Trac-Vac 854 PTO Powered Leaf Vacuum

kennyd · Nov 4, 2009

Two weeks ago I drove to New Jersey to pick up this used Trac-Vac 854. I have A LOT of trees around me, and doing leaf cleanup is always a chore I hate...So I have been looking for years for a solution-and this turned up on Craigslist so I jumped on it.

I have about 4 hours on it now including some time with wet leaves, and it really does a remarkable job at collecting, mulching and packing them in the trailer! Emptying the trailer is a chore so far-but hopefully I will get batter at it or find a way to hydraulically PUSH them out!

Please enjoy the pictures on my Picassa Web Album

Hooked_on_HP · Nov 4, 2009

Cool! With that setup couldn't you build any size trailer you wanted. As long as the discharge hose was long enough you could build a hydraulic dump trailer. I also have a lot of trees and use to hate picking them up. Now I love picking up leaves. I picked up aLawn Genie flail with catcher last year and it works wonders. I will post a couple of pics and maby it will give you some ideas on how to make a dump for yours.
Bill

Ductape · Nov 4, 2009

Congrats ! I've NEVER seen a used PTO vac for sale. I agree ........ raking leaves is a chore I hate also.

kennyd · Nov 4, 2009

Hooked_on_HP said:
Cool! With that setup couldn't you build any size trailer you wanted. As long as the discharge hose was long enough you could build a hydraulic dump trailer. I also have a lot of trees and use to hate picking them up. Now I love picking up leaves. I picked up aLawn Genie flail with catcher last year and it works wonders. I will post a couple of pics and maby it will give you some ideas on how to make a dump for yours.
Bill

WOW, Never seen that setup before! Yes, I could build/use any trailer at all-I will give this a fair shake first since there is no time now...

kennyd · Nov 4, 2009

Ductape said:
Congrats ! I've NEVER seen a used PTO vac for sale. I agree ........ raking leaves is a chore I hate also.

They are rare as hen's teeth as they say...Thank God for CraigsHelper for broad searches!

ronjhall · Nov 5, 2009

Great find. I have a 880 Trac-Vac. Sure is a pain to unload. I have tried a rake and other tools to get the trailer unloaded. While going through my tools this year I found this small heavy duty rake (if that is what it is) hanging on the tool rack. It's a garage sale find. It is heavy duty enough to pull the leaves and grass clippings out of the trailer. But not so large that it overloads my pulling ability. I doubt if Sears still sells the tool. But you may be able to modify a regular rake.

SPYDERLK · Nov 5, 2009

kennyd said:
Two weeks ago I drove to New Jersey to pick up this used Trac-Vac 854.

I have about 4 hours on it now including some time with wet leaves, and it really does a remarkable job at collecting, mulching and packing them in the trailer! Emptying the trailer is a chore so far-but hopefully I will get batter at it or find a way to hydraulically PUSH them out!

Congrats. Trac Vac is a good unit. I have one with an engine powered vac since the BX1500 does not have enuf power to suck and mow at the same time. Maybe yours is different, but mine dumps easy by tipping the trailer back and then pulling forward with a jerk. The trailer is tapered open toward the back so as soon as the leaf pack moves it becomes loose and slides out as you pull away. Leaf loaves everywhere

. Keeping the inside of the trailer well painted and smooth helps too.
larry

kennyd · Nov 5, 2009

SPYDERLK said:
Congrats. Trac Vac is a good unit. I have one with an engine powered vac since the BX1500 does not have enuf power to suck and mow at the same time. Maybe yours is different, but mine dumps easy by tipping the trailer back and then pulling forward with a jerk. The trailer is tapered open toward the back so as soon as the leaf pack moves it becomes loose and slides out as you pull away. Leaf loaves everywhere. Keeping the inside of the trailer well painted and smooth helps too.
larry

Thanks Larry, My trailer is NOT tapered like the new ones-I am not sure when they made that change? The S/N on the gearbox has a 1994 date.

Wildbill34 · Nov 5, 2009

I have been using mine for 3 years or so and like what was said earlier. After tilting the trailer, a quick forward motion will allow the leaves to come out fairly easy. However, if you are going downhill with the tractor instead of up a little incline it does get a bit tougher. In those cases, I back up fast and hit the brakes hard, and most of the time it does work. With all that said, it is a rare that I need to pull them out with a fork or shovel. This year I haven't needed to and I have dumped it 25-30 times.

