149 ?

[Rob Achenbach]

As I currently have a great 129, have been considering picking up a 149 project as I’m interested in the hydraulic aspect. The 129 manual handle for the mower deck is no issue as once your OK with the height, you no longer need to fiddle with it. Lifting and lowering the plow and snowblower are a different and heavy issue at times. I’m guessing on a 149, the hydraulics only control the deck height. Is it possible to control the lift on the snowblower or blade? Do new connections need to be installed on the front? Do other models have this built in? Thx.

 

[dschwandt]

For snow removal equipment all you need is the correct lift rod for whatever implement you are using whether it be a snow plow or a thrower. Whoever you purchase these from should include the lift rod.
Blades and throwers incorporate the same quick attach system as the mower mule drive. Be sure the snow blade and/or thrower that you get are for the wide frame units and not a narrow frame.

For rear mounted implements a three point lift setup is required and there are a few more parts involved for it's correct installation.

 

[danderson]

If you already have a plow and thrower for your 129 they will fit on a 149.

 

[Rob Achenbach]

Thank you. So let me clarify just a bit. For the snowblower I do have the correct lift rod and for the plow, I’m currently using some braided wire rope. Both work rather well for different purposes and amounts of snow. For either of these front implements however, can the hydraulics of a 149 be attached to lift and/or lower either of these? Sorry for the confusion and thank you.

 

[bwstevens]

The 149 uses the same pin and location as the manual lift handle . Yes it is a mechanically weak design compared to a cylinder directly on the plow a frame.

 

[dschwandt]

The hydraulic lift apparatus on the 149, as well as the 169 and 14 & 16 HP QL's, is under the tunnel cover and is already setup to lift and lower any attachment you may wish to use, front or rear and has built in float mechanism as well.
All you need is the correct lift rod for your front attachment.

 

[Rob Achenbach]

Got it. Thank you. Would it possible to add the hydraulic lift apparatus to a 129 or would it be to underpowered for that? Or simply not cost effective rather than opting for a 149 or similar?

 

[snicklas]

On your current 129, the manual lift handle attaches to the rock shaft beside your right foot as you sit on the tractor.

On the 149, there is a triangular shaped plate that is on this rock shaft, next to your right foot. There is a hole in this triangular plate the lift rod attaches to, just like the hole in the front of your manual handle.

Here is a picture of my 1450 with the blade attached. This is the exact same way a 149 is.

 

[snicklas]

Got it. Thank you. Would it possible to add the hydraulic lift apparatus to a 129 or would it be to underpowered for that? Or simply not cost effective rather than opting for a 149 or similar?

You could add the lift to the 129, but you would have to swap out the hydro pump, as the 129 uses an non-ported pump with the manual lift. The ones with a hydraulic lift use a ported pump. It's a "bolt on" swap out, but you would need to split the tractor to swap out the pump. My opinion would be, if the 149 is affordable, and you have the room, pick it up. Make it the "snow moving tractor" and let the 129 be the mower tractor. I've only had experience with 1 manual lift cub, and that was a 124 we only used for mowing. All the other cubs we have are hydro's with hydraulic lift. Well, my new CC ZTR has a manual lift, but you push it with your foot, and it is fairly easy, but you don't move the deck much on it...

45 years ago, Dad first started in the Cub world with a 105, blade, deck, plow and tiller. I think he used it 1 or 2 seasons, and he traded it (in early 1978) on a 149, because of the tiller. We still have that 149 (it's the dedicated snow blade tractor now), but now it has 11 or 12 friends......

 

[jkoenig]

Rob,

Hydraulic lift was an option on 129s. Power is not a problem. The hydros have ports to connect the lines to the lift cylinder and may be referred to here as ported hydros. Yours may not have these ports, or they may be plugged. If they are plugged, contact a reseller such as R.F. Houtz (conveniently just a click away in a box at the top of the page) to acquire the needed parts to convert. A trip to the Cub Cadet parts lookup would be worthwhile to study this. If your hydro is not ported, you can swap in a ported hydro unit.

signed,
The Slower Responder