[FredSG]

Hello, need some suggestions,

I do quite a bit of tractor raking on gravel roads, my driveway included. As I do the raking, the ground gets level, the way I want it to be, but in the process of raking the gravel, I bring up rocks of all sizes and they sit on the surface. So, to do a cleaner job, I grab my 5 foot hand rake and do a cleanup of those rocks of all sizes sitting on the surface of the gravel.

But, there must be a better and easier way to eliminate the rocks brought to the surface by my tractor rake. Any suggestions on how to get a cleaner non-rock surface rake job?

FredSG

 

[JimR]

Move somewhere where there aren't any rocks!

But seriously, the perfectionist's answer is to get something like a rockhound to windrow the rocks off to the side of the driveway and then rake afterwards.

If the number of rocks isn't to bad you could get a rock bucket for your loader and then rake, pick up the bigger rocks with the rock bucket and then make a final pass with the rake again.

 

[ttazzman]

Add more screened gravel on top ...and don't rake as deep into lower levels that have larger rock to pull up...also a rock rake pulled at a acute angle will tend to move the larger rocks to the side in a windrow for easier disposal

 

[Bulldog Tractor]

are you asking how a commercial company does that? I’d start by scarifying down 3-6”? If I have a customer wanting a butter smooth end product. Then I ask them to pay the up charge of a smooth drum roller.

but just skim raking the top usually results in me separating the fines from the aggregate. And that’s what I think you are seeing? Try setting your riper shanks deeper.
Cheers 🍻

 

[terdog98]

Depends on how much you want to spend. There is always the excuse for another attachment.

 

[wentonbrown]

Go check out ABI Attachments. They have a gravel rake that I would consider buying for myself if I had more gravel drives to do. I use my rake on my gravel but i dont dig in. I have it set so its mostlly pulling and not digging.

i really want a set of wheels for it. Just need my welding neighbor to build me a set. Just need a few more pieces, wheel kits have doubled in price. Ridiculous!


Good luck!

WB 🚜🇺🇲

 

[Bulldog Tractor]

I just got an ABI TR3. They make some nice equipment. 👍

 

[rwmeyer]

Why won't angling the landscape rake work? It'll give you a crown and loosen/remove stone and pushes them to the side. Bob

 

[mjb2]

I have a question somewhat related to what the OP asked. I've been using my landscape rake (LR2060L) on my 1025R to attempt to get rocks out of a field I want to seed. It sorta does OK, and with the rake at an angle, I can move most of the rocks into windrows, as others have suggested. The rake, however, tends to move quite a bit of the soft dirt as well.

My question is once I have these windrows of dirt and rocks, how do I get rid of them? Currently, I've been using a plastic tine rake to sorta fling them into the FEL bucket, but that takes forever. Does anyone have a technique to pick
them up that works well? The windrows are not very tall, so I don't think the loader could pick them up by itself - I think it would just push them aside and not scoop them up.

Sorry if this is a really dumb newbie question....

 

[JimR]

I have a question somewhat related to what the OP asked. I've been using my landscape rake (LR2060L) on my 1025R to attempt to get rocks out of a field I want to seed. It sorta does OK, and with the rake at an angle, I can move most of the rocks into windrows, as others have suggested. The rake, however, tends to move quite a bit of the soft dirt as well.

My question is once I have these windrows of dirt and rocks, how do I get rid of them? Currently, I've been using a plastic tine rake to sorta fling them into the FEL bucket, but that takes forever. Does anyone have a technique to pick
them up that works well? The windrows are not very tall, so I don't think the loader could pick them up by itself - I think it would just push them aside and not scoop them up.

Sorry if this is a really dumb newbie question....

It's not a dumb question at all. It's an issue that lots of people have run in to over the years and frankly, there really isn't a good (cheap) solution. The "best" solution I've seen is to find a single row potato harvester and then attach a trailer to the back end of that so that the rocks drop into the trailer and you can haul them off and dump them where you want them.

