Pull behind leaf vacuum

[nikdfish]

Nikdfish, I found this tidbit on youtube. It shows how to fasten an el cheapo tarp inside the trailer to allow for easier dumping of the collected leaves. I like the way it's done myself as I like to have cost efficient, functional way of doing things.

That looks slick! I am going to have to do something similar. Off the top of my head, I think one change I'd make is to use another cord set instead of snaps. Then could use them to pull the tarp end back in place (maybe with a stick across the end to get it straight across & then press in the slack to the bottom corner with a rake (so I don't have to crawl inside. Secure the cords at the front end while running, then slack them off to allow the dump...

Yay! a new project!

 

[mpham]

I picked up an agri-fab this fall. It works great. I like this mod, raking out the leaves is the only drawback.

 

[windcatcher]

I thought I had found a nice used Cyclone on Craigslist. However, it was way too nice. It was gone before I was able to get there to see it. I went by a local Lowes to see an Agrifab, and I tried to pick up the tongue on it. That thing is really heavy. Do any of you Agrifab owners have a wheeled tongue jack on your unit? Also, I've read where the boot going coming from the chute and going into the bin gives some problems. I've worked with different kinds of leather in my past, and I'm thinking I can make a leather boot fairly easy for it. What do you guys who have the Agrifab think?

 

[windcatcher]

They say a picture is better than a thousand words. I'm going to try to attach a couple of photos of the land in question. It is a decent sized area located uphill from my pond. My property is fairly clear with only a few trees. But it is bordered by one of my farming neighbors property, and that property is loaded with hardwood trees which dump their leaves on my property every year. This is the real reason I need a leaf vac. Yes, I want to mulch the leaves and put them in the garden spot, but getting the leaves up is my primary concern. It's not good to have all those leaves blow into the pond.



With the slope I have, do any of you think the splash lubrication of the engine will be a cause of concern? I'm accustomed to full pressure lubrication of my new mowers and other tractors, so I don't really know about splash lubrication.

Thanks in advance. You folks have really helped me with my understanding.

 

[MossRoad]

That doesn't look like much of a slope at all, but pictures seem to make things look less steep. Have you measured the steepest angles?

 

[windcatcher]

That doesn't look like much of a slope at all, but pictures seem to make things look less steep. Have you measured the steepest angles?

MossRoad, no I haven't measured them yet. I must confess I don't know how to do that kind of math. I can tell you this, I definitely don't have a drainage problem with the slope. I would have more of a problem with soil washing away without the leaves and other stuff I've put into the old garden area over the past 5 years I've lived here.

 

[windcatcher]

MossRoad, no I haven't measured them yet. I must confess I don't know how to do that kind of math. I can tell you this, I definitely don't have a drainage problem with the slope. I would have more of a problem with soil washing away without the leaves and other stuff I've put into the old garden area over the past 5 years I've lived here.

I just looked up a few calculations. One asks for the change in elevation. I remembered I have a GPS that also shows the location's elevation. As soon as it dries up some, I'll take it out there along with a long tape measure and write down the differences. I'll report back on that when I get the figures.

 

[MossRoad]

MossRoad, no I haven't measured them yet. I must confess I don't know how to do that kind of math. I can tell you this, I definitely don't have a drainage problem with the slope. I would have more of a problem with soil washing away without the leaves and other stuff I've put into the old garden area over the past 5 years I've lived here.

Do you have a smartphone?

 

[MossRoad]

iPhones have a compass app and a measuring tool that have inclinometers in them. You'd set a 2x4 on the slope you want to measure, start the app on your phone, and set the edge of the phone on the 2x4. BINGO! There's your slope angle in degrees.

 

[windcatcher]

iPhones have a compass app and a measuring tool that have inclinometers in them. You'd set a 2x4 on the slope you want to measure, start the app on your phone, and set the edge of the phone on the 2x4. BINGO! There's your slope angle in degrees.

I have a smart phone, but it's a Galaxy. I'm not sure I have that app installed on mine.

 

[windcatcher]

iPhones have a compass app and a measuring tool that have inclinometers in them. You'd set a 2x4 on the slope you want to measure, start the app on your phone, and set the edge of the phone on the 2x4. BINGO! There's your slope angle in degrees.

