I've settled on EA but can't decide on the 5' Land Shark with gage wheels or the 5' XTreme Duty with gage wheels. The XTreme appears to be more robust at $179 more than the Land Shark but is it too much for my baby Deere? Can I get some first hand feedback?
Rake JD 2305 EA landscape rake
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nickc
Silver Member
I think you may disappointed with the 60".I purchased a 54" with gauge wheels last year and it is borderline too big. The rake itself is very well made, the problem is with the tractor. It's just not heavy enough to pull a full rake and if you offset it, your not going anywhere! One other issue is that if you don't use an Imatch or quick hitch, the rake will still drag when fully lifted.(the Imatch moves the lift point about 6" rearward which give you about 1.5" higher lift at the end of the lift arms.)If I did it again I'd buy a 48" with offset & gauge wheels
EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
The Land Shark landscape rake subcompact rake is our newest offering and the best match for your tractor, hands down. You can even order it in EA Yellow for no additional fee. We also make other attachments specifically for subcompacts! In addition to the rake, our Land Shark Box Blade and Post Hole Digger are also shown below on a 1025R John Deere. Chris from Washington was so pleased with all the new toys from EA that he went out and tore his entire yard up! :laughing:
Travis
Travis
oldnslo
Super Member
What are you planning on doing with this rake? Light leveling or heavy dirt work? I have a woods LR72 6 ft with gauge wheels that I use on my Branson 2400H. Yes I had to modify (lower the lift points so that it would lift a sufficient amount and yes if I try to pull a full load of dirt I spin out but for my use I like the extra width so that it covers my tracks when angled.
I also have R1 tires filled with rim guard and level ground.
Yes, the $300 price tag made this very inviting...
I also have R1 tires filled with rim guard and level ground.
Yes, the $300 price tag made this very inviting...
My current project is the final cleaning of a recently cleared acre lot (mostly 6" or smaller pines) as well as occasionally pulling the crusher run back up my driveway after a deluge. The lot was very well cleared with some straggler sticks and rocks. I suspect I will pull a bit of dirt around later to adjust for drainage and lawn prep.
I do have installed Pat's quick change hitch giving a bit more vertical lift but ......
My Dad always taught me, "if one nail is good then two must be better".
Research indicates EA is the best bang for the buck but I cancelled my landscape rake order because of EA's policy of charging your credit card, in this case, 4-5 weeks before shipping the product. As both a buyer and a seller I find this to be a big black mark against a company who otherwise appears reputable. I dug through the 'VISA card acceptance guidelines' ( Access Denied ) and found the following on page 13:
"Delivery of Goods and Services
Deliver the merchandise or services to the cardholder at the time of the transaction. Cardholders
expect immediate delivery of goods and services unless other delivery arrangements have been made.
For card-absent transactions, cardholders should be informed of delivery method and tentative delivery
date. Transactions cannot be deposited until goods have been shipped or services received."
While pre-depositing the funds does not appear to be illegal it does appear to break the VISA acceptance rules and certainly sets up the scenario where a customer has paid for a product long before receiving it.
Too bad for me, I wanted a EA rake!
"Delivery of Goods and Services
Deliver the merchandise or services to the cardholder at the time of the transaction. Cardholders
expect immediate delivery of goods and services unless other delivery arrangements have been made.
For card-absent transactions, cardholders should be informed of delivery method and tentative delivery
date. Transactions cannot be deposited until goods have been shipped or services received."
While pre-depositing the funds does not appear to be illegal it does appear to break the VISA acceptance rules and certainly sets up the scenario where a customer has paid for a product long before receiving it.
Too bad for me, I wanted a EA rake!
EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
I called and talked to you yesterday concerning this subject. With our business, paying when the order is placed is the only way it works.
In the industry, many things are special ordered specifically for a certain machine and money is collected when ordering. When you order a part somewhere, in all of my experiences, you prepay.
The rake you ordered is offered in orange on the website. We have an orange one in stock.
I agreed to make you a yellow one at no additional charge, but I wouldn't want a yellow one sitting around if you decided to cancel 3 weeks from now.
This is only a brief reply. I could go into more detail about why it's necessary, but this phone is ringing off the hook.
Travis
In the industry, many things are special ordered specifically for a certain machine and money is collected when ordering. When you order a part somewhere, in all of my experiences, you prepay.
The rake you ordered is offered in orange on the website. We have an orange one in stock.
I agreed to make you a yellow one at no additional charge, but I wouldn't want a yellow one sitting around if you decided to cancel 3 weeks from now.
This is only a brief reply. I could go into more detail about why it's necessary, but this phone is ringing off the hook.
Travis
darrenjttu
Silver Member
I have the EA landscape rake without the guide wheels. The rake does have some drawbacks. It is a good all around rake but the tines bend really easily. They say its the best out there but these bent way too easily when dragging small brush. Also it is extremely difficult to swing the rake around to have the tines be in the reverse. When a little bit if rust forms it is near impossible. Maybe some sort of grease fitting would be helpful.
