[Frank46]

OK, I have a 2305 and bought a frontier LR2060L rake to use on my machine. I sure wish they would put a diagram in the
booklet that came with it but pretty sure I have it figured out. I need this to rake up a lot of small branches and twigs hurricane issac dumped on my yards. Since I have the mid or belly mower on it would I need the counter weight system that attaches to the front of the tractor?. I did go around and pick up all the larger tree limbs so it's mostly small stuff and cannot see me and the wife raking about an acre of lawn. It pretty level and no slopes or inclines. Thanks, Frank

 

[meburdick]

Frank,

The rake that you have is commonly used for raking dirt to remove larger stones, chunks of wood, etc. The tines on it are heavy and wide, and may rip your lawn up quite a bit if you try to use it in the way you're planning. Additionally, with no gauge wheels on it, there is no way to control "how far down" the tines can go if there is an incline that you transition onto while moving (front of machine goes up the grade, rear implement will drop closer to the ground).

As far as the weight - I had a 6' rake that I used to grade a portion of my lawn. I had no mower installed, and no loader either. I did not apply any counterweight to the front, and there was no issue. If you were lifting a significant amount of weight with the three-point hitch, using a very heavy rear implement (like a snowblower), wanted any additional traction from the front wheels in 4WD, or if you were using it while driving up an incline, you would want / need to use the front weights.

 

[Frank46]

Meburdick, thanks for the info regarding the counter weights. And you are right about the guage wheels. That makes perfect sense. The booklet does make mention of using the rake as a rake literally though. Definitely will contact the dealer about them. As a matter of fact will call them as soon as I finish here. Sure wish the dealer had mentioned that little fact about the wheels. Sometimes getting info from them is like pulling teeth. You may have cost me some money (ouch) but at the same time saved me a lot of frustration. I have breathing problems and the frustration of putting the rake on and not getting proper results only compounds the problem. Thanks for being so quick in responding, it is greatly appreciated. Frank

 

[meburdick]

Hope it works out to your satisfaction all around. I agree that there may be some additional monies spent (if you add the wheels), but if it keeps you from having to fix a ripped up lawn, I suspect you'll be happier in the end.

I don't know how well the rake will work for what you want. It might be great, it might be terrible. My experience with them is in raking out dirt / soil when removing stones. I put in a pool last year and made a mess of one area of the yard when I trenched for the electrical. Covering it all back up and such, I was left with a poor top surface and I rented a rake to smooth it out. It was excellent at picking out the larger stones and such and left me only the need to raking out the very small stones with a hand landscape rake.

 

[meburdick]

You mentioned that hooking up the rake is difficult, and I agree. I suspect that the issue you're dealing with is directly related to the fact that the lower pins on that rake are basically a foot below the 3PH arms and you have to lift it up.

There's an easier way...

If you have a loader, grab the front of the rake and lift it into the air about 12-15 inches.

If you don't have a loader, back up to the rake and drop the 3PH all the way down. Use a couple of heavy pieces of wire (coat hangers would work) to loop around the pins on the rake and through the 3PH arms. Raise the front of the rake 12-15 inches.

Once the front of the rake is in the air, slide a few pieces of wood underneath to support it at, or slightly above, the height of the 3PH arms when they're all the way down. Set the rake on the blocks.

Now that the rake is raised up, you can back the machine up to it and raise the arms to match the height of the pins. Once those are connected, additional fine-tuning of the arm height will get things lined up for the top link to be connected.

 

[Frank46]

There is a long bolt with a nut that serves as a locking nut in the center of the rake. This is what holds the rake upright. The pics and booklet are kind of hazy about wether or not it is supposed to be taken off when using the rake. Since there is a sort section of pvc pipe attached to the rake with caps I'm guessing that once everything is connected the bolt get taken off, stored in the pipe and put back on prior to disconnecting it. Frank

 

[meburdick]

I'm not picturing it, and the product brochures from Frontier don't show that section of pipe you're referring to (not close up anyhow). If you could post a picture or two, that might be helpful.

