A Tandem Cub

[IHinIN]

Sounds like you’ve got plenty of dumping capacity. Have fun with the tile work. I kinda enjoy tiling but my knees always let me know they don’t enjoy it so much. Lol

[sawdustdad]

Originally Posted by IHinIN

Sounds like you’ve got plenty of dumping capacity. Have fun with the tile work. I kinda enjoy tiling but my knees always let me know they don’t enjoy it so much. Lol

Yeah, I think it can dump anything that will fit in the bed except, perhaps, lead bricks. I don't see any way to overload it with any common material.

I like tiling, too. Wood, metal, stone, it's all just Legos for grownups.

[sawdustdad]

Thought I'd follow up with another pic. Wife hauling some plants around the property. Actually have found this pretty handy for moving stuff from the house around to the workshop (especially tools from recent bathroom remodel).

[olds45512]

Originally Posted by sawdustdad

Thought I'd follow up with another pic. Wife hauling some plants around the property. Actually have found this pretty handy for moving stuff from the house around to the workshop (especially tools from recent bathroom remodel).

Glad it's working out for you. I'd like to build something similar one of these days.

Do you go on GT talk? There's a guy over there with the screen name tomanytoys that's a Cub guy and just finished remodeling his bathroom, just wondering if it's the same person.

[IHCubCadet147]

I just found this thread now. That's pretty cool. You did a great job!

[sawdustdad]

Originally Posted by olds45512

Glad it's working out for you. I'd like to build something similar one of these days.

Do you go on GT talk? There's a guy over there with the screen name tomanytoys that's a Cub guy and just finished remodeling his bathroom, just wondering if it's the same person.

Not me over there. But the name "Toomanytoys" is probably apropos for my situation.

[sawdustdad]

Just a couple parting comments for others thinking about something similar now that I've had a chance to use it some more. It's all about compromises between cost, build time/complexity, bed size/capacity, turning radius, and overall width (to fit through gates.)

My workshop is about 100 feet from the house and attached garage, so I am constantly moving stuff back and forth--tools (miter saw, saw horses, jobsite table saw, tile saw, etc) that I am using for various remodeling jobs. Lots of this stuff gets staged in the garage during the remodeling work then needs to go back to the workshop after the job is done. Used to use the truck, now I'm using this tandem cub as the truck often has lumber or other stuff in it.

Another advantage is this Cub will go right through a 4 foot gate when carrying landscaping stuff into the back yard. There is a truck gate but it's in the back and much more involved to get through. That's where my wife was headed in that picture with a couple large potted plants and a bag of potting soil. She has also adopted the bed as a potting bench which is a convenient height for repotting plants.

I wish I had extended the frame and moved both axles rearward about 6 inches. That would increase the turning radius, but it would increase the size of the bed which is quite limited on my build. I actually moved the seat forward a inch or so to maximize the bed size.

The two axles are 24 inches on center. I think that's about right. Further apart would increase "scrubbing" tires on turns. Still does it some as is.

I would have loved to have live axles rather than fixed. I've had a couple times where scaling a steep hill on sandy soil it's spun out and I had to back up and take another run up the hill. It's only been a problem on a steep hillside with very soft sandy soil, as we have here near the coast.

I looked for ways to mount the axles on springs, air bags, etc, but could not find anything I felt would fit. If someone else can solve that problem at reasonable cost, I'd love to see it.

The hydraulics worked out great and I really like the foot operated dump valve location. I'd do it exactly the same way if doing it again.

Hope that helps the next person think through the various issues of such a build.

[cheesedawg82]

Absolutely awesome build. I've really enjoyed reading this, and I've really learned a lot, although a few things do have me curious, and I hope you don't mind my questions on your thread.

1. Hydro Pump - In hindsight, what are your thoughts on simply running an automotive power steering pump off of the Starter/Generator belt and using the same or similar plumbing? This seems simple and cost effective, and it would allow you to mount the filter up front near the engine, higher than the tanks. You did an amazing job on the pump installation, it looks awesome for a loader or a machine that would get see constant use of the hydraulics, but is it overkill for this particular purpose? Do you think a simple Linear Actuator would have done just as well without all the hassle? (Note - Please don't take that question as an insult, if the particular purpose was quality craftsmanship and the additional time and expense required to do so was worth it to you as the builder, you nailed it. I'm curious of your input on the pros and cons).

2. Tandem Axles causing tire scrub during turning. - Could you build a linkage to the fluid drive manual bypass control valve of the rear transaxle that's accessible from the seat? The rear would then theoretically run like a tag axle and nothing would bind. Would this be helpful to you at all? Would lightening the pressure relief spring on the front unit (or stiffening the rear) accomplish the same thing mechanically? How about the ability to engage and disengage both front and rear hydraulics? How do you engage the front bypass to push it? (Note, this afterthought may or may not help you, but I can definitely see it as useful if someone else were to follow suit with a different frame configuration).

[sawdustdad]

Originally Posted by cheesedawg82

Absolutely awesome build. I've really enjoyed reading this, and I've really learned a lot, although a few things do have me curious, and I hope you don't mind my questions on your thread.

1. Hydro Pump - In hindsight, what are your thoughts on simply running an automotive power steering pump off of the Starter/Generator belt and using the same or similar plumbing? This seems simple and cost effective, and it would allow you to mount the filter up front near the engine, higher than the tanks. You did an amazing job on the pump installation, it looks awesome for a loader or a machine that would get see constant use of the hydraulics, but is it overkill for this particular purpose? Do you think a simple Linear Actuator would have done just as well without all the hassle? (Note - Please don't take that question as an insult, if the particular purpose was quality craftsmanship and the additional time and expense required to do so was worth it to you as the builder, you nailed it. I'm curious of your input on the pros and cons).

2. Tandem Axles causing tire scrub during turning. - Could you build a linkage to the fluid drive manual bypass control valve of the rear transaxle that's accessible from the seat? The rear would then theoretically run like a tag axle and nothing would bind. Would this be helpful to you at all? Would lightening the pressure relief spring on the front unit (or stiffening the rear) accomplish the same thing mechanically? How about the ability to engage and disengage both front and rear hydraulics? How do you engage the front bypass to push it? (Note, this afterthought may or may not help you, but I can definitely see it as useful if someone else were to follow suit with a different frame configuration).

Just now seeing your questions, cheese...

I considered mounting the hydraulic pump to the PTO, allowing it to be turned on and off. I actually built the mount for that, but abandoned that in favor of the rear mount method to keep it hidden and free up the PTO for other tasks. It would have worked either way.

As for the linear actuator, it would work but getting one that can push 2000 lbs and work reasonably fast, and not pull 50 amps proved problematic. If you reduced the capacity and/or the speed, it might be workable. Part of the decision was to learn how to do it hydraulically. I'd previously built a dump trailer with a linear actuator.

Both hydrostats have auto relief valves, so pushing is no problem. Since the axles are solid mounted and don't operate independently, disabling one axle could strand the machine if the driven axle lost traction due to uneven terrain. Having the second axle providing power generally prevents this. The tire scrubbing is not too bad. It does limit the turning radius, however. By no means a perfect arrangement, but it does work well enough to be a useful machine.