I just found a clinometer that works on Android. I've installed it and it appears to be working. I'll take it out to the field this week once it dries up some and get the slope. Thanks for the tips. It's much appreciated.

 

[MossRoad]

No problem. I want to do similar out at my property in the spring. :thumbsup:

I've always been curious as to the exact angle some of the slopes I go up, down and across are.

 

[edgarrian]

I have trac-vac manufacturing about 10 miles from the house here in Indiana. I went there and dealt in cash. i was able to save about 700 dollars on mine. Anyways it works great as its PTO driven. I went this route bc i didn't want another motor to take care of. I have picked up leaves when they are a bit wet and never once plugged. We have 8 acres of woods that our house sits in so you can only imagine how many leaves we get. Before the leaf vac I used a backpack blower and it would take sometime to get them all moved. Sometimes I have to do that now b/c it was a wet fall. I cut out a small area by my driveway to dump the leaves. Makes it nice. I have a mountain of leaves in the area.

 

[art]

Trac-vac is the best we have ever sold! That includes the other brands I have seen mentioned here! The tapered trailer is the easiest to unload even when the leaves and grass is wet. Yes I said wet! They have put more into the design of the blower fan and they are quite specific as to the sizes for applications. You can buy cheaper units but this is the only one that I'd buy at this point. We have them out where people have worn out the original engines in commerical duty and they are still going!

 

[windcatcher]

Having a Trac-vac would be nice, but both of my tractor type mowers do not have the pto options. Those tractors never had the options available to them.

I'm now combing the craigslist ads and any other place I can find to see if there are any used Cyclone units for sale in good condition and for a reasonable price.

 

[texas42]

Don't fret too much about the Trac-vac. When I was looking, Trac-vac wouldn't give me the time of day.
Local dealer was useless, and area distributor just gave me the runaround. I could see that any help or parts I might need would be a problem. That's when I went with the CR and glad I did. Placed my order and had it in 5 days. Excellent customer service and very helpful on any questions. 8 years later still satisfied with my Cyclone Rake.

 

[windcatcher]

Texas42, yeah I'm not too worried about the Trac-Vac. I've only seen one advertised in my area, and it was beat up pretty bad. Of course, any piece of equipment can get beat up by a careless owner.

Question: In looking at the specs on CR's website, their two first entries suggest using a deck size of 38" - 42". Do you know a reason for this? That almost sounds like the units can't take any extra leaf intake to me. Both of my mowing decks are over that amount size wise. One deck is 50" and the other is 54".

I found another used CR that is close to new, but I need to find out about the deck opening first. No need to buy something used that will not work with my current equipment.

 

[tjkubota93]

You can adapt any cr to dang near any deck. If you don't want to make the parts, they will sell them to you.
My 48" deck can put out too much for my cr if I drive over foot or 2 foot deep piles of leaves. During normal use it works wonderfully.

 

[windcatcher]

You can adapt any cr to dang near any deck. If you don't want to make the parts, they will sell them to you.
My 48" deck can put out too much for my cr if I drive over foot or 2 foot deep piles of leaves. During normal use it works wonderfully.

Thanks for the reply on that. I was thinking the same thing, but those charts make things confusing. I don't need any help getting confused. I can do just fine on my own.

 

[KennyG]

Texas42, yeah I'm not too worried about the Trac-Vac. I've only seen one advertised in my area, and it was beat up pretty bad. Of course, any piece of equipment can get beat up by a careless owner.

Question: In looking at the specs on CR's website, their two first entries suggest using a deck size of 38" - 42". Do you know a reason for this? That almost sounds like the units can't take any extra leaf intake to me. Both of my mowing decks are over that amount size wise. One deck is 50" and the other is 54".

I found another used CR that is close to new, but I need to find out about the deck opening first. No need to buy something used that will not work with my current equipment.

I think they are being conservative, but the lowest two models have a smaller 4 blade impeller and then they go to a larger 5 blade unit (with a more powerful engine). That's why I went with the Commercial Pro but I have a 62" deck.