 

[mjb2]

Thanks for the suggestion Jim. That looks like it would work great, but it's too expensive or involved for my limited field. If I had 5 acres to do, I'd go out and get one!

All the threads I've found about this issue, just saw how wonderful it is to use a LR or some other device to make windrows, and then say pick up the windrows with your FEL. But, they don't explain exactly how one does that!

Maybe I should try driving down the length of the windrow. That might work. Of course, there's no way to sort out the rock from the dirt other than if I dump it into my rock grizzly. I made a rock grizzly to do a bunch of dirt sifting, but was hoping to not use it again. It makes so much dust the neighbor started to complain.

 

[JimR]

You can put a rock bucket on your loader and pick up rocks one scoop at a time with that too The dirt/fines will sift out with a shake or two.

 

[mjb2]

You can put a rock bucket on your loader and pick up rocks one scoop at a time with that too The dirt/fines will sift out with a shake or two.

That's a good suggestion. But rather than a buying rock bucket (which would be nice to have!), I think I'll try making a screen for the bottom of my grapple. I tried that once before, but the wire was too weak. I have a roll of beefier deer fencing and I'll try that. Fortunately, the dirt is very soft, so hopefully it'll fall thru the wire.

 

[mjb2]

I thought I'd give an update in case any were interested. My idea of making a screen for the grapple didn't really work. What I did was lay some deer fence on the lower jaw of the grapple. Since my JD grapple has rather large vertical tines on the bottom, what happened is that the screen was elevated above the dirt surface a bit unless I really dug in deep with the bottom of the grapple. The result is that the screen tended to be ABOVE the rocks and dirt I wanted to sift, rather than BELOW. The other problem I ran into is that the screen got bent. I tried cable tying it to the lower teeth of the grapple, but perhaps predictably, the cable ties all snapped pretty quickly. I think if I'd put the screen on the bottom of the grapple, it might have worked, but the screen would have got quite a beating. The deer fencing I used for the screen wasn't heavy enough and rather than futz around with this anymore, I just abandoned the idea of making the screen for the grapple.

I ended getting the rocks reasonably windrowed with the landscape rake on the 1025R and then simply hand landscape
raked the windrows to the side of the field, or into the future tractor driveway. Since I'd gotten most of the field processed,
it wasn't too bad. I found multiple passes with the LR2060L seemed to work OK to create the windrows. There were a few small rocks scattered about, but I was able to use the hand landscape rake to pull them over to either side of the field. Occasionally to my surprise the LR2060L would discover a new large rock.

In the future, I'll just go get the rock grizzly. I made it, and still have it (neighbors have expressed interest in using it),
so I might as well. The screen on the grapple made almost as much dust as the rock grizzly did, so there was no real
benefit to me in using the grapple approach. The approach with the rock grizzly is to scoop up the windrows using the FEL bucket for the scooping. I also think that one could keep the LR2060L perpendicular rather than at an angle when
raking. Then periodically raise the LR with the 3PH so it creates a pile of rock/dirt. I don't know if it's more convenient
to scoop up piles or windrows.

I do believe that if I were to keep going over the field with the LR2060L I'd continue to unearth a possibly endless
supply of new rocks, so at some point, I had to just say, "good enough!"

 

[wentonbrown]

I have a question somewhat related to what the OP asked. I've been using my landscape rake (LR2060L) on my 1025R to attempt to get rocks out of a field I want to seed. It sorta does OK, and with the rake at an angle, I can move most of the rocks into windrows, as others have suggested. The rake, however, tends to move quite a bit of the soft dirt as well.

My question is once I have these windrows of dirt and rocks, how do I get rid of them? Currently, I've been using a plastic tine rake to sorta fling them into the FEL bucket, but that takes forever. Does anyone have a technique to pick
them up that works well? The windrows are not very tall, so I don't think the loader could pick them up by itself - I think it would just push them aside and not scoop them up.

Sorry if this is a really dumb newbie question....

