Cub 149 Backhoe

fatjay · #1 03-12-2014, 11:32 AM

I grew up on a cub, they are mean mowers and pullers. Lately i've been put in the market for a backhoe, and found cub 149 in my price range with loader and backhoe. That got me wondering, can that little 14hp really drive a hoe in my dirt? It has an 8gph pump on it and is a PF design I'm told.

I found a youtube of a guy with a 149 and hoe and digging his engine bogged hard when he dug, and hte dirt didn't seem that packed. I don't expect to get the ability of a case 580 out of it, but could it go through roots of bushes and such? I have a good deal of dirt to dig and there is the remainder of bushes that I cut out in there. Also, we have red clay about 18" below the brown dirt.

Now, assuming I go forward throwing caution into the wind and get this little hoe and it does what i need, but in 3 years I have a bigger project and it struggles, is there a more powerful engine that I can put on it that would be able to drive the pump better without major welding? And if not, is there a horizontal shaft 20-28hp engine that will fit between the loader arms?

CADplans · #2 03-12-2014, 12:02 PM

It ain't the HP, it is the right design mix of pump and cylinder size.

Here is a video of some of mine that operate on as little as 5 HP;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTjuozhzwBc

10 HP can do anything I want to do!!

ACecil · #3 03-12-2014, 02:11 PM

Welcome to OCC! Keep us updated on your 149 backhoe.

fatjay · #4 03-12-2014, 03:54 PM

Thank you for hte info. Seems I have some research to do. If the engine bogs when digging heavy things, it has the wrong cylinder/pump size mix?

Thanks for the welcome, I love cubs, just don't currently own one. Have a 69, 71, and 73 new holland s-14's with snowblower, plows, mower decks, tillers, and cabs, an MTD with plow, and white with mower and bagger.

Had a huge 3 trunk pine come down, and I'm trying to grade my back yard and get rid of a great deal of old bushes that are on the one hill. Plus I need to build a new garage and dig a driveway, move the shed, put in a pavilion in, take down an old garage. It's going to be a busy summer.

Cubcrazy · #5 03-12-2014, 04:25 PM

Welcome to OCC! Where about in PA are you?

Yosemite Sam · #6 03-12-2014, 09:46 PM

Keep in mind this is a Cub Cadet, it simply won't dig like a full size hoe. Partly due to its weight, hp and bucket size.

However, once you learn its limitations, it will do good work for you.

If the price is right, buy it. You can change the cylinder or pump later if you need to.

mmzullo · #7 03-13-2014, 03:45 PM

I think a 8 gpm pump is too much for a 14 hp thats why its bogging down when you dig. But as said in previous post you have to know the limitation of the machine. If it had a 4 or 6 gpm pump it would work slower and not bog down.

But it's better then digging by hand!

fatjay · #8 03-14-2014, 12:51 PM

Yeah, I don't expect it to perform like a giant machine, I just don't want it to perform poorly either.

I actually just watched a 1953 ford jubilee commercial that gave a good explanation of how the hydraulic systems work, so that makes more sense in my head now.

I'm in eastern PA.

I gotta think about this, it's more than I want to spend. Nice machine, just not sure it's worth that much to me.

sawdustdad · #9 03-14-2014, 06:42 PM

My BX has a 23hp diesel, and a 12 inch bucket on the backhoe. The limitation is the weight. It weighs almost 2000 lbs with the loader and BH on it, and the backhoe simply picks the whole rig up when it hits something too big or dense. With a 14 hp engine, yours should do just as well, but at half speed. The limit will be the weight of the rig.