How to level earth with power rake

[5030tinkerer]

I have an 8' wide LandPride Power rake (http://www.landpride.com/ari/attach/lp/public/manuals/314-132m.pdf) that I've used over the years for general smoothing, but never leveling. I'd like to seed about a two acre area, but would like to get it perfectly flat first with no rolling hills. Anyone know how to do this with this tool?

When the tractor goes up an inclined area, the power rake digs in deeper behind it (making a bad situation worse). When the tractor has just come over the crest of the incline (and so is going downhill), the rake is sitting several inches over the 'peak' and so doesn't pull this area down.

I've been manually raising and lowering the 3 point arms to get things flatter, but isn't this tool INTENDED to be able to do this 'automatically' just by making numerous passes? There has to be something - a top link adjustment maybe? - I am missing. The tool is incredible for flattening side to side and windrowing - I just can't get it to level things out.

Any and all help very much appreciated.

 

[boggen]

TNT (top n tilt) for 3 pt hitch be first thing comes to mind...
but a motor grader setup.... is what you are more looking for....

basicly a 3pt hitch rear blade, but the blade sticks far off the rear end of the tractor, and then further behind the rear blade, is a set of gauge wheels.

the goal. is the more distance between rear tractor tires, the blade, and gauge wheels. the better. and it will help reduce what you are talking about the "ups and downs" the blade sets between rear tractor tires and gauge wheels

but you also have compaction to deal with. if you tear up the ground (deep) say 3 plus inches. and then start moving the dirt around, you will end up with different areas compacted more than others. and then in a year or 2 as stuff settles... you will end up with low spots and high spots.

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with above said, i have used the 5 foot disc (double gang = 2 rows of discs) i think 20 total discs all together. and just ran it across the yard in a few areas, multi times. and it leveled things out. fairly well. towards the end, i was in highest gear i could go and still be able to pull disc. to kinda toss the dry dirt around.

i have also used a "drag harrow" not a chain drag (like a chain link fence with teeth on one side) but a steel toothed metal setup. it works. but it does more tearing down into the ground. vs leveling.

a box blade, can work, but for those longer and bigger low spots / high spots. it most likely will not do the job... and you will more likely want more of a motor grader type of thing. a box blade might be more usefull in a couple years from now as the ground / dirt settles creating some additional low spots. and bring in a little bit of dirt and smoothing it out over established grass. though a york rake / land scape rake may also work just as good (depends)

without spending a couple thousand plus on something... get everything best you can, and then get out the old garden hand held rake and go at it.

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abit brain dead this eve, so best off leaving it to someone else for a better correct answer to ya problem.

 

[Zick]

Do you have gauge wheels on it?

 

[davrow]

Answer is rake is not for leveling, it is for smoothing.

As mentioned, only a grader (no motor needed) does what you want without operator skill. Bucket, blade, scraper... all exacerbate dips and rises because they are at the end of the lever. Front tires rise, rear implement lowers. Front tires go into a dip, front bucket deeps even further. Until you get something between the wheels, only great skill and constant attention to the top link will get you leveling. With a tractor that means a towed grader - as boggen said.

Oh, and as Zick said, gauge wheels serve the same function as the towed grader - it puts the cutting edges between the wheels (tractor rear wheels and gauge wheels in this case) which does allow for leveling. Although a rake might not move enough dirt to make it a feasible tool.

 

[5030tinkerer]

Answer is rake is not for leveling, it is for smoothing.

As mentioned, only a grader (no motor needed) does what you want without operator skill. Bucket, blade, scraper... all exacerbate dips and rises because they are at the end of the lever. Front tires rise, rear implement lowers. Front tires go into a dip, front bucket deeps even further. Until you get something between the wheels, only great skill and constant attention to the top link will get you leveling. With a tractor that means a towed grader - as boggen said.

Oh, and as Zick said, gauge wheels serve the same function as the towed grader - it puts the cutting edges between the wheels (tractor rear wheels and gauge wheels in this case) which does allow for leveling. Although a rake might not move enough dirt to make it a feasible tool.

Interesting. Thanks for all the responses!!

Well, I popped on the box blade today and and am leveling like crazy with the top link short and scarifiers down. Next will be scarifiers up, then long top link for smoothing using the fixed back edge. Then I will put the power rake back on (that has gauge wheels, btw) for final finishing/smoothing. The power rake moves an INCREDIBLE amount of dirt. It's too bad it's not a grader as well. The top link allows itself to be taught to prevent the rake from hanging, but doesn't have a fixed position option that ENSURES that the rake floats above the earth when you are coming up from a dip. All that happens then is that the moving top link (see page 8 on the PDF) allows the rake to 'sag'.

Maybe I'll weld a bar on each end of my box for gauge wheels...

 

[5030tinkerer]

Just an update - it seems that these guys figured out a way to level with a power rake:

001 Laser levelling Tee boxes using a Harley power rake - YouTube

A different rake and a better video, but the same concept is seen here: Laser-Grader 106-P Equipped with Harley Rake attachment and Grade Control Package - YouTube

So now off to mount my grade rod and get the power rake re-connected!

 

[davrow]

Just an update - it seems that these guys figured out a way to level with a power rake:

My previous reply was because I thought you were talking about a York Rake: (yes, you said power rake, but since I didn't know Land Pride offered one I glossed right over that)



A Harley Power Rake is a whole new ball game, I'll grant you that!

 

[5030tinkerer]

My previous reply was because I thought you were talking about a York Rake: (yes, you said power rake, but since I didn't know Land Pride offered one I glossed right over that)

View attachment 393971

A Harley Power Rake is a whole new ball game, I'll grant you that!

Well, I wish I had the type with the carbide bits instead of the splined roller version, but the machine is incredible - no doubt. I can't wait for it to dry out for me to try it. One thing I've seen is that Harley offers two different top link connection types, a fixed pin and a groove that allows the top link pin at the rake to slide front to back a few inches. The fixed pin is for grading and the groove is for following the land contour and just smooth.

My whole issue may be that Landpride's version uses a maybe 5" long inverted 'U' bracket that sits on a hinged pin and so it is in constant land contour mode. When it's not a muddy swamp out there in a couple days, I may see about a mod that would allow a fixed top link setting. It'd set it level front to back (and of course left to right), and go. The THEORY is that when going up an incline the 3 point float function would allow the rake to rise instead of dig in and when going down a decline the float function would allow the rake to cut into the high spot. A few passes, and I might well have a perfectly level pad!

It's theory at this point, but it seems logical. Can't wait for a field test!