Landscape Rake Experiences

[SnagDump]

We've got a contractor working on our wooded property right now to thin out trees and remove brush. They're using tracked machines (ASV and Fecon) with mulching heads. A lot of pieces, chunks and stems are left after the mulching is done and there are areas where I'd like to bunch this stuff up and then burn the piles.

I've got a lightweight rake (Kolpin) made for an ATV that I've adapted for the Ventrac 3 point hitch but due to its light weight and lack of down pressure it struggles to handle even tall grass that's been cut with a rough cut mower. The rake fills up and then just hops over the pile. I could get a much heavier rake for the 3 point hitch or a Ventrac KR502/702 landscape rake. It seems like things might go better if the rake was in front and I could see what I'm doing since it's all on sloping terrain and there will be roots and stobs remaining that I'll need to get over.

Anybody have any experience using the Ventrac landscape rake in conditions like this? The videos seem to be all about moving trivial stuff and I'll have a lot of stuff and larger stuff to move. Also, if you have one: how tall is the rake itself? The ventrac specs just show overall height which includes the frame and gear above the rake.

 

[drumminj]

I can't speak to anything Ventrac-related, but I've been doing similar work lately to what you describe.

We had ~4 acres forestry mulched with large, dedicated machines. We collected most of the big chunks by hand to have for bonfires and such, but I've been using an 84" landscape rake to collect the smaller chunks for burning or composting.

The 285lb rake works pretty well, but sometimes requires a pass to "loosen" things up (the mulching was done close to a year ago), then a second pass to drag into piles. So far I've found it works well to use the rake to drag things into rows, then use my grapple to push into larger piles.

Not sure how that would change with a front-mounted rake.

 

[jeff9366]

They're using tracked machines (ASV and Fecon) with mulching heads. A lot of pieces, chunks and stems I'd like to bunch, then burn.

I have a heavy weight EverythingAttachements Landscape Rake with gauge wheels.

I have a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment.

I do this kind of work on a 160 acres residential development with 40 acres of common/greenways.

A Ratchet Rake attached to your bucket is a much better tool for your objectives.

MORE:

Front-End Loader - Ratchet Rake // Today

I had a snarled mass of wild grape vines and brush near a gate. Decided I should clear it today, before everything emerged from dormancy. Photo #1 Ratchet Rake on bucket. Downward oriented teeth make this attachment excellent for pulling brush and light grading, but you cannot dig a hole...

www.tractorbynet.com

T-B-N ARCHIVE:
LANDSCAPE RAKE VS RATCHET RAKE site:tractorbynet.com

 

[JCoastie]

my experience is like drumminj's, we had about 4 acres forestry mulched (pine trees and scrub brush) and what was left behind sounds similar. We used a 6 foot landscape rake which weighs about 265#, and it worked really well. We raked into piles near each other, and then used the bucket to make big heaps to compost. We're heading into year 2 and they are breaking down well, not dirt yet, but getting there.

 

[SnagDump]

I have a heavy weight EverythingAttachements Landscape Rake with gauge wheels.

I have a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment.

I do this kind of work on a 160 acres residential development with 40 acres of common/greenways.

A Ratchet Rake attached to your bucket is a much better tool for your objectives.

MORE:

Front-End Loader - Ratchet Rake // Today

I had a snarled mass of wild grape vines and brush near a gate. Decided I should clear it today, before everything emerged from dormancy. Photo #1 Ratchet Rake on bucket. Downward oriented teeth make this attachment excellent for pulling brush and light grading, but you cannot dig a hole...

www.tractorbynet.com

T-B-N ARCHIVE:
LANDSCAPE RAKE VS RATCHET RAKE site:tractorbynet.com

I have a piranha tooth bar on my bucket and I'll give that a try.

 

[SnagDump]

Drumminj and JCoastie - did you run the rake with gauge wheels while doing that cleanup?

 

[JCoastie]

no gauge wheels on mine, so directly on the ground, which is what we wanted, we scraped down to bare dirt since not much was growing through the thick mulch.

 

[future_vision]

Landscape rakes seems to be best for flat ground. What if you are starting off with uneven soil? Box blade with the rippers down first and then the landscape rake? Or maybe root grapple then a landscape rake?

 

[jeff9366]

I have a piranha tooth bar on my bucket. I'll give that a try.

It is the downward oriented row of 1-1/2" teeth on the Ratchet Rake and the operator variable down-pressure from the FEL hydraulics that make the Ratchet Rake effective at raking.

The Piranha tooth bar lacks downward oriented teeth.

VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+ratchet+rake

 

[drumminj]

Drumminj and JCoastie - did you run the rake with gauge wheels while doing that cleanup?

I have gauge wheels, but set so the tines dig in a bit. Don't want to disturb the earth too much as it will just erode until the vegetation grows in, but need something a bit more aggressive than the wheels at max height.

@future_vision my land isn't flat...hilly middle TN. Putting the 3pt in "float" works pretty well, though sometimes the rake will lift up over a pile of mulch/branches/etc and I'll have to back up and take a 2nd pass. But this isn't about leveling the land, just scraping off the leftovers from the forestry mulcher.

 

[nyone]

Box blade with the rippers down first and then the landscape rake?

If you use a box blade you will be snagging on every root. Remove the organic debris first then try and level if needed.

I have a 7ft landscape rake with no gauge wheels. I used it for years with all the times in. I then removed every other time, it's a far better tool now. When you have every time in the spacing is just to small and it starts to act like a back blade real quick. Adding a 100lb suitcase weight over the pivot also changes how well it works.