If you have a toothbar on and you are digging in trying to pick up the windrows, take it off so you have the smooth cutting edge of your bucket. Level up your bucket. You can use the level rod on the fel. Then set the bucket down at the start of your windrow. Just the weight of it on the ground . Slightly tilt your bucket down, just enough so you are getting under the windrow. You will have to adjust on the fly, as the terrain is always changing. You will aways collect some dirt when picking up the rocks. You will need to work the fel up and down as you move along picking up the windrow.
You will find it will take a little practice and speed is the key. Sometimes you can just use low gear and its fast enough to skim along and pick it up. Sometimes high gear is needed because the dirt is too hard and the rocks just bounce out in front of you n not into the bucket.

I use the rake just like you do. Ive been doing it like this for many years. You will get to the point you can pick up just about anything without leaving the seat. I have my toothbar on almost all year round. You can get to that point to.

Just practice.

 

[wentonbrown]

I just finished reading the rest of the thread. Wish i could have seen it earlier. Could have helped you sooner. Next time..

 

[Bulldog Tractor]

dealing with rocks in a field is a different ballgame than grading a driveway. I made a 12 cubic yard pile of stumps & roots with the TR3.
I hear ya loud & clear about “good enough.” It’s where do you draw the line when clearing a field/ yard. There’s a fine line, and no right or wrong answer.

 

[mjb2]

Hi Wenton,

Thanks for the feedback! I realize with many tractor related operations, I often don't give it enough of a try. I use
an implement, it doesn't work, I fiddle a bit, and then give up and try something different. A good example is both
the box blade and the rake. In both cases, initial grading, and rock windrowing operations, respectively, were not
big successes. But, as I fiddled and didn't find anything better, I realized both could do the job, it just took lots
of finesse!

I don't have the gauge wheels for the rake. Without the wheels, it's really hard to keep the rake depth consistent,
especially if your field isn't really well graded. But, after I got the field better graded (lots of driving around with
the box blade!), I found the rake worked much better. But, I had to be watching it continually, driving slowly, and
constantly adjusting the position control lever. I suspect it's better and way easier with the wheels, but they cost
$600 and I can't bring myself to spend that money on a $900 rake.

When I ordered the tractor, a neighbor recommended not getting a toothbar. My place is in Tuolumne County
and we joke that we grow rocks around here. So, the FEL bucket hits rocks all the time and stalls out. Thus, the
technique is to "chew" up the ground with the BH a bit first, remove any huge rocks, and then come back with the
FEL. I think at that point, after the BH work, the toothbar could be very useful. Ive read they greatly increase the
digging capability of the FEL as long as you don't hit big boulders.

So, since I didn't have a toothbar, I had been trying to pick up the windrows with the toothbar-less bucket. I just
hadn't stuck with it long enough.

I was also going perpendicular to the direction of the windrow. I'm guessing from your description that it would
work best to run down the whole windrow scooping it up. Or to go as far as one could before the bucket got
full in the center and the dirt/rocks started to spill out.

I actually have some more area where I wanna try to get rid of the rocks, so I'll try the technique you described.

I'm having a hard time learning to use the tractor to work smarter and maybe a bit slower rather than plunging in
and doing things by hand. The latter usually messes up my lower back so you'd think I'd learn... LOL

Thanks,
Mike

If you have a toothbar on and you are digging in trying to pick up the windrows, take it off so you have the smooth cutting edge of your bucket. Level up your bucket. You can use the level rod on the fel. Then set the bucket down at the start of your windrow. Just the weight of it on the ground . Slightly tilt your bucket down, just enough so you are getting under the windrow. You will have to adjust on the fly, as the terrain is always changing. You will aways collect some dirt when picking up the rocks. You will need to work the fel up and down as you move along picking up the windrow.
You will find it will take a little practice and speed is the key. Sometimes you can just use low gear and its fast enough to skim along and pick it up. Sometimes high gear is needed because the dirt is too hard and the rocks just bounce out in front of you n not into the bucket.

