How good or useful is a tractor rake?

[bdhsfz6]

A rake becomes much more useful if it has gauge wheels. They can be set to minimize surface damage when raking lawns or gravel driveways instead of relying on 3pt height adjustments. Add a T&T kit and you have a very versatile implement.

 

[Omega Woods]

The only regular use mine gets is on the gravel driveway or moving brush. It's great for gravel ops.

It's murder on grass for what you're trying to do but I'm a bad operator with terrible three-point skills and bumpy ground. If you flipped it around and had a hyd top link, it might not be so bad. Mine is great for ripping out creeping charlie when it takes over in the dormant garden beds.

As @bdhsfz6 said, gauge wheels make it WAY more useful.

 

[Chuckanut]

Very useful! In western Washington we have a abundance of trees which in November we get storms from the Pacific. With 6 acres of Cedar, Hemlock, and Big Leaf Maple, the branches are all over the place. Clean up with a rake makes it much easier. Drop the rake and drive all the debris to the fire.

I have used it to blend gravel but I have a box blade or land plane that does a a better job.

We also have lots of Potato (and up) sized rocks whenever we dig in the dirt. The rake rolls those rocks into a nice straight line to be picked up by the bucket.

 

[Runner]

I guess I'll soon have 40 attachments!
I recently got a stump grinder which does a great job but leaves a foot deep pile of chips and dirt. I have 40 pines all in a row to do.
I was thinking about a rake like this TSC or similar.
1) if I use it for small limbs, sticks or leaves does it work for that?
2) does it damage the lawn. I have hydraulic top link so I can change angle
3) It won't get a lot of use. What's the best bang for the buck?
4) 6ft.? (50hp Deere)
5) We have a horse paddock that's compacted with sand on it. It's about 50x60, level & hard as concrete. Horse piles I clean area every 2 weeks or so. Would it work for that?
I have a 7ft rear blade or sometimes just the FEL bucket...but I then have to put a little more sand down.
6) Is it useful for anything else?

Thanks so much...View attachment 4265190

I've had mine for 17 years and have not yet found a good use for it.

I guess I thought it would be good for grooming the gravel drive, but I've found it's better to leave the gravel alone as much as possible, because whenever I loosen it up by "grooming" it wants to wash and move around. Also, when trying to "groom" the drive with a rake (or blade for that matter) it always winds up pushing my gravel out into the grass and I wind up having to rake it back onto the drive by hand, so, not worth the effort. On the rare occasion I need to fix a spot on the drive, I use the rear blade with gauge wheels.

I can't imagine how you could use one to rake up sticks without gouging the crap out of your lawn.

I will say, of the possible uses, grooming a horse arena sounds like about the best one I could imagine for a rake. Spreading out piles of dirt/wood chips in a pasture type setting sounds feasible.

Whatever you do with it, I recommend also getting a pair of gauge wheels for it because, just like a rear blade, it's really hard to keep it from digging in on uneven surfaces.

If nothing else, now you will have 41 attachments, and, maybe like me, 5 or 6 that never get used, but you have them just in case...

 

[bmaverick]

In the 40+ acre corn and straw fields near me, the farmers now come thru with rakes with rear wheels.

The intent is to gather up all the stalks. Take to a paper processor making TP or paper bags. Its no more an issue cutting down the forest making paper when other organic fibers are now collected as renewable resources.

 

[Hay Dude]

I had an 8’ Woods hydraulic angle rake, but didn’t get the use out of it I thought I would.

 

[Hay Dude]

In the 40+ acre corn and straw fields near me, the farmers now come thru with rakes with rear wheels.

The intent is to gather up all the stalks. Take to a paper processor making TP or paper bags. Its no more an issue cutting down the forest making paper when other organic fibers are now collected as renewable resources.

View attachment 4279152

Farmers in my area bale cornstalks.
I get asked to bale them for guys who grow corn, but always say “no”. Cornstalks are a dirty mess that will trash a baler.
But some guys will do it!