Sold my L35...now what? L48 or JD110

[JATO_RaT]

Chris, the hydrostatic while new to me, was so quickly mastered. I never stall anymore and can predict exactly how much pressure to exert based on the RPM. I found that after about 2000 RPM, there was no more torque to be gained. Thats good too because at 2000 RPM, the noise level is very low. Filling the bucket to well over heaping takes a little practice. It is definitely different with hydro. The one thing I feel good about is how little abuse everything on a hydrostatic drive seems to take. No jumping, clutch slipping, accidently going to forward or reverse with a little to much RPM and getting a good jerk as with gears. The speed with which I load and dump is much faster with HST, Rat...

 

[Tags]

Rat,it defenitely does seem like cycle times for loader work would be much better w/the hydro,since there is really no pause between forward and reverse,which should be really nice for loading a truck.I think the best thing about it is it's simplicity,step and go,especially if someone w/little or no experience hops on.Also I talked to the dealer this morning about the financing rate and he told me that when he called JD financing division they didn,t even know what a 110 was,so they gave him the "standard" financing rate, and they will probably match the Kubota rate once machines are shipped.I really wish JD would get on the stick w/this stuff,I do understand its not their only product but lets go allready!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have been reading with interest about what all of you have been writing about the harley rake, my son has a small contstruction business backhoe, dozer, b21 and dump truck, I was wondering in the Seattle area if there would be any demand for doing work with a harley rake ,and would really appreciate it if some of you could tell me what kind of jobs you get and if it would be worth the expense to buy a L48 or JD110 with a harley rake to replace his full size Case backhoe.
Business has been slow and maybe one other service that he could provide would help his business. Thanks any comment are much appreciated. Jim

 

[JATO_RaT]

Jim, the powered landscape rake is incredible. I plan on bringing one down from north of here to my place next week. Its an 8' model. Mine is a Glenmac/Harley. The newer styles look to be even better then ours. I love using this piece of equipment. It not only does a great job of clearing the debris from the ground, but leaves behind a seedbed thats almost ready to plant. With an 8' model, it takes little time to prepare acres of land. They are fantastic pieces of equipment. It does not take much in the way of tractor power to run one. I like having a larger compact for the loader work, but 30 hp tractors should be able to handle the 6' or 8' model with little difficulty. Rat...

 

[Tags]

Jim,
The way I see it,the Harley rake(or any power rake)opens up a bunch of business opportunities.It now allows the business to be "full service",say after your son finishes digging or grading a job he could then offer his services to complete the landscape by power-raking and seeding.When I got mine other landscapers who didn't have it would hire me to rake for them because in the end it saved them time and produced a better end product,I also have the job of maintaining the local ball fields,every couple of weeks I go in and rake all the infields and it smooths em' right out.As far as being able to replace the Case hoe completely.....it really depends what he uses it for,if it is only for mostly loader work and part time hoe work then I would say yes,but if his main gig is mostly using the hoe,the 110 or 48 may seem a bit small or underpowered to him,it also all depends on how old or new the Case is.The 110 or 48 do allow more options though,because the hoe does come off allowing you to utilize tons of three point hitch attachments...hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Rat and Tags,
Thanks so much for your reply, I will pass it on to my son, he is just starting out and has alot to learn. I've never been in business for myself so am not much help. I love reading the post, and all the great information that all of you provide. We will look into getting a harley rake. Thanks again, Jim

 

[JATO_RaT]

Chris, amazing, I always thought something one could do with a landscape rake (powered rake) was to prepare an infield for a baseball season. Whenever I would look at the results that the rake left behind it always reminded me of a baseball infield like one would see at the start of a major league game and here you are doing that very thing, thats fabulous!!! Rat...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

How much does a Harley rake cost?