I use the rake just like you do. Ive been doing it like this for many years. You will get to the point you can pick up just about anything without leaving the seat. I have my toothbar on almost all year round. You can get to that point to.

Just practice.

 

[wentonbrown]

Hi Wenton,

Thanks for the feedback! I realize with many tractor related operations, I often don't give it enough of a try. I use
an implement, it doesn't work, I fiddle a bit, and then give up and try something different. A good example is both
the box blade and the rake. In both cases, initial grading, and rock windrowing operations, respectively, were not
big successes. But, as I fiddled and didn't find anything better, I realized both could do the job, it just took lots
of finesse!

I don't have the gauge wheels for the rake. Without the wheels, it's really hard to keep the rake depth consistent,
especially if your field isn't really well graded. But, after I got the field better graded (lots of driving around with
the box blade!), I found the rake worked much better. But, I had to be watching it continually, driving slowly, and
constantly adjusting the position control lever. I suspect it's better and way easier with the wheels, but they cost
$600 and I can't bring myself to spend that money on a $900 rake.

When I ordered the tractor, a neighbor recommended not getting a toothbar. My place is in Tuolumne County
and we joke that we grow rocks around here. So, the FEL bucket hits rocks all the time and stalls out. Thus, the
technique is to "chew" up the ground with the BH a bit first, remove any huge rocks, and then come back with the
FEL. I think at that point, after the BH work, the toothbar could be very useful. Ive read they greatly increase the
digging capability of the FEL as long as you don't hit big boulders.

So, since I didn't have a toothbar, I had been trying to pick up the windrows with the toothbar-less bucket. I just
hadn't stuck with it long enough.

I was also going perpendicular to the direction of the windrow. I'm guessing from your description that it would
work best to run down the whole windrow scooping it up. Or to go as far as one could before the bucket got
full in the center and the dirt/rocks started to spill out.

I actually have some more area where I wanna try to get rid of the rocks, so I'll try the technique you described.

I'm having a hard time learning to use the tractor to work smarter and maybe a bit slower rather than plunging in
and doing things by hand. The latter usually messes up my lower back so you'd think I'd learn... LOL

Thanks,
Mike

Your welcome Mike. I will fill the bucket so much on the start of picking up the windrow. Stop, raise the bucket up and rock it back to make more room. Then drop it down and go til I have to do it again or just go dump it.
It takes practice and i have little patience to. I want it to work right now. I totally get what you are saying.

I dont have wheels on my rake either. I should have bought them when they were just over $200 at TSC. I can build a set, I have most of what I need in my garage. Just need my welder neighbor to have time to do it for me.

I change the angle on mine so it is pulling more than digging. With the tines almost straight up n down they wont pull up the rocks you dont want them to.

There are several toothbars out there. Some for heavy digging and grubbing. Or like I have made by WR Long. They are flat along the bottom so I can leave them on most of the time. They handle most of the digging. I do and there are times when I am in the really hard clay. I wish they were more aggressive but thats not the main reason I got them. I can dig and backdrag without leaving tooth marks in the dirt when I am finish grading. Plus I can pick up windrows too. They work well for me. There will always be some hand work but very little if i have it my way.

The only time I really take it off is if I am scrapping ice or really hardpacked snow off of the driveways.

You can use your rake to to fil in holes or cut down high spots. Takes some extra work than a bb. You can also set your rake at a specific height with the stop knob onthe 3pt hitch lever guide. I use mine so i dont have to look down or back to see what height the rake is. I also can see it in my mirrors so i dont have to turn around as much. With my bad back the mirrors are a big help. Plus you can hear the rake on the ground so that helps too.

I had posted some pics about a month or so ago of me grading and redoing parts of my lawn from a temp rock road we to have for construction access. I just used the fel and rake. I am pretty sure you can look on my profile and see them if you like? I can post them here i suppose too.

Good luck!
Jason