1440 gets a bagger
 

A few weeks ago I found a bagger setup by the road with a free sign on it. I think it is off a newer Cub Cadet LT since the guy had one for sale around the same time. I picked it up, hoping it would be similar enough to make it work on my 1440. I have wanted a bagger for a while, but didn’t need one badly enough to spend a lot of money on one. We’re at the peak of leaf season, so last week I figured I better get started on mounting it.

Looking at the parts lookup, it is very similar to the correct one for my tractor, besides the bracket that attaches it to the back of the tractor, and the shape of the tube that connects to the deck. The newer ones have brackets that bolt onto the sides of the frame, whereas the one for my tractor bolts into the 2 threaded holes in the rear hitch plate. I didn’t want to modify anything until I was sure it was going to work, so it could still be used on the right tractor if I couldn’t use it. My dad gave me a piece of 1/2” square tubing he had left over from a project to use on this. I cut 3 pieces off 9” long, drilled a few holes, stacked them, and bolted them between the bracket and the tractor. I was able to heat the end of the tube and bend it enough to get it to fit. There is a small gap on the back, I put a few pieces of gorilla tape over it to try it, but I will have to come up with a permanent solution. I’m thinking I could bend a thin piece of metal to fit the discharge opening, then rivet it to the plastic. I have to make a bracket to mount the tube too, I kind of ran out of time and wanted to use it over the weekend so that’s only zip tied on for now.

I tried it out over the weekend, it works good. I’m sure a fan assisted bagger would be much better, but this beats raking, and it was free. We had a lot of leaves, I was out there most of the day Saturday, and a few hours on Sunday too. It fills up quick, I probably dumped it at least 30 times between the 2 days. I had some issues with the tube plugging up where the leaves were really heavy, but for the most part it worked really good. This was the most fun I ever had cleaning up leaves.

Don't worry.....You'll get to the point where you hate even thinking about having to use it!!LOL:biggrin2:

A triple bagger for free? Very nice!

Sometimes you have to make a bagger blade if it isn't offered. I've done this on Craftsman decks, but it also applies to Cubs. You may need a little more oomph since the blades on Cubs are generally beefier.

Stock blade on a 46" deck. No bagger blade offered.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Stock sail height.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Place in vice, heat with torch, bend with a large tool.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Modified height.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Comparison of stock vs. modified.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

This worked really well at keeping the chute from clogging. Even with damp grass and/or leaves. Might be worth trying if you are constantly clogging the chute.

That’s ok, it just means it’s time to upgrade. :biggrin2:
Thanks for pointing that out. I never thought about needing different blades. This tractor needs new blades anyway, so I will see what I can find.