Not once was it mentioned during our phone calls or in our emails that the reason for the 4-5 week delay was my request for yellow, or that orange was available. I would be more than happy to take the orange rake if its available to ship.
EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
Most JD guys wouldn't have orange, like it's sacrilegious, but I'm glad we got you fixed up! Thanks for the business(again)! :laughing:
Travis
EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
The EA Rake is one of our most popular products and has been for years. The competition simply does not come close.
Our superior tine bar design ensures perfect tine spacing and allows the tines to spring efficiently, unlike any other on the market.
If the pivot for the tine bar gets stiff, penetrating oil and moving it like a stiff knee should do the trick.
Don't take our word for it.
Here are some customer replies from a much older thread where you warned others about our tines.
Travis
All of these guys have EA rakes:
"I've used one for a couple of years. Does a great job.
Made an adapter plate so it can be mounted on the front or 3 pt.
I abuse mine both pulling and pushing with it.
The only time I've bent tines was when I was lazy, it was front mounted and used it to pull up a couple of dead small trees, I should have used the bucket.
Tines were easily straightened. If the same ones bend again I'll reverse them. so the weak spot isn't where they bolt on."
"They bent because I abused them doing a job they weren't designed to do, pull up trees.
I didn't realize the trees were so securely in the ground since they were small and long dead. I thought they'd just pop out but they didn't. I chose to force the issue, that resulted in 3 tines partially bent up. Were the tines of a lesser quality I would have probably bent a lot more of them.
So IMO the EA rake is a good buy made with quality materials."
"Am I missing something or did you only bend some tines?"
"I've read a lot of reviews from people that have the ETA Landscape Rake. Pretty sure it would be pretty easy to destroy any landscape rake if not doing what they are designed for. I don't have a problem switching out implements if confronted with something that is not meant to be done with a landscape rake (like a root grapple)."
"Not saying no one had a legitimate problem, but unlike some other implements, pretty sure you would have to use any manufacturers landscape rake with due care."
"I also have the 84" extreme- whatever, ETA rake and just broke my first tine in two years of sometimes rough work clearing my property, grading, etc. I have hooked the tines on many a large rock or stump or hooked the end of the rake into a tree. All major grading was done with the ROBB, but also did a lot of the lighter grading with the rake since it does a good double duty job. And the wheels sure made the final grading far more successful that I would have been without them. Love the wheels. Just used them again tonight to rake some new gravel over fill I had rutted up with my 8000# truck after a large rain event."
"Never a problem until two days ago when I broke my first tine. I felt fortunate. And considering what I was doing when the tine broke, I probably finally backed up over/into something it hooked on and finally broke. No worries. I just replaced it with one of the four spares I purchased when I got the rake. And have three left. To me broken tines on occasion are just a part of the beast- assuming there is not a factory defect."
"I've had an EA rake now going on three years, I use it moderately hard without any broken tines as of yet. I have one that is slightly bent about a half inch or so, wouldn't hesitate to buy again."
"Well, I broke two more tines tonight and significantly bent a third one. So after two years I broke three tines and bent one tine, all very recently. All damage was my fault as tonight I took that 7' rake into a wooded area that was not cleared to get at a pine tree that needed to be removed as it was standing where a 6 x 6 fence corner post needs to go. I remember going back and forth a few times digging out the tree and should have realized I was running the rake into a tree. So all of my spare tines are now gone and I need to order a few more.
BTW: I compared all tines on the rake- new and old and they are all shaped very similarly and all lay at the same height with the rake lowered to the ground (concrete). Meaning none bent from use, other than an insignificant amount, I imagine."
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darrenjttu
Silver Member
Well I'm just giving my opinion on the rake that I bought. You have good products but I just believe they are not as great as you lead people to believe.
EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
Did you replace the tines? You've mentioned them in warnings to customers shopping for rakes, but I've never seen your rake or tines.
Do you have pics of the rake tines, which were bent prior to March of 2016 when you mentioned it or current pics of the rake?
Travis
darrenjttu
Silver Member
I don't have any pics of it. I have always had problems loading pics in this site. Maybe it's time to learn so I can show everyone how the tines bend. You act as it is surprising that they bend. In ted and peanuts video of them demonstrating the rake they bent a tine too.
EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
Oh, we know they're bendable. Heck, what springy piece of steel isn't under certain conditions?
Yes, the Ultimate Landscape Rake Torture Test Video! We are very proud of a bent tine after the beating we put on that rake! :thumbsup:
Torture Test & How-To Part 1
Torture Test & How-To Part 2
darrenjttu
Silver Member
Wow I have never seen an advertiser argue with someone over thier opinion as much as you do.