 

[future_vision]

I have gauge wheels, but set so the tines dig in a bit. Don't want to disturb the earth too much as it will just erode until the vegetation grows in, but need something a bit more aggressive than the wheels at max height.

@future_vision my land isn't flat...hilly middle TN. Putting the 3pt in "float" works pretty well, though sometimes the rake will lift up over a pile of mulch/branches/etc and I'll have to back up and take a 2nd pass. But this isn't about leveling the land, just scraping off the leftovers from the forestry mulcher.

I kind of want to do both. Get all the extra off the top and bring the grade down to level

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Changing the angle of the rake tines helps also. If you're wanting more aggressive raking, angle the tines with more slant to the direction in which you are raking. The more vertical the tines are, the less they will bite in on a single pass.

The suitcase weights are a good idea too. I haven't tried that. I think my rake hitch frame is too light duty to take the extra strain.

 

[BackRoad]

Lots of good answers already provided.

See if increasing the length of your top link will make your rake more aggressive. The tines should then pop up sticks and chunks rather than ride over the piles.

Suggest putting an angle on the rake to put the debris into wind rows as you rake.

I find it easier to make smaller piles that can be quickly picked up with the grapple and moved to the slash pile rather than trying to just rake in order to move the mulcher debris over an extended distance.

Not sure if you have rock...raking may pop some rocks out of the ground too.

Smaller debris can be cut up with a rotary cutter once you get the big chunks raked and moved. Give it a year of fairly frequent mowing and it will start to look more like a lawn than a battlefield.

This is one of the areas we had forestry mulched in Nov '20...with a slash pile still waiting to be burned. We saved the Maple and Cherry, but It had the stumps and tops from a dozen 2' to 3' DBH pines which I cut, lots of other 8 and 10 inch trees, loads of Autumn Olive and thorn trees everywhere.

I used my stump grinder on about 75 stumps of various sizes in this section, but that's for a future chapter in your journey.

18 months later, we call it "The Park".

 

[Vigo327]

I have an ATV landscape rake as well (though i dont have an ATV, i just use it in a 2" receiver hitch on the 3pt). The only issue here is you don't have enough weight pushing down on yours. I've used my chinesium impact implements atv landscape rake with some weight on it and have not damaged the tines. So in my opinion, don't over think it, just add weight to the rake you have and get back to work.

 

[nyone]

I have an ATV landscape rake as well (though i dont have an ATV, i just use it in a 2" receiver hitch on the 3pt). The only issue here is you don't have enough weight pushing down on yours. I've used my chinesium impact implements atv landscape rake with some weight on it and have not damaged the tines. So in my opinion, don't over think it, just add weight to the rake you have and get back to work.

Well said. Dont over think it and add weight.

I have a 100lb suitcase bolted to my takes pivot point, it's been there for years.

 

[SnagDump]

I went and bought the Ventrac KR502-AC1128 Terra Rake and used it a bit today. It seems to be working great. A couple pics show some of the work today but there are areas where the masticated stuff is much heavier. In this area I have an old skid trail where I can run my skid steer and grapple rake to pick up the material and move it to a burn pile.

I wanted to get the extensions for the rake (basic rake is only 50" wide) and the hydraulic control for the depth but my local dealer did not have either one. So, if anybody has one or both of those items for sale or knows a dealer that has them please pass on the info. I'm struggling a bit with the uneven ground and without the depth control I end up leaving material in depressions and with the rake narrower than the machine I'm missing some stuff near trees and stumps that didn't get ground down flush.

More pics to come as I make more progress and get into tougher stuff but it's working great for now and worlds faster with the rake in front where I can see what's going on.

 

[nyone]

That looks like a perfect setup for what your doing.

I have driven one of those Ventrac with the dual kit like you have..they are nearly impossible to tip. I was loosing grip and slipping sideways on very dry ground before tipping while mowing.

 

[Diggin It]

I kind of want to do both. Get all the extra off the top and bring the grade down to level

You'll do the first, but I don't think you'll do the second to any great degree. I have a 5' rear mount and it doesn't seem to really cut the ground very well, though it will tear off mole and ant hills easily.

I wanted to cut the ground to even out highs and lows. The rake was not aggressive enough and the tiller was too aggressive tearing up too much grass and root which left bare soil prone to wind and rain erosion before new growth took.

I went to a 6' by 5' chain drag harrow and ran it over the grass just after a day or two of rain so the surface was soft. Even just the first couple passes made more of a difference than several passes with the rake. I'll make several more passes this Fall after the rains return and again next Spring. I'm hoping it will also loosen the soil better for new grass seed (if I can afford any).

 

[2manyrocks]

You'll do the first, but I don't think you'll do the second to any great degree. I have a 5' rear mount and it doesn't seem to really cut the ground very well, though it will tear off mole and ant hills easily.

I wanted to cut the ground to even out highs and lows. The rake was not aggressive enough and the tiller was too aggressive tearing up too much grass and root which left bare soil prone to wind and rain erosion before new growth took.

I went to a 6' by 5' chain drag harrow and ran it over the grass just after a day or two of rain so the surface was soft. Even just the first couple passes made more of a difference than several passes with the rake. I'll make several more passes this Fall after the rains return and again next Spring. I'm hoping it will also loosen the soil better for new grass seed (if I can afford any).

Although I don't have a drag harrow and am hoping to find one, I suspect the drag harrow more easily follows the changes in ground contours than a rake which accounts for the drag harrow making more of a difference in fewer passes.