Pulled the trigger on a Cyclone rake

[TBDonnelly]

This is so creative -- and simple --I'm mad at myself for not thinking about it, but i'm glad you did! I"m going to steal your idea too --

Hey Thanks! We might have to come up with a collective name for this feature.
The No Dump - dump slide out __________, ___________ .

For Hazmat:

Looked up the latch info @ Mcmaster-Carr.

Clamps for the output chute. The clamps on my unit are listed as, 'Snap-Down Arm Latches. Page 2987 Scroll to the bottom of the page. Mine are the Number 3.

http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=2897

Don

 

[bill333]

for TBDonnelly...
Finally getting around to building the slide out 'shelf'. Question for you...why did you attach the rope to the front of the shelf, instead of just putting a hole in the shelf inself at the rear and threading in the rope?

also, did you find that with the front vertical board only part the height of the box, that when you pull the shelf out the leaves drop down inside the box? A front board the same height would help with this ,but I'm worried it would be too heavy to put back in.

Hey Thanks! We might have to come up with a collective name for this feature.
The No Dump - dump slide out __________, ___________ .

For Hazmat:

Looked up the latch info @ Mcmaster-Carr.

Clamps for the output chute. The clamps on my unit are listed as, 'Snap-Down Arm Latches. Page 2987 Scroll to the bottom of the page. Mine are the Number 3.

http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=2897

Don

 

[TBDonnelly]

for TBDonnelly...
Finally getting around to building the slide out 'shelf'. Question for you...why did you attach the rope to the front of the shelf, instead of just putting a hole in the shelf inself at the rear and threading in the rope?

also, did you find that with the front vertical board only part the height of the box, that when you pull the shelf out the leaves drop down inside the box? A front board the same height would help with this ,but I'm worried it would be too heavy to put back in.

I attached the rope to the 2x4 angled uprights because they were the 'beefiest' part of the whole slide-in. It is a tremoudous amount of weight when the trailer is packed full and I think it would distort the slide-in out of shape over time. I would need to add additional support(and weight)across the rear edge to attach the rope there.

I'm happy with the height of the front vertical board. The wind velocity packs the leaves in pretty tight, so they stay in a cube as they come out, losing very few leaves over the back of the vertical upright. Your results may vary depending upon: 1. How much your vac breaks the leaves down. 2. How tightly they pack in the trailer.

Don

 

[bill333]

Don,
Thanks, I understand. What I had considered doing was just screwing a 2 x 4 the width of the board at the rear end, would add stability against 'curl' and then drill holes in it to run the rope through. (With a knot). I think that would handle the weight, but now I'm thinking you way is better; my way the knot would rest under all that weight, and when pulled out the rope might abrade over time. (This approach would make 'rope management' easier I thought).
I think my trailer is a bit larger than yours -- mine is 36 inches wide by 84 long, so I'm trying to think through all the issues with weight, inertia, etc. before I get it together. (for example, I've thought about using metal guides on the bottom instead of the wood ones you used)

 

[SPYDERLK]

I attached the rope to the 2x4 angled uprights because they were the 'beefiest' part of the whole slide-in. It is a tremoudous amount of weight when the trailer is packed full and I think it would distort the slide-in out of shape over time. I would need to add additional support(and weight)across the rear edge to attach the rope there.

I'm happy with the height of the front vertical board. The wind velocity packs the leaves in pretty tight, so they stay in a cube as they come out, losing very few leaves over the back of the vertical upright. Your results may vary depending upon: 1. How much your vac breaks the leaves down. 2. How tightly they pack in the trailer.

Don

I like your idea to get around a non dumping trailer. You dont show getting the board out from under all those leaves! I didnt know TracVac had made non dumping trailers. On mine Iv always just tipped it back and jerked forward a few feet. It invariably leaves a leaf loaf behind. If it didnt dump Id be using your invention for sure!
larry

 

[TBDonnelly]

I like your idea to get around a non dumping trailer. You dont show getting the board out from under all those leaves! I didnt know TracVac had made non dumping trailers. On mine Iv always just tipped it back and jerked forward a few feet. It invariably leaves a leaf loaf behind. If it didnt dump Id be using your invention for sure!
larry

Er...ah....they don't make non-dumping trailers. I bought this TracVac twenty years ago, already broke in (used). A few years passed, then a weld broke loose on the frame and jiggled the 6" pipe (where it connects going into the trailer) enough to break off the small clips that held the pipe in place. After that, the pipe become somewhat permanently secured to the trailer with nuts and bolts. So the current non-dumping trailer was formerly known as a dumping trailer.

I think I've replaced or re-inforced just about every thing else on the unit. One alteration I did was to put a longer axle on, replace the balloon tires with a slighlty smaller turf tire. It lowered the COG and gave it about a 3" wider footprint. I can mow the slopes much easier now and not worry about dumping the trailer over. The tires are a little wider than the trailer so care must be taken to not hook a tire on a fence post (not that I have ever done that! ). The wider width is well worth it for the added stability on the slopes.

Don

 

[TBDonnelly]

Don,
I think my trailer is a bit larger than yours -- mine is 36 inches wide by 84 long, so I'm trying to think through all the issues with weight, inertia, etc. before I get it together. (for example, I've thought about using metal guides on the bottom instead of the wood ones you used)

Your trailer is much longer and a little wider. Mine started out as a standard 10 cubic foot lawn and garden trailer similar to what you see at TSC or Sears. Depending on how high the sides are.......it will be quite heavy. Thinking out loud......when unloading the trailer a prop on the ground that would hold one side of the 'slide' up would dump some of the leaves off to the side when the 'slide' dropped off the edge of the trailer. Thus making it easier to remove the rest of the leaves to 'free up' the slide from under the leaves.

Don

 

[bill333]

That's a great idea. I'm sure I'll figure out more things I need to deal with when I get it done.
My sides are 4 feet high. Because it is heavy we generally don't fill it all the way up -- even with 2 people it is heavy to lift. the dump unit is poorly designed -- the dump jack only lifts the trailer up about 18 inches, so you have to lift it the rest of the way manually anyway.
The other big problem is the cart is almost impossible to back up since the front axle pivots. So we often have to unhook it and maneuver it into position by hand. Who designs this stuff, anyway?
I'll post pics as I get it moved along...starting on it today (65 degrees here in VA!)

 

[bill333]

Got most of it done. I'm a bit worried about the front vertical panel pulling off with the weight of the leaves when sliding out. I had screwed in the panel to the 2x4 supports, but now I think I should put a lag bolt in there since that will bear the brunt of the pressure. I think I'm also going to poly coat the bottom of the sliders to reduce some drag.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Got most of it done. I'm a bit worried about the front vertical panel pulling off with the weight of the leaves when sliding out. I had screwed in the panel to the 2x4 supports, but now I think I should put a lag bolt in there since that will bear the brunt of the pressure. [[[I think I'm also going to poly coat the bottom of the sliders to reduce some drag.]]]

I think a graphite spray would work nicely.
larry

 

[bill333]

Don, how did you attach your rope to the tree? My question is, how do you avoid a knot that gets really tight when you pull forward?

I finished your invention, and tested it yesterday with just a half load since I only had a 200 pound test rope. Everything worked great. I have to make a small modification; since my unit is large and heavy I had added a handle to help put it in the cart, but I need to move the handle. If I had to do it all over I'd make the entire unit an inch narrower -- it's a bit tough to line up to put back in the cart. Also, I forgot to think about storage -- I should have hinged the front vertical board, and then could have removed the side 2x4 supports (I used bolts) and hinged the unit for easy inside storage. But other than that, it works great. I'll try to post pics shortly.

 

[TBDonnelly]

Don, how did you attach your rope to the tree? My question is, how do you avoid a knot that gets really tight when you pull forward?

I use a tow strap -or- chain, with hooks. Hook one end around a tree and the other end to the rope on the slide out. The rope on my slide-out is tied in two places (2x4 angled supports) forming a 'U' shape so it's not necessary to do any knot tieing to pull it out. Just hook and pull.

Don

 

[bill333]

Well, here it is in action...my first post with photos, so hopefully I'm doing this right.
Two pics show the entire 'system' in action. Note that the bag on the Cyclone rake is bypassed. The entry vacuum hose goes to the vacuum, and then outputs into the large cart. On the imput side, I'm trying something new; instead of the backbreaking method of manually sucking up the leaves, I attached the input hose to a box (just a plastic storage bin) with 2 boards forming an entry shute. I then use a backpack blower to blow leaves into the box.
The other pic shows the sled.

The system works great. A little slow in some ways (getting the leaves into the box takes some subtle blower work, and getting the whole system in place takes a while). But once going, it saves the big time waster, dumping the leaves, since this cart holds at least 5x what the cyclone rake bag holds, and now with the sled, the dumping is very quick.

 

[bill333]

pic of the sled....

 

[TBDonnelly]

The system works great..........the dumping is very quick.

Excellent! Should be good for years to come.

I have an idea'r. For the next update down the road apiece. Is there a possibility of hooking the large wagon up behind the cyclone rake and pulling the whole rig while vacuuming with the mower deck. It kinda be like driving an 18 wheeler that doesn't back up. .....but it would work in open areas. Just 'leafin' a thought for a future project. You can never have to many future projects.

Good job on the sled!

Don

 

[bill333]

Well, as for the sled, I have you to thank, it's your design!
BTW, there was no problem at all with the larger size, it still just slides out fine.

