What’s the correct tire/wheel size for high flotation turf fronts? ‘49 Cub.

AAcub

AAcub

Active member
Got an incredible deal on rear balloon 13.6-16 turf tires & wheels this week. I’m guessing they’re from a 154, cub LoBoy or similar, and I’d like to find a suitable front turf tire & wheel combination before summer. My cub’s ribbed fronts & ‘farm’ tread rears really tear the yard up when it’s wet.

Is the 4.00-12 front wheel from the 154 etc. the correct size? Any off label such as Deere, Case, Kubota etc. an appropriate tire size & bolt spacing? Are there any Cub Cadet lawn tractor sizes that will bolt right up to my ‘49 cub? Much like shopping for implements, the name CUB unfortunately gets used where it’s not pertinent, and many seller’s photos appear to be a correct size & bolt pattern. Just want to check with the experts.

Thanks in advance,

Tom
 

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If the centers are welded to the rims they're likely from a 154/185/184. Some 154's had a 12 inch one piece hub and rim and others had a conventional hub and bolted wheel which used a smaller but wider "turf type" tire on the front. This made a matching set for the rears like you have. Hamilton Bob's might have something like what you would need for this type setup. JMHO Stan
 

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Thanks Stan, for the concise answer. My ‘new’ rears are welded, like you’ve described. Locally there are two sets of fronts available…
One set is 23 X 8.5 X 12, the other is 23 X 10.5 X 12.
Both sets priced at a mere $20 a pair

Five lug, with a large center opening that looks like the cub’s hub would fit through. Plus to me they look exactly like the ones on the 154’s wheels pictured above.

For $20 it’s worth a shot, even if the listing says ‘Cub Cadet’
 

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Hi,
Below are pages from the Cub 154 LoBoy parts manual, showing the front and rear wheel and tire sizes used on a 154.
https://farmallcub.club/rudi/farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.cleancomputes.com/Cub/Number Series Cubs/Cub-154 Lo-Boy/TC-131 Parts Catalog Revision 8/Wheels and Wheel Weights/Page 02.jpg

It looks like the front tires you found are bigger and wider than in the parts manual.
It looks like they have mistakes in the manual, the numbers for the items in the descriptions, on the right side of the page, under the picture should be 1, 2, 3.

At the bottom of this page, it shows spacers used with the rear wheels. I don't know if the wide wheels and tires fit on the rear of the Cub without the spacers.
 
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AAcub said:
Thanks Stan, for the concise answer. My ‘new’ rears are welded, like you’ve described. Locally there are two sets of fronts available…
One set is 23 X 8.5 X 12, the other is 23 X 10.5 X 12.
Both sets priced at a mere $20 a pair

Five lug, with a large center opening that looks like the cub’s hub would fit through. Plus to me they look exactly like the ones on the 154’s wheels pictured above.

For $20 it’s worth a shot, even if the listing says ‘Cub Cadet’
Click to expand...
My info indicates that those rims came from a CC Lawn & Garden tractor. I have a couple of them. They were intended to be mounted as tubeless and the valve stem location is close to the outside of the edge of the rim. A tube will not work unless you relocate the hole closer to the center line of the rim. As Glen mentioned there also might be problems with the location of the center not allowing the clearance needed for the spindle without a spacer. The tires (new 4 ply) are about $120 for the pair. I just put a couple on my JD 850, JMHO Stan
EDIT 2: Switching to 24 inch turf tires on the rear and a 4:50/5:00 12 inch implement tire on the front would give a smoother tread for your lawn and be a lot less work and trouble JMHO. You can usually find the 24 inch turf treads on the VINE Classified forum. Stan
 
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I used the wide tires on a loboy and on a cub that had a ih1000 loader. On turf I do not really notice much of a difference in steering while cutting grass. 75% of my property is floodplain and the ground is soft much of the year. I had to experiment with wide turf floatation tires
 
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All you need is a set of rear tires and wheels from most any garden tractor. 23 x 8.50 x 12 is a very popular size and the wheels will bolt right on. Those balloon tires on the rear may be a different story, though. You might have to give up the fenders to fit them on. It’s been done, though.
 
First off, thank you to everyone who replied. I really appreciate the time it takes, and I’m humbled by this group’s knowledge.

It’s funny how much you don’t know, even after interacting with cubs for years.

I never would have guessed of the possibility of needing spacers for the rear balloon tires, but with hindsight it seems so obvious. Now I know why I see so many cubs with the ‘skinny’ turf rears.
I’m not crazy about the idea of running without fenders.

There are several people in my area, Harrisburg PA, parting 154s and cub lowboys. Hopefully digging up rear spacers is less daunting than an initial search.
During my brief search, while waiting for my next flight, it seems that original spacers are quite coveted by the guys wanting to run dual rear tires, and various aftermarket products don’t hold up very long.

Thanks again everyone.

Tom
 
Yes, the spacers are hard to find and sellers are quite proud of them. I did see a pair on FB Marketplace, a while back, that were pretty reasonable but I’m sure they were likely grabbed pretty quickly.
 
Has anyone had eyes on the spacers, part #1 on the schematic provided by Glen?
I’m curious what the OE loboy spacer’s width is. The aftermarket pieces are 2” wide, any thoughts if this enough? Another company makes 3” and up spacers, but they’re quite expensive.

Tom
 

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You are trying to put parts from 2 different models of tractors together, so the IH manuals have nothing to say about what will fit.
You may need to remove 1 rear wheel and tire from the Cub, and stand the wide wheel and tire up in its place, with it spaced out from the fender a distance that you like, and measure what thickness of spacer it needs to bolt it on the hub.
It's better to take off 1 rear wheel at a time, so 1 rear wheel is on the Cub. Cubs are heavier on the left side, and can tip over removing too much weight from the right side.
You can put wooden wedges at the front axle pivot. You would need to make the wedges. Hammer them in tight. Below is a picture of wedges, they don't need to be made at as much of an angle. :)
 

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I can't answer your question but I can say the number series one piece rims with 8.3 x 24 tires need a spacer of about 2 inches to connect to the hub on a FCub. Glen's suggestion is about the only way you're going to get an accurate spacer length for your situation. The FCub parts list shows a spacer for use with a Cub LoBoy equipped with duals and a 105 mower but does not give any description, only lists the IH part number. JMHO Stan
 
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The moment I got home from my trip this morning, I went down to my basement laboratory to do a quick look-see.

Although they’re a little sticky outie, no clearance issues whatsoever. In fact I had to look at photos on the interweb to insure I hadn’t installed them backwards.
 

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I think most of the earlier comments on clearance and spacers were based on the assumption that you wanted them to stick out no more than needed and that to do so you would mount them reversed from what you did.
 
I don't know if you want the Cub to be as wide as it looks like it will be with the tires mounted that way.
It looks like the wheel is too small a diameter to fit over the upper part of the final drive, if the wheel was turned 1/2 turn around, but it could be the picture making it look that way.
If you don't want it so wide, you will need to turn the wheels around, and see if spacers will work.
Or buy the 8.3" x 24" turf tires that Cubs use, on the regular Cub rims. :)
 
Gary Dotson said:
Yes, the spacers are hard to find and sellers are quite proud of them. I did see a pair on FB Marketplace, a while back, that were pretty reasonable but I’m sure they were likely grabbed pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
There is a set still on eBay for $500.00. The older style for the F-Cub. The spacers for a 154,185,184 are usually a little cheaper.
 
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