Trac Vac Leaf Vacuum

[sunnyside360]

I'm looking for a leaf vacuum to clean the ditches along my half mile driveway. On paper, the Trac Vac 854 unit looks great but I've never seen one or talked to anyone who has one. The local dealer gave me a price today of $3550 for a new 854 which runs off the PTO. Price includes extra long vacuum hose for getting into those hard-to-get-to places. WOW, that seems awfully expensive.
I'm looking for opinions on the Trac Vac and the price. Should I be considering other vacuums?

 

[texas42]

I also looked at the Trac Vac. I called the local Distributor/Dealer and they could care less if they sold one or not. Then called the main office and was told I had to go thru a dealer eventhough the local dealer was not interested in selling one.
So I looked at and bought a Cyclone Rake. It works great and does what they say it will do.
I run it behind a JD 2320 with a 62 inch MMM. This combination will suck up leaves as well as anything I have ever seen.
I have the longer hose for those hard to reach areas and that works good also.
Cyclone Rake is easy to deal with, cheaper than the Trac Vac, and offer a free trial period.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I'm looking for a leaf vacuum to clean the ditches along my half mile driveway. On paper, the Trac Vac 854 unit looks great but I've never seen one or talked to anyone who has one. The local dealer gave me a price today of $3550 for a new 854 which runs off the PTO. Price includes extra long vacuum hose for getting into those hard-to-get-to places. WOW, that seems awfully expensive.
I'm looking for opinions on the Trac Vac and the price. Should I be considering other vacuums?

Trac Vac has a tapered dump trailer that makes emptying a snap. Not sure about the others. Also, I think the TVs have more capacity. Mine has its own 8HP engine and has been no trouble over 5yrs. Just take care of the metal.
larry

 

[Wildbill34]

I bought my 854 Trac Vac used. I have to tell you I'm really impressed with it. If it isn't nailed down, its coming up with this machine. Dumping the cart is a breeze and takes a few seconds. I haven't used an extended hose on it like you want to do in your application. However, I had the hose off the impeller side last year and I waved my hand in front of the intake to the impeller while at half speed......dang near sucked my hand in. Point being, I can't imagine you having any problems using the extended hose for your application. Nice thing about it, you don't have to worry about a pony motor. Hook it up an go. The other thing is....neighbors are wanting me to come over a do their leaves in the fall. So for fuel and a little cash I help them out.....

 

[kennyd]

I bought my TV 854 used as well for $1k. Trailer needs some work but the main unit is perfect. I have some pictures in an album linked in my sig.

 

[Carl_NH]

Mirroring the other posts I have had a Trac Vac 580 6HP Brigggs engine, tow behind unit with my Cub GT and it has worked very well for last 8 years. I use it for spring and fall cleanup and the occasional grass pickup.

As others have stated dumping is easy due to the angled collection box, and the vac unit has never had a problem. The only thing weak in my opinion is the top screen on the collection box - I replaced the mesh with a HD steel mesh and problem solved.

I bought new for $1600, and you can find them used in the range of $500-1000. As far as the cyclone rake I considered that unit too, but the soft sides and dumping ability are not IMO as good system long term - when I looked at them they had 2 models. If you look at what the commercial guys use its mostly Trac Vac or similar.

 

[GE222]

I had one about 10 years ago for leaves. It did work great except for one really frustrating problem.:ashamed: Quite often a stick would get stuck inside the intake hose from the mower deck. This required stopping everything, and clearing the jam. Not a major issue except that it did happen quite often.

