Ratchet Rake - ever seen/used one?

RaydaKub · Mar 5, 2014

ArmyPair2 said:
:All I know it worked for me but learn how to bring flowers when you ask for pallet forks.

Filling up the forks with flowers should work, alright...

FTG-05 · Mar 6, 2014

BGigHarbor said:
I know I am repeating, but I will repeat the excellent advice someone earlier gave to buy the chain version of the ratchet rake. Not really much more trouble and much more durable for abuse.

I don't use my RR as much as I did when first clearing my property, but still love it and glad to have it. For those that have never seen one in person, the images are misleading. The thing is very robust and my 72 inch version weighs like 110 lbs.....

Yea, no kidding about how robust the thing is. I ordered the 72" with the FS option. Heavy piece of meat!!

Ordered it on Saturday AM, Fedex delivered it the following Wed; SE PA to south central TN. It doesn't get better than that. My thanks to Barbara and the crew at RR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

agscheidle · Mar 11, 2014

I've owned a ratchet rake "ATR" for about a year now. Excellent company to deal with and a quality piece of equipment. I hope to get the bucket rake very soon. I've sent them quite a few support questions/inquiries and always received a prompt and courteous replies.

22rimfire · Mar 24, 2014

Well I've got a whopping 5 hours on my BX2370 now

I've had it for a couple weeks, but it seems when I have time, it's raining, and when it's not raining I have other things to do, (Like my real job

) anyway that's how long it took me to figure out I "needed" the RR! I got the FEL, LP brush hog, and box scraper with the tractor, but after seeing the RR I new I would use it a lot. So I ordered one from the TBN store. I was considering the pirhana as well, and I may yet get one, but for now I think the RR is going to help a lot with what I've got going. (Clearing Blackberries, then cleaning up the ground, and also grading gravel driveway). I also ordered the Bxpanded hooks for the bucket while I was on their website. Oh yeah I almost forgot I also picked up a dump trailer, which I have used a bunch and has saved me what used to be 100 wheelbarrow trips. Man I'm loving this

jeff9366 · Mar 24, 2014

I was clearing grape vines from Oaks with my 68" Ratchet Rake this afternoon.

I will feed the grape vines into my PTO powered chipper tomorrow. Just like slurping spaghetti.

IslandTractor · Mar 24, 2014

jeff9366 said:
I was clearing grape vines from Oaks with my 68" Ratchet Rake this afternoon. I will feed the grape vines into my PTO powered chipper tomorrow. Just like slurping spaghetti.

Be careful. Those vines are strong and the chipper will suck them and anything they are wrapped around into the chipper.

I haven't tried shredding grape vines but I had a battle royale with grape vine roots when I tilled a field. Nasty buggers would wrap around the tiller and pull out of the soil like giant worms rather than be cut by the tines. I spent hours cutting them off the clogged rotor. Nightmare. I finally figured out that the soil was wet which kept the roots flexible and allowed them to be sucked out of the ground. I waited until mid summer when the soil and roots were dry then the tiller just chopped them up.

Cherokee140 · Mar 25, 2014

jeff9366 said:
I was clearing grape vines from Oaks with my 68" Ratchet Rake this afternoon.

I will feed the grape vines into my PTO powered chipper tomorrow. Just like slurping spaghetti.

I would pay money to see that.....I have those vines growing up into my trees....told the story about trying to pull them out of the trees with a Model 70. I hooked a pull rope around the vine then tied it to the bar on the tractor....that tractor came up on its back wheels so fast...it also has a hand clutch that took me a minute to remember....Scarred the crap out of me.

jeff9366 · Mar 25, 2014

When I was pulling 4"+ vines out of a fair sized tree, leafing out but with fungus on the trunk, the tree broke off at about the 18' level and the upper half of the trunk fell beside the tractor, about five feet away. Vines so often kill the trees about half way up.

I have had the Wallenstein PTO chipper self-feed uniform diameter vines up to 35' long. Its fun but requires situational awareness at all times.

DKCDKC · Mar 25, 2014

I really like the RR and find uses from clearing brush to smoothing the gardens... It is strong, but not immune to damage. I use it to grade my gravel drive between major box blade workouts. But there are some hidden rocks in the roadbed - and one of them broke off a RR tooth last fall. I didn't notice anything until I took it off the following day. One of the small teeth is just completely gone. I don't guess it'll hurt anything, but I hate damaging equipment.

Cherokee140 · Mar 26, 2014

DKCDKC said:
I really like the RR and find uses from clearing brush to smoothing the gardens... It is strong, but not immune to damage. I use it to grade my gravel drive between major box blade workouts. But there are some hidden rocks in the roadbed - and one of them broke off a RR tooth last fall. I didn't notice anything until I took it off the following day. One of the small teeth is just completely gone. I don't guess it'll hurt anything, but I hate damaging equipment.

Might be worth sending them a note about it....you never know till you ask, they might take care of you on it.