Landscape Rake, should I get Gauge Wheels?

[TractorGuy]

I have an inexpensive 5' rake I bought from Agri Supply and added the cheap Titan gauge wheels. I have had to repair and eventually rebuild the rake but I'll admit I have abused it. I didn't see much advantage to the gauge wheels as they came out of the box. They were so close to the rake they wouldn't even rotate in a full circle without hitting the tines so you couldn't back up without raising it off the ground. It also made it impossible to spin the rake around for reverse operation. They really didn't do much to gauge depth either.

When I rebuilt my rake I cut the tubes for the gauge wheels and extended them rearward by a couple of feet. It works a lot better for gauging depth now. I can also remove one bolt and remove them if I wish. I was planning to add some trailer hitch receivers to my grader blade so I can transfer the wheels to it if I want. My modification did not enable me to easily remove the wheel mounts that prevent it from rotating but I never use it in the reverse position nor do I ever angle it. I may need to experiment with the angled position one time to see if it helps get the washboard out of our roadway by just driving straight. I have been having to drive in short strokes at an angle then finish in a straight line to remove the washboard. Having the wheels on will not prevent me form angling the rake. I can now set them at a height to gauge depth and even just rake over the surface now if I want.

Looking at the land pride wheels they seem to be too close to the rake as well. I don't feel like the wheels as they appear to be designed would be much of an advantage on the Land Pride rake.

Here is a photo of my modified wheel install.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

This makes total sense to me. What do you do with your top link? Let one end hang and use a chain. I can get gauge wheels for $400 for an EA rake...this is the one i'm getting Land Shark Hydraulic Landscape Rake Demo - YouTube

I just wonder if I'd be better off putting that $400 for gauge wheels towards a land plane (grading scraper). ON the other hand, I may not need a land plane if I get the gauge wheels for the rake.

ETA has a long slot that you put the implement end of the top link in and it allows the unit to float some. This can be clearly seen in the 9th picture.

With a hydraulic top link and no check valve on that hydraulic top link, with the float feature in the control valve and set to float, it can float a very large distance with no ill effects from the tractor movement. :thumbsup:

 

[AGTtactical]

I may need to experiment with the angled position one time to see if it helps get the washboard out of our roadway by just driving straight. I have been having to drive in short strokes at an angle then finish in a straight line to remove the washboard. Having the wheels on will not prevent me form angling the rake. I can now set them at a height to gauge depth and even just rake over the surface now if I want.

Looking at the land pride wheels they seem to be too close to the rake as well. I don't feel like the wheels as they appear to be designed would be much of an advantage on the Land Pride rake.

View attachment 600979

Nice work! That definitely looks like it would work better. I thought the Landpride wheels were too close to the rake as well. I like the EA rake party because of the really long arm for the wheel, and it is placed in the center, which allows tilt adjustment without changing the height of two wheels.

I'm clearly no expert but I think angling the blade would help reduce washboarding too, because material would flow along the tines and fill low spots better than just running it perpendicular. The angled rake would also increase the effective length of your surface contact area fore and aft, helping reduce washboarding that way too, I think, but someone like Mountainview could tell you for sure.

 

[AGTtactical]

ETA has a long slot that you put the implement end of the top link in and it allows the unit to float some. This can be clearly seen in the 9th picture.
:thumbsup:

Thank again Brian. Good info as usual. I think I'd get a lot of use from the angle and offset feature of this rake, but I'd need to disconnect my top link hyd cylinder to have 2 remotes available for the rake. I wouldn't need a hydraulic cylinder on the top link anyhow since the rake should float. Sooo, what do you think would be the best way to do this? Remove the cyclinder entirely when using the rake, and just put in my manual top link? Or is it worth keeping the top link hydraulic cyclinder and giving up the hydraulic offset for the rake?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thank again Brian. Good info as usual. I think I'd get a lot of use from the angle and offset feature of this rake, but I'd need to disconnect my top link hyd cylinder to have 2 remotes available for the rake. I wouldn't need a hydraulic cylinder on the top link anyhow since the rake should float. Sooo, what do you think would be the best way to do this? Remove the cyclinder entirely when using the rake, and just put in my manual top link? Or is it worth keeping the top link hydraulic cyclinder and giving up the hydraulic offset for the rake?

There is no reason to remove your hydraulic top link from the tractor. Simply uncouple the hoses on it and install the rod end into the slot on the rake. Your cylinder should stay put as was adjusted.

You want the angle and offset capabilities, that's why you get them.

In reality, you need to get some more rear remotes.

 

[AGTtactical]

Brian, how much offset do you think the EA rake has from this video? I called, and they were not sure, but from this video, its looks like at least 36"! The rake in the video is an 84" unit, and the tractor is an L6060, which is about 70" wide with those tires. When they swing the rake out, the center of the rake is well past the outside edge of the tires. This rake has a pretty long arm, so it really offsets further than a unit with the same angle of throw.

Land Shark Hydraulic Landscape Rake Demo - YouTube

 

[AGTtactical]

There is no reason to remove your hydraulic top link from the tractor. Simply uncouple the hoses on it and install the rod end into the slot on the rake. Your cylinder should stay put as was adjusted.

Thank you Brian! So the cylinder freezes at that position its at when I disconnect the hose (the fluid has no where to go and is incompressible...so that makes sense), and the slot in the rake housing would allow it to float. So the thing to do would be lower the rake to the ground, adjust it to how I want the rake to sit, then take the cylinder hose off the remote (let them hang from the cylinder) and connect the rake hose to the now open remote on the tractor, right?

I do have 3 remotes...the most Kubota allows on an L6060, right now one to the top link, one to the right arm, and a spare. I need to keep the tilt connected. BTW, I wanted to buy your vastly superior cylinders, but the dealer here gave me two that he had for free (I bought a lot of things from him in the last year). It was too hard to resist that!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

You can mount diverters directly on top of your existing couplers.

This customer had a single rear remote, did not want to mess with his Kubota dealer for some reason to get 2 more. So he went with a double diverter set and now has 3 sets. I have added as many as 3 diverters before, to get a guy with an M series Kubota a total of 6 sets of rear remotes.

I have a triple diverter on my small tractor for a total of 4 sets and a double on my 75hp tractor for a total of 5 sets at the back.

For the most part, a double diverter set would take care of anything that you might do.

 

[AGTtactical]

Do you sell these diverters Brian? What do they look like mounted on your tractor?

I don't have a FEL on my tractor...The tractor is factory delivered with all the connections, even the controller, just no bucket. I wonder if I can use the hyds for that as a fourth and fifth function somehow?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Do you sell these diverters Brian? What do they look like mounted on your tractor?

I don't have a FEL on my tractor...The tractor is factory delivered with all the connections, even the controller, just no bucket. I wonder if I can use the hyds for that as a fourth and fifth function somehow?

I do sell the diverters, but I would use the mid mount controls (joystick) that you already have.

I would say to install 2 sets of couplers on top of your current rear remote mount, run the 4 hoses from the current existing couplers back to the ones that would be added and you would be all set. Probably costs in the $300 range? :confused3: