Ok, got some more rake time last night. This might get a little long winded so sit back for a few minutes if you have time.
I really like the idea of this tool and I'm trying to be fair and impartial. But so far I dont' think I'm able to give a fair evaluation at this point b/c we've had so much rain and the ground is so soaked it's just stoopid. And from what I've seen this is definitely not a tool for anything but dry or reasonably dry conditions.
My main goal so far has been some driveway repair. Our gravel drive has mounds along the sides b/c the area we drive on has obviously been compacted down. Plus when I blow snow or plow debris gets accumulated along the sides of the drive. It's these mounds along both sides of the drive that are the bane of my existence. They're hard and full of decent sized rocks and crap. There's also very thick vegetation growing on/around them. To compound matters there's basically a culvert that runs along both sides of the drive. So working along this area is a little sketchy b/c there's very little room for maneuvering the tractor.
I've never owned a toothbar so I can't say how that would do. And the rear blade and box blade don't have any real down force to cut into these mounds. So I was hoping the rake would allow me to break up and get rid of these mounds. The rake so far has worked ok at this task. I still have hope. But as I said the ground is still rather wet so that creates a lot of issues w/ traction, the soil "balling" up, the vegetation really sticking in place etc. So far it's simply a matter of it taking more passes w/ the rake than I had hoped. But it looks like this will eventually work.
The next task was to repair and smooth out some burns in the gravel caused by heavy rains. Sorry, that might be a VT term. Burns are the washed away/out trails in your road from water coursing down it. Hands down the box blade is the winner in this application. No contest.
Then I headed out to the back "yard". My wife has been after me for close to 4 yrs now to fix up back there. When I first got my
L3400 I went out there and dug around, played, practiced and basically made a big ole dirt patch. I never really fixed it b/c my sons loved having a huge dirt plot to play in. But it has become a large eye sore.
This is my other main reason for buying the rake. To repair the back yard I'm hoping to basically back drag w/ the rack and loosen the soil, remove the "grass" and sort out at least most of the rocks that have grown out there. It's compacted soil with a lot of rocks and something that resembles grass. Did I mention the rocks?
Again, I think the soil is still to wet. It's not really muddy, but it's damp. And the rake has been less than what I'd hoped for so far in this area. I think it will work if I can work the soil when it's a tad drier.
My last task for the rake I've not been able to try b/c my back field is completely saturated. And the only thing worse than getting your car stuck somewhere, is getting a tractor stuck. This last area is a small dirt track we drive r/c trucks on. I think this will be a good comparison b/c honestly I think this tool is best suited for non-compacted soil. And that's no surprise b/c I think that is exactly what the inventor made it for. He's a contractor working w/ softened soil at building sites and I'm sure it works amazingly in those conditions.
To address some points:
JJ: Yes, I saw/read about the 30-50 deg angle. I understand the rams are not fully extended at this angle but it still gives me a pucker factor in the seat region. That might just be me. But I have been working/moving very slowly w/ the rake so far so I think I should be ok. As long as I keep my head about me.
JohnThomas: You might be willing to accept the possibility of tore up rams, but I'm not. A tool that does more damage than good is no tool in my mind. That scenario is similar to my 8 yo loose in my shop. Not gonna happen, again
As I keep saying and sorry for repeating myself, I think this tool is probably amazing in the setting it was designed for. Loosened or slightly loosened soil of a job site. It does a great job on vegetation for sure. And I do think once the ground dries a bit around here I'll have better luck. I do like the rake and really want it to work out so I'm more than happy to keep trying. I'm sure like any implement it's got a learning curve that I'm still pretty low on.
If you got questions or comments please let us know.
j
