my 5 acres for 30+ yrs and it does a great job. Basically it's just an over sized riding mower. In 30 yrs l've gone through 4 sets of blades and 3 belts (1 was my fault).
The only issue l could think of is how many trees, shrubs etc that you have to mow around since the Cub's turning radius isn't real tight. 2/3 of my acreage is an old hay field, so no issue for me. I use a push mower up against the house, and to get tight around objects.

Good luck with your search
 
Hi,
IH changed the Cubs to 12 volts during 1964, at Cub serial number 224401, so there are some 1964 Cubs made before that number that are 6 volts. :)
 
k hutchins said:
Welcome back and thank you for your past contributions.
I've been using an all original '48 with a hand lift and a Woods 59 to mow my 5 acres for 30+ yrs and it does a great job. Basically it's just an over sized riding mower. In 30 yrs l've gone through 4 sets of blades and 3 belts (1 was my fault).
The only issue l could think of is how many trees, shrubs etc that you have to mow around since the Cub's turning radius isn't real tight. 2/3 of my acreage is an old hay field, so no issue for me. I use a push mower up against the house, and to get tight around objects.

Good luck with your search
Click to expand...
The house is being built on farmland. There are NO trees. That being said, I have ordered 100 pine trees to create a barrier at the back of the property. I would "trim" with the old zero turn around the house and use the Cub for the bulk of it.
Glen said:
Hi,
IH changed the Cubs to 12 volts during 1964, at Cub serial number 224401, so there are some 1964 Cubs made before that number that are 6 volts. :)
Click to expand...
TY
Not terribly concerned whether it is 6v or 12v unless someone advises otherwise
 
The Woods 59 belly mower seems to be the most common of the finish mowers for Cubs. They seem to pop up occasionally for reasonable prices but make sure you get all of the brackets, pulleys etc. They come with a smaller pto pulley than the standard Cub pulley. A lot of times people forget to include them with the mower. The other poster is probably right in saying just get a cub that already has a woods mower installed. I mowed with one for a few years and when set up correctly they do a nice job. They can mow a lot of grass on a small amount of gas.
 
So, I spent a few hours with forum member Dale Finch today. I was able to see the five Cubs with various mower configurations. The knowledge that was shared was beyond belief. Since my '48 was really a toy, and probably never run 20 hours total, there was never anything to fix. I probably remembered about 75 percent of the mechanicals and learned a ton about mower setups. I took pictures of the Woods 59 belly set-up, including all bracketry in case I have to buy a mower separately.

All of the comments thus far have been spot on, so thank you all for that!

Once we get settled in the new house, I will carry on. I have far too much stuff to deal with already sitting in storage! I'm sure I will have more questions later.

Thank you so much Dale!
 
I know there are some on here that will disagree with me, but l tend to be a bit of a traditionalist. If you can find one that is in good shape, l prefer the older models with a magneto. Nothing worse than going out to work and find out your battery is dead. At least with a well tuned mag you can just throw your crank in and you're off and running. I also work with handlifts on both of my '48s, just because that's what they had and l've never known anything different. It's never been an issue, even when l was 10 and dad taught me to cultivate.

Good luck with your build and search. We're here if you need us.
 
I have inherited these two, a '49 and '59. Dad bought the '49 in 1960 for his business. We used to switch between a 4' Mott and the plow. I learned to drive with this one. It eventually came home to cut grass and plow. In '88 dad bought the LoBoy with a 59 Woods to cut grass and has done so ever since. It does a better finish job than the Mott but you cannot let the length of the grass get away from you. Slower than a zero turn but rides so much smoother. Easy on gas too - 3 years ago I got a boat with 28 gallons of 6 year old rec fuel. I mix it 50/50 with new and add Marvel. From May through September I mow a couple of acres every week and still have around 5 gallons left.


Our Cubs.jpg
 
I’d imagine the Cub just doesn’t have the HP to cut through heavy grass. I wouldn’t let that happen anyway, but good to know.
 
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