 

[J_J]

I have a Trac-Vac that was mounted on the back of a Dixie Chopper. I can not even count the tons of leaves I have collected over the years. I did have to replace several engined, and vac blade assemblies. The rocks and sand here in Florida, really wears them down. They did also generate a lot of dust, as the Chopper cut those leaves pretty good, and the vac/blower would sling them in the barrel on the back of the Chopper. I have a total of three now, recently acquired two vac with gas engines, and complete with wheels on the carriage. The other one I have was free riding, and was easy to turn and back up without any problems. Instead of that expensive tubing that they all want to sell, I adapted the 6 in black ribbed drain tubing to clean out flower beds, and leaf piles, etc. I also found you have to ground that tubing, as the air blowing through the tubing, will generate static electricity, and give you a shock at times. You can connect 1,2 or 3 sections together for longer reach. You can also mount the engine and vac assembly on the back of a truck and blow leaves in the truck with a mesh curtain. Good for parking lots, etc.


http://trac-vac.com/index_files/Model462Z.htm

 

[TBDonnelly]

I've found the most efficient way for me to clean the leaves out of my ditch, is to use a hand held blower and blow the leaves up out of the ditch on to the level grass. Then vacuum them up with the mower deck/trac-vac.

Don

 

[sunnyside360]

Many thanks for all your input. I'm leaning towards a Trac Vac and will shop around for a good used one and/or get a better price on a new unit.

 

[bob19]

I collect about 1,800 bushels of leaves each year. I bought a Trac Vac Model 1080 about 6 years ago. It has a capacity of 44 bushels. It has an 11hp turbine engine on it and I pull it with a Kubota B2910 with a 72" mid-mount mower. Yes, they are expensive, but if you plan to use it like I do, then it is well worth the money. The only expense I have had is a new fuel line and battery in 2008. Plus, I replaced the tail gate on it.

It is very powerful and I can also use it to get leaves by hand. That allows me to get close to buildings and the corners of fences. It very rarely gets stopped up, but that is easy to get loose. If you use it 6 years like I have and do 1,800 bushels a season, I highly recommend it.

 

[sunnyside360]

I found new Trac Vac models 854 and 858 at a dealer about 150 miles away. Cost is $2830 for either model. Add another $214 for a 12' extension hose with quick connect. From what info I can find the only difference between the two models is the 854 is 3ph mounted and the 858 is draw bar mounted.
Still quite expensive but looking more promising.

 

[bob19]

The older model 860, which may or not have been replaced with model 858, would only handle mowers up to 71". If you have a 72" mower like mine, the 858 may not work with your tractor.

 

[CHDinCT]

I guess I'll buck the trend. I've had my Cyclone Rake for 7 leaf seasons and have never had an issue nor needed to replace one part. It is very well made and you buy straight from the factory which is why, in my opinion, you get more for your money. I believe their top of the line XL unit packs a 415 gal capacity and comes with a 9hp Vanguard engine for $1695. Add in the 17 foot hose extension for $200 and shipping and you're a little over $2K depending on where you live.

Now if you have to have a PTO driven model, Trac-Vac is the way to go. Don't know anyone else who makes a PTO driven model.

 

[sunnyside360]

................
Now if you have to have a PTO driven model, Trac-Vac is the way to go. Don't know anyone else who makes a PTO driven model.

Actually, the more I look at these vacuums the more I like the engine driven models because a lot of my use is for cleaning out ditches and I'd have the option of pulling the unit with a UTV, ATV or tractor. In addition, I rarely run my tractor at rated 540 PTO RPM's while mowing grass but with the PTO powered vacuum I'd have to run at/near rated PTO speed when mowing and vacuuming.
I'm now looking real hard at the Trac Vac models 880 and 1080 with dedicated engines for above reasons and am getting info on Cyclone and DR vacuums as well. It's hard to believe the Trac Vac model 880 with 13.5 engine is less money than the pto powered 854.

 

[sunnyside360]

The older model 860, which may or not have been replaced with model 858, would only handle mowers up to 71". If you have a 72" mower like mine, the 858 may not work with your tractor.

On paper the 854 and 858 look identical and the prices are the same (see below). I called the distributor and was told the 858 has a slightly greater vacuum than the 854 due to difference in pulleys.

http://www.acidist.com/Pricebooks/tracvac.pdf

 

[kennyd]

It's hard to believe the Trac Vac model 880 with 13.5 engine is less money than the pto powered 854.

I thought the same thing when I was looking...I think it has to due with volume of sales, I am sure they don't sell many of the PTO model compared to the engine driven ones.