Landscape Rake Question

[Normal Bill]

What is the right way to tilt a landscape rake with gauge wheels? Do you simply adjust the wheels to different heights? Do you adjust the three point? Or do you adjust a combination of both?

I've learned quite a bit from all the threads about driveway maintenance and landscape rakes but I haven't been able to find this. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Hiltz]

You can adjust with your top link to angle the rake by making it more aggressive or less. Find the right aggressiveness you like THEN adjust the height of your gauge wheels for best control.

 

[LD1]

I treat a rake the same as a rear blade. You want the hitch components level so when you angle it, it remains level. Adjust the wheels accordingly.

If you make the top link too long, the hitch components are on a do ward slope away from the tractor. Then when you angle, the side coming toward the tractor is coming uphill and the side going away is going down hill. Making the rake unlevel. The opposite is true with too short of a tl. So o Ce the to is set for level, leave it.

 

[jeff9366]

Here are directions from York-Modern's web site:

Do I Need Caster Wheels on my York Rake?
Yes, if you want professional results!

As with any three-point hitch implement it is virtually impossible for it follow the grade relying solely on the three-point hitch of the tractor. Trying to follow the grade by constantly adjusting the three-point hitch can be tedious, if not impossible. They are just not designed to do this. Using this method also results in the implement doing the exact opposite of the tractors front wheels. As the wheels go in a hole, the implement comes off the ground and as they ride over a high spot, the implement digs in.

You have to be pretty quick on the three-point hitch lever to avoid this. Using an implement with caster wheels allows it to f��loat independently behind the tractor while following the contour of the ground. This is particularly important when you get to the raking stage of your site work. The best raking results will be achieved with the rake angled and the caster wheels properly adjusted. When raking you want to adjust the caster wheels in the following manner. With the rake angled, you want the caster wheel closest to the tractor higher (off the ground); this allows it to penetrate a little more. The caster wheel farthest from the tractor should raise the rake so it is barely touching the ground. The difference in wheel height only needs to be about an inch, more if the soil is really soft and you want to screen more material. This adjustment allows the end of the rake closest to the tractor to dig a little harder than the end further from the tractor. This increases the vibrating action of the rake teeth improving the rakes screening action as the material moves across the front of the rake.

Rocks and debris will move into a windrow and the pulverized soil will pass between the rake teeth. Remember too, the faster you can go the better the vibrating action will be. The resulting screening action from a properly adjusted pair of caster wheels produces an ideal finished surface, ready for seeding or sod.

 

[Normal Bill]

Thank you. I'm talking about lateral "tilt" (...not sure of the terminology... to make a slight crown etc..).

Jeff9366, I saw this same thing on another thread. ( Maybe you posted it.) Do I leave the 3point level and make the wheels 2 different heights? Or, do I also adjust the 3point right side to tilt the rake?

 

[jeff9366]

I have a Landscape Rake from Everything Attachements. The gauge wheels on the ETA Landscape Rake are not adjustable, so I cannot lend you advice.

To tilt my ETA rake I adjust the Right Lifting Rod on the Three Point Hitch.

 

[mikehaugen]

Adjusting the wheels wouldn't work I don't think. They are after the rake, so if the rake made a slant, the wheels are now riding on that slant trying to make more of a slant... theoretically making an endless "spiral". I think you want to keep the wheels parallel to the bottom of the rake. Once the crown starts, the wheels will be on a slant and hold the rake at the same slant.

 

[BX23D]

What I found when using my rake was that when I tried to "level" an area I had to disconnect the top link so that the rake would not lift/drop as much, as the front of the tractor followed the ups and downs of the ground. It would be nice to have a hydraulic top link with float. If you look at a rake with gauge wheels on a tractor you will see that you have a grader with a fixed height blade/rake. This view might give you more ideas on usage. I might not be right, but it worked for me.