Couple of other things I found, I use a bungie cord on the cart tilt lever, I have had the trailer tilt up while in use. After the bungie cord to hold the lever in place, it never happened again. At times, lifting door off can been a pain....usually happens when I try to get the last portion of leaves done and not empting it like I should. Make sure you check the welds on the door from time to time. I have had mine crack or break a couple of times....

charlz · Nov 5, 2009

ronjhall said:
Great find. I have a 880 Trac-Vac. Sure is a pain to unload. I have tried a rake and other tools to get the trailer unloaded. While going through my tools this year I found this small heavy duty rake (if that is what it is) hanging on the tool rack. It's a garage sale find. It is heavy duty enough to pull the leaves and grass clippings out of the trailer. But not so large that it overloads my pulling ability. I doubt if Sears still sells the tool. But you may be able to modify a regular rake.

Four tine cultivator is what I think it is called, I call it a ditch rake as it is handy as heck for cleaning culverts etc. Stuff doesn't tend to get caught in the tines etc like a regular rake when cleaning ditches. Yours looks pretty heavy duty like mine. You can frequently find light duty versions at Home Depot, hardware stores etc.

ChuckinNH · Nov 5, 2009

Around here that would be called a potato hook, and would be used for digging the potatoes............. of course there are some cobwebs on mine since I got the middlebuster.

kernal · Nov 5, 2009

I picked up a used trac-vac, has the 6.5 hp motor. It works great, but it lacks in capactiy since it is the rubbermaid can model. But not raking makes me want to order a PTO model.

fish6942 · Nov 5, 2009

Kennyd - Does your 3PH go up and down with your mower deck like my BX2350 does? If so, does this cause problems for the hoses? I'd much rather run off the PTO like you are doing rather than have an extra engine on the leaf collector.

dieselscout80 · Nov 5, 2009

kennyd said:
Two weeks ago I drove to New Jersey to pick up this used Trac-Vac 854. I have A LOT of trees around me, and doing leaf cleanup is always a chore I hate...So I have been looking for years for a solution-and this turned up on Craigslist so I jumped on it.

I have about 4 hours on it now including some time with wet leaves, and it really does a remarkable job at collecting, mulching and packing them in the trailer! Emptying the trailer is a chore so far-but hopefully I will get batter at it or find a way to hydraulically PUSH them out!

Please enjoy the pictures on my Picassa Web Album

Is it a 540 or 1000 rpm pto?

Kevin M · Nov 5, 2009

Mine runs the 8HP briggs, works good , but I to would like to have a hydraulic style pusher inside the trailer. Some thing similar to a garbage truck !

CHDinCT · Nov 5, 2009

fish6942 said:
Kennyd - Does your 3PH go up and down with your mower deck like my BX2350 does? If so, does this cause problems for the hoses? I'd much rather run off the PTO like you are doing rather than have an extra engine on the leaf collector.

If you look close at his pic's, he modified the hook up and it does not use the 3PH arms. On your BX, you can pin the lower 3PH arms up by disconecting the vertical links from the upper arms and pinning those to the two holes near the top link - that's what they're for.

kennyd · Nov 5, 2009

fish6942 said:
Kennyd - Does your 3PH go up and down with your mower deck like my BX2350 does? If so, does this cause problems for the hoses? I'd much rather run off the PTO like you are doing rather than have an extra engine on the leaf collector.

CHDinCT said:
If you look close at his pic's, he modified the hook up and it does not use the 3PH arms. On your BX, you can pin the lower 3PH arms up by disconecting the vertical links from the upper arms and pinning those to the two holes near the top link - that's what they're for.

Fish, look at the pictures and read the captions please, Yes the arms move-and they sell a kit to do what I did...

They also have a model specifically for the BX.

kennyd · Nov 5, 2009

dieselscout80 said:
Is it a 540 or 1000 rpm pto?

Mine is 540. They do have another model I think that will do 1000.

kennyd · Nov 5, 2009

Kevin M said:
Mine runs the 8HP briggs, works good , but I to would like to have a hydraulic style pusher inside the trailer. Some thing similar to a garbage truck !

Yeah-That's what I'm talkin' about!

art · Nov 5, 2009

We got started selling them shortly after yours was built Ken, and the reason was because of the tapered trailer. For the most part with the tapered trailers the load will slide right out unless you have leaves on the bottom that are wet.

I like the trailers with the motor on them as you only need to buy one and not exchange if you purchase a new tractor do to fit. We have also found that the 5 horse unit will normally work with a 60" deck although they recommend the larger unit and the new models come with a small chipper built in!