[TiredDeere210]

I was watching sone garden travel pulling videos on the old youtube, and thought it would be cool to have a pulling tractor. Then I got to thinking maybe I could build by 1970 110 into a puller. I already have a nice set of bar tires.

What kind of work would it take? Is a belt drive tractor any good for pulling, or will I get spanked by those cub guys? Can I do it with a very low budget?

 

[MiniHomesteader]

Most people prefer the cub clutch over a belt drive, but they also refer to the variator handle as a cheater stick…

 

[tmac58star]

I believe the model 208 was gear drive with clutch and no variator, but was belt driven...I think. Don't know anything about its belts, or it's potential as a puller though. Others may chime in on that.

 

[TiredDeere210]

It just had a double pulley in place of the variator.

 

[timcasbolt]

Most people prefer the cub clutch over a belt drive, but they also refer to the variator handle as a cheater stick…

You can make or buy an aluminum clutch disk for a cub cadet. Also, you can buy any spring rate you want for a 5/8" id. When that spring loaded pressure plate pushes the aluminum into the fixed pressure plate, you're moving. The hotter it gets, the better it grabs. I don't think the centrifugal design of a variator can compete with that. The weak spot is the rag joint, which could be replaced with a cv joint if you're serious about it.

 

[ed_lincoln]

Young guy that lived near me stuffed a 25hp Onan in a 212, I thought the transaxle would last about 5 minutes. His 9 year old kid does the driving. he has won several times. The dad got a Jd hood and a Allis Chalmers hoo0d from me and built Cub Cadet pullers with horizontal Vtwin hoped up Kohlers,nice aluminum wheels too.
Now the problem: The rich adult farmer is gitting beaten by these young fellows and crying his eyes out, The farmer has 2 Sears 1 with a HZ shaft 2cyl BS and the other a 2 cyl Kohler.
The Rich adult farmer brings a couple of Hopped up Olivers to pull with the big tractors and usually wins

 

[Scott W]

My son regularly beats cubs with his 216 in the "stock" class. Last weekend he was 1st in the 1000lb class and 2nd in the 1200 lb class losing by 2ft. There are tricks to make it work.

Good tires are critical for any puller as is weight distribution. Even being able to get to 1000 or 1200 lbs takes some work.

He does way better than I do trying to pull the 318 in the "hometown" class. The only weights allowed in that class are wheel weights so I never have enough traction. It has a P220 from a 420 in it.

 

[tmac58star]

Is that the clutch pedal on the right fender pan or the throttle?

 

[ed_lincoln]

Pullers have to have a foot throttle incase the driver falls off no hand throttle.

 

[joeq]

Pullers have to have a foot throttle incase the driver falls off no hand throttle.

OMG. The safety police are everywhere. Curious how often drivers of a lawn tractor have fallin off, and the machine continues to tow the weight, into a crowd of handy capped students, on a field trip.

 

[tmac58star]

Kinda what I figured...now I'm gonna lobby for action pix or video. That 216 is awesome.
Like this:

 

[DEERE317]

OMG. The safety police are everywhere. Curious how often drivers of a lawn tractor have fallin off, and the machine continues to tow the weight, into a crowd of handy capped students, on a field trip.

I think the concern is the sled running the operator over due to bucking/bouncing them off during the initial part where there is a decent quantity of speed or if something breaks and bucks the operator off while the machine speeds off (as most pullers aren’t speed governed to my understanding). Almost every if not every safety rule/regulation is written in blood, someone (most likely many someone’s) got killed/seriously injured before anyone thought that saying whatever was being done is a bad idea.

 

[Fox Run Farms]

OMG. The safety police are everywhere. Curious how often drivers of a lawn tractor have fallin off, and the machine continues to tow the weight, into a crowd of handy capped students, on a field trip.

I dated a girl in my eariler years who's family garden tractor pulled. 2 times I ruffled some feathers. First I was on the phone with a buddy and said I was at a " lawn mower pull" 2nd there was a group of angry guys complaining other pullers didn't have removable steering wheels and it was a huge safety violation if there was a fire . I chimed in and said " if the lawn mower caught on fire wouldn't you just climb off?"...........I can see why the family didn't invite me to most events........

 

[tmac58star]

The locals still have a big commercial tractor pull here every year...haven't been since we moved here back in '14. Long ago and far away, when Ronnie Raygun was POTUS, I used to drive up and shoot the event with my Nikon film camera rig for the magazine I worked for...wet darkroom and handmade prints. Many of the rigs got the front end up & it stayed there through a "full pull."
I used to come up early and hang out and watch and shoot the horse teams pull too...one of my fav buds back then lived around here and raised Belgian draft mules...big as a Belgian horse, but lanky and with enormous ears. Quite a fellow...wish he was still around...Emri "Dan" Tatum, Pattonville, Tejas.