Rake Harley power rake questions!

Junkman · Jan 31, 2005

I had a local hydro seed company do my side yard last summer. I spent 3 days trying to pick out the rocks with my landscape rake and BX22, without success. In one day, they did more than I could do in a month. What I found most interesting is that the rake works in both directions. Spinning clockwise and counter clockwise. The only thing that I learned afterward was that I should have specified how deep I wanted them to go. He only "fluffed" the top 3 or 4 inches and I know that this spring, I am going to have a lot of rocks popping out. Also, if I didn't push him to remove the larger rocks, he sort of covered them with soil and left them in place. I spent a lot of time removing them after they were gone and the grass started sprouting. I got a bargain of a price for the Harley rake and the hydro seeding through a contractor friend. I priced out the materials alone and couldn't buy them as cheaply as having it professionally done. If I had to do it over, I would have spent more time having the site graded and groomed first, but overall, I am satisfied. Now if the snow will only leave and the grass start sprouting, I would be even happier.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

gregp · Jan 31, 2005

Thanks for the reply. Do you mind telling me what he charged for his time? I am going to hire out myself with the harley rake and am trying to get a base rate and go from there. PM me if you would like.

Junkman · Feb 1, 2005

I paid five cents a square foot for the Harley Rake and the hydro seeding. As I said, I couldn't do it for anywhere near that dollar amount for just the materials alone. This price was as a result of the contractor owing a favor to a friend of mine who is a contractor and gives him many thousands of dollars of work every year. My guess is that it was done at cost or even a loss... 3 men, 1 Bobcat with Harley Rake, 2 days raking and 1 day spraying seed. I was told afterward by others in the construction business that the normal price for a job like this is between 12 - 15 cents per square foot.

JimMorrissey · Feb 1, 2005

Greg,

I can't remember. It wasn't cheap, but well worth the money. You might want to CYA and charge by the hour to start, then try a blanket price that may be a wee bit inflated /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Maybe you can find a good used one first to see how things go.

JimMorrissey · Feb 1, 2005

Junk,

We've got some time to burn before that happens.

I agree on the depth issue. One obvious consideration is that greater depth takes longer time and more money and more rocks to clean up. I had him rake from top to bottom so all the stones were in a line and I could easily scoop them up with my loader. That was one sweet lawn when complete.....1.5 acres of Ken Bluegrass.

Tom_B · Feb 2, 2005

I have owned two Harley model s6 power box rakes and I loved them for the quick job they did in preparing for seed or sod and clearing rocks. they are a very good atatchment for a skid steer.
I used one next to a contractor friend of mine on hard clay ground that he could not get his tiller to touch,
I was with the Harley able to break up the ground that he had tried to get through for two days. It is worth every dime in my opinion. they do need a bit of maintenance if used all the time but they will pay for themselves very quickly. in fact two of the contractors I did work for decided to buy their own skid steers and harley attatchments after watching me with mine. if you have further questions feel free to contact me. tombybee@hotmail.com /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

_RaT_ · Feb 2, 2005

Tom, thats great to hear. I have the old Harley Pro 8 with the horizontal bars but when those are gone, I can order a replacement with carbide teeth on the roller. Do you think the carbide teeth are holding up well on yours?

aondre · Feb 10, 2005

I am a landscape contractor and use Harley Rakes on both my skid steers and tractors. They are by far the best tool for installing new lawns! It has been my experience that the skid steer models work much better if the grade is not very good and require allot of leveling or grade modification (of course buckets and box blades are also used). The tractor models are great if the excavator knew what they where doing and for the final passes or seed prep. Ask if you can demo some models with your equipment to find the right size, these can be very demanding on your PTO and/or hydraulic system. I also would spend the extra money on the power angle feature. You will need to be patient with them, they can take a little time to master.

What kind of seeding and mulching mechanisms are you going to use? You need to consider the most common soil types, climate, grass seeds, and availability of supplies. Evaluate these very carefully as they will have the greatest affect on your finished product and your referral business.

I do mostly hydroseeding and am competitive around 10 cents/sqft for complete lawn installation. This does change depending what your market will allow.

gregp · Feb 10, 2005

I will go with the power angle feature for sure. There is only 1 power rake in the entire area and it is owned by a local JD dealer who is also a rental yard. He has bobcat skid steers and it goes with one of those. I wish i where able to test drive one but it appears that i may have to fly blind and have alot of faith in peoples assesments and opinions.
The rental companys rake is out quite often. They charge $175.00 for the rake and $225.00 for the bobcat. I am thinking people will have me do the work rather than paying the money and having to do the job themselves.
Our local area has had a boom in the past 5 years and there are litteraly hundreds of newer homes without lawns or with a real small square in the front for appearance. There is one guy in the area who has a small hydroseeder. Thats all he does, you get the lawn ready and he will seed it. He charges 14 cents a foot. If i had a line on an inexpensive hydroseeder i would for sure get one but from what i have seen they are big money. Thank you for your reply, I hope we can speak again. Gregp

aondre · Feb 11, 2005

Look at the www.turboturf.com. I have seen these units in action and they look pretty good and they are the most inexpensive ones I have seen. They do require a "lighter" mulch than a mechanically agitated machine, so make sure you have a good supplier for that in the area.
I like the Finn model (www.finncorp.com), and actually built my own based on that basic design.
The sweet thing about hydroseeding is that you can pre-germinate your grass seed and get lawns established really fast. I also charge additional for pre-germination and it takes very little time.