 

[Frank46]

Meburdick, I have to be honest with you. I'm one of those electronically challenged people. Cell phones, never had one, digital cameras never had one. Last camera I had was a old konica slr and when it died never bought another. I just pulled out the booklet. Its part #12 5WS343430 and is called "stand rod weldment" it fits into a piece of what looks like a piece of pipe welded to the mount and is held in place with part #13 5WS590194 "lock pin 5/16". The booklet I have does not show the pvc pipe but says it is used to store the owners manual. So I was wrong about the pvc pipe usage.On page #6 of the booklet I have they refer to the "stand rod weldment" as a parking stand to support landscape rake. So this parking stand probably is removed once the rake is hooked up and put back on prior to disconnecting. Think I'm going to have nightmares about rakes tonight. Thanks for being so patient with me, its very much appreciated. Frank

 

[Gizmo2]

This may help.
Frank46 is this your rake?

 

[meburdick]

Looks like it's got a "kickstand". That should make connecting much easier once it's raise into that position.

If that's how the OP has it, and it's still a bear to connect, I'm not sure what to offer for suggestions.

 

[HydroHarold]

"I did go around and pick up all the larger tree limbs so it's mostly small stuff and cannot see me and the wife raking about an acre of lawn."

If that big "rake" doesn't work out... That job is exactly suited to a PowerFlow bagger system. My trees shed all kinds of stuff every time it blows or rains heavy and the PF picks up everything under about 1" thick.

 

[Gizmo2]

I made a stand for our rake 20 years ago now most rakes come with the same type.
We have not used the rake in 8 - 10 years. One thing I learn, you don't drive off with the stand still down, cause you'll end up making a new one.

With Frank46's he probably would pull the pin, pull the stand up and I would bet there is another hole near the bottom of the stand to put the pin back in to hold the stand up.

 

[Frank46]

Gizmo, that is exactly what I have. From what I read it supports the rake when not in use. There is a removable pin that you take out to remove the "kick stand". Thanks for all the help. You all made my day. Spent much of the time doing branches, twigs and limbs. Most of them went up in smoke. Tomorrow is another day. Again many thanks to all of you as it is greatly appreciated. Frank

 

[rgd]

I like this rake for yard use. It would probably not be ideal for large branches though. One day, I'm going to get one.

 

[Gizmo2]

rgd, We bought ours to smooth out an outside riding ring we used for the horses (about a foot of sand). We probably used it 2-3 times a week, now we never use it. I think yours would have done a better job. Once I removed every other tine on ours it did work pretty good though. The day I sell the thing will be the day I need it again.....as always. Another thing I learned with ours is it will not hold up to backing into bigger trees as the tines will just snap off:hide:

 

[Superglidesport]

I like this rake for yard use. It would probably not be ideal for large branches though. One day, I'm going to get one. View attachment 11104

RGD,

Who makes that 3PH mounted spring rake / de-thatcher? I think I might want one.

Thanks,
Frank

 

[Sawdust]

RGD,

Who makes that 3PH mounted spring rake / de-thatcher? I think I might want one.

Thanks,
Frank

I believe that's from everything attachments.

 

[Gizmo2]

Superglidesport,
Tractor 3 Point Hitch Pine Straw Rakes | Pine Needle Rakes

 

[meburdick]

rgd, We bought ours to smooth out an outside riding ring we used for the horses (about a foot of sand). We probably used it 2-3 times a week, now we never use it. I think yours would have done a better job. Once I removed every other tine on ours it did work pretty good though. The day I sell the thing will be the day I need it again.....as always. Another thing I learned with ours is it will not hold up to backing into bigger trees as the tines will just snap off:hide:

Just bring it over to my house and I'll take it on permanent loan. That way, you haven't sold it, so you'll never need it again. And I'll have it for the projects where I'm re-leveling areas of the yard or filling in and smoothing out after having some stumps ground.

 

[Gizmo2]

Just bring it over to my house and I'll take it on permanent loan. That way, you haven't sold it, so you'll never need it again. And I'll have it for the projects where I'm re-leveling areas of the yard or filling in and smoothing out after having some stumps ground.

I think you're close enough, I'd consider loaning it to ya. Got a trailer?