Regarding the 'semi' idea, I have thought of this. I'm not sure if the 'trailer' on the rake would be strong enough to connect the cart to. What I have considered is, at some point, finding someone to help me weld a small platform on the front of the cart, above the level of the tongue. I could mount the vac on that (it is held in place on the vac cart by just two bolts) and do away with the vac bag altogether.
Thanks again for all you help on this.
Bill

 

[DJoseph]

I just put a Cyclone XL unit into operation and I'm pleased with the boot, suction hose, motor/blower unit and hardware pieces...but...the container is a royal pain. Velcro has no place in dusty dirty applications and the vent/filter is continually getting plugged. Cyclone moulded in a pressure blow off outlet on the chute that feeds into the leaf container and I'm sure they did this because they knew the thing would plug the screen often. Last year I purchased the DR premiere unit w/the Subaru/Robin engine but sent it back. Without question I now know DR has the superior container. Hard sides, easy to open and their seperator on top is the best I've seen...but...the rest of the DR product was lacking compared to the Cyclone deluxe XL unit. (Heavy, tippy, smaller hoses, etc.) I'd rather keep the Cyclone unit and mount a DR container on the cart. This would be the best of both worlds...but...DR will not sell me parts unless I own a DR lawn vac. I was dumbfounded a company would not sell me parts unless I could verify ownership of a unit. They didn't even know why or what I wanted the parts for nor did they care. I'm in a quandry of what to do. I really like the Cyclone except for the cheesy fabric cart design but if I cannot come up with a solution this unit is going back to Cyclone this week. ( I pull the vac w/a Hustler ZTR.) Trac Vac has what I think is the best idea by mounting the blower directly to the tractor while pulling the cart like a trailer however their products appear to be of a lower overall quality. Anybody please jump in here and give me your two cents worth please. David.

 

[Bill Hoffman]

TRAC-VAC Don't leaf home without it.
I've had one for years and the quality is excellent.
Nothing has broken, keeps on working. We have
so many leaves here that I had to empty the trailer
some years up to 25 times. I did put a set of
small dolly wheels at the very back of the trailer to
aid in unloading, they keep the rear of the frame from
dragging on the ground.

I recommend the Trac-Vac very highly. My model
has the engine mounted on the draw bar of the trailer.

Bill

 

[DJoseph]

Hey Bill Hoffman. What model Trac Vac do you have and can you post a picture for me? Thanks.

 

[J_J]

I just put a Cyclone XL unit into operation and I'm pleased with the boot, suction hose, motor/blower unit and hardware pieces...but...the container is a royal pain. Velcro has no place in dusty dirty applications and the vent/filter is continually getting plugged. Cyclone moulded in a pressure blow off outlet on the chute that feeds into the leaf container and I'm sure they did this because they knew the thing would plug the screen often. Last year I purchased the DR premiere unit w/the Subaru/Robin engine but sent it back. Without question I now know DR has the superior container. Hard sides, easy to open and their seperator on top is the best I've seen...but...the rest of the DR product was lacking compared to the Cyclone deluxe XL unit. (Heavy, tippy, smaller hoses, etc.) I'd rather keep the Cyclone unit and mount a DR container on the cart. This would be the best of both worlds...but...DR will not sell me parts unless I own a DR lawn vac. I was dumbfounded a company would not sell me parts unless I could verify ownership of a unit. They didn't even know why or what I wanted the parts for nor did they care. I'm in a quandry of what to do. I really like the Cyclone except for the cheesy fabric cart design but if I cannot come up with a solution this unit is going back to Cyclone this week. ( I pull the vac w/a Hustler ZTR.) Trac Vac has what I think is the best idea by mounting the blower directly to the tractor while pulling the cart like a trailer however their products appear to be of a lower overall quality. Anybody please jump in here and give me your two cents worth please. David.

I was going the other route, by trying to purchase the impeller from Cyclone, and they told me something similar, that I must have their Cyclone vacuum to buy parts. I only wanted their impeller to make a truck loader, I already have an engine. I told them to go pi** up wind. Anyway, I have some rather large impellers, and I am planning to make a housing for it.

Bill,

On the subject of Trac-Vacs, I have used one mounted to a Dixie Chopper for many years sucking up leaves, The biggest problem was that I could fill up a 44 gal container in about 10 min, back and forth dumping and covered with dirt because that vacuum did such a good job. One other thing, you never knew when it was full until you saw a line of leaves left on the ground. I also went through 3 or 4 engines. It was almost impossible to keep the air filters clean. I still have it, but it has been sitting for a while now, and needs another engine. The sand here in Florida will eat up those impellers, and sand blast a hole in the impeller cover. The plastic impeller on the Cyclone would have been ideal for my project. They just lost some business from me.