Rake How effective are rakes?

[IslandTractor]

I just bought a rake from (Temporarily blocked due to reports of company closure). No problem ordering it. The price included shipping to a freight forwarder about 30 minutes away. It came on a pallet. The forwarder loaded it in the back of my one ton. At home had no trouble getting it out of PU with my BX25, a chain and the front loader. Only assembly was attaching wheels. Some of their welding mistakes made that harder than it should have been but I got it together. Then I tried to use it. Still donʼt know it it was me, the rake, or the 3 point but every time the rake would get little load of roots and junk, the tines would dig deeper. The deeper they went the more junk they collected. The more they collected the deeper they went etc., etc., etc. When I raised the 3 point a little the whole thing would spring up and drop most of the load. That is one problem. The other is the design of the wheels. If you look at a picture of a yellow York rake you will see that the vertical shaft that the wheel turns on, comes down almost in front of the wheel. It has no choice but to caster. The vertical shaft on the Everything rake comes down almost on top of the wheel. The axil is only a couple inches behind the vertical shaft. You try to make a turn, the wheel stays turned when you straighten out and then plows a nice half moon furrow down each side of the rake as you move forward. I sent an email asking if there was something I was doing wrong. I got an email saying that they got my email. Then nothing. I donʼt know if their policy is youʼve got the problem but weʼve got your money or if they knew there was a problem but didnʼt know how to fix it. Iʼm having a triangle welded to each side of the wheel bracket and mounting the axil an additional six inches behind the vertical shaft. I expect that problem will be fixed. Still donʼt know about the other one. Maybe I just need more practice. To dig up the roots I mounted my box blade leaning way forward, (hydraulic top link would have helped) extended the scarifiers, and drove around trolling for roots and rocks. Didnʼt get any trophies but did get a few keepers. One rock was about 200 lbs so I kept it in the bucket for added front traction. Who ever said it, you are right. It seems that most people just use their rake to spread gravel on the driveway.

As you have noted, one problem with landscape rakes is that they are not too smart. The best way I have found to deal with that problem is to try to do very little with each pass. You will surely fail if you try to make a single pass, as with a mower, over an area. Better to set the rake so it is not digging too deeply (hydraulic top link helps a lot here as you can easily change the angle of attack while the 3pt adjusts the depth). The key then is to use multiple passes. Junk will migrate toward a pile. Rocks will windrow if you put an angle on the rake. Expect to drive over a patch of land from different angles at least three or four (or more) times to clean it up.

 

[nickel plate]

There are a too many posts throughout the "ATTACHMENTS" section in TBN about folks that spend good money on rakes that wind up bending and underperforming in a very short period of usage time-several brand names seem to reoccur too frequently. I agree with IslandTractor in that rakes are "not too smart" in that operator error can also be a reason for their imminent failure.
So over the years why are they collectively referred to as "York" rakes? York Landscape Rakes for Tractors and ATVs, Rotary Brooms, Stone & Rock Rakes, Sweepers, and Scarifiers Manufactured by York Modern Corporation is the benchmark for all 3-pt rakes currently produced. Granted, they are pricey-but for a reason-they work and last. Dropping three, four, five hundred bucks on a new yellow rake seems to make more sense on the wallet than hemorrhaging out one and a half, two to three large for a new orange rake.
I found a used orange rake on CL, it took about a year to find one within a couple of hundred miles from me, an 8' model RI with no scarifier or hydraulics but with the adjustable wheels. During that time period I looked over the internet (photos) at quite a few real Yorks scattered around my and adjoining states and I have to say that none of them were tweeked and very-very few bent tines. Yes, I lucked out and found one that was used and almost two years later and a lot of land and private road grading it still looks and performs the same as when I brought the York Rake home.

 

[foggy1111]

The black dirt was scraped away prior to building my shed....and was in a big pile just to the right of the shed - maybe 10 feet high. I had about 30 trees blocking the area that were cut down and I ground out the stumps - plus another 20 stumps or so....then spread the dirt over the area.

It was pretty lumpy until I made a few passes over it with the landscape rake. The rake did a nice job. Just got it leveled up in time for a 1" rain last night. Will drag it again and seed it this fall. :thumbsup:

 

[XSKIER]

Just an update. I was in TSC last weekend looking at the tow behind sweepers. An associate walked over and asked how she could help me. I brought up the rake issue and asked how they are warranted. She told me to email her a description of the problem and a pic so that they could make a determination. 2 days later, my replacement rake is on it's way.