Skid Steer Harley Rake Pros -- I Need Help!

[jeffinsgf]

Rented a Bobcat Soil Conditioner -- I like doing business with these guys, and the people that rent Harley's are a$$h*l&$. Anyway, I've got it hooked up and running. I made a couple of passes across the yard with mixed results. Here are my questions:

1) I have the side plates off and the drum angled. My plan was to go over everything once, windrowing the rocks and dead grass, then pick it up and go over it again to final grade. But, the grass seems to be a little tougher to pull out than I imagined it would be. I seem to be digging in on one side more than the other. And, my pile of windrow is mostly nice dirt, with the rocks and thatch hidden deep underneath. Any ideas?

2) Am I better off going forward or backward? It seems like I am pulling all the dirt away when I am going back, and piling up a huge windrow when I am going forward. Is it situational? Ideas?

3) For the first go-round, should I be in fixed or float mode?

The resulting soil is nice and fluffy. The rocks are either plucked out and in the windrow, pulverized, or buried -- depending on size. That all seems great -- I just need to get a better handle on leaving a final grade behind so I don't spend the next week with a hand rake.

Thanks in advance.

 

[beenthere]

The grass will present a problem. Best to get rid of the grass by chopping or at least round-up before trying to work the soil.

Not sure if you have a Harley Rake (per the title of the thread) or have something else that works like a Harley Rake. So beyond the grass question, don't have a suggestion.

Is this a 'first time' at doing something like this?

Practice will answer a lot of questions, but if its a Harley Rake, I don't think you will have to use a hand rake.

 

[jeffinsgf]

The grass is dead. I sprayed it over a week ago, and it is completely brown and dried up.

The Bobcat Soil Conditioner is just like a Harley rake with guide wheels on the front. I do not have hydraulic angle control (old Bobcat). I currently have the rake angled to the right to windrow the rocks and thatch.

Yes, it is my first time with a power rake. I know experience will be the best teacher, but was looking for you guys to help me flatten out the learning curve. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[beenthere]

I've used, and watched others use, the Harley on a Bobcat, but can't relate to not having the hyd. angle as it seems to be an intergral part of moving material. However, they work both forward and backward, depending on the conditions. Some times it is better to go forward to clean out a lot of debris (rocks, sticks, building materials, etc) and backward when finishing the top off for seeding and removing all skidsteer tracks. But the Bobcat also has reverse direction to the rotation of the 'drum' which helps when going backwards.
As far as 'float', I use the guide wheels to control the depth, and think 'float' would also be used to do this the best. That may depend on the conditions also.
There are so many ways and tricks to work these things, it's hard without being familiar with your 'dirt' to specify a few. Try out several and hope for the best to emerge to the top. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[BobcatBoy]

It sounds like you might have an overly aggressive tilt angle on the unit for proper dirt/rock separation. Since you already have your work area loosened, try it in float mode using the tilt function to set the drum just off the finished surface. The trick is to get the teeth handling all of the debris while leaving just enough space for the soil to pass under the drum. I don't know how much you are "pushing" the machine/attachment, but you might also try moving a little slower to see if that helps.

I hope this info helps you more than it confuses you.......

Rob

 

[beenthere]

Hmmm? I thought the trick (Harley Rake talk here) was to keep the drum kicking a wave of dirt and debris ahead while getting the debris-free dirt to flow over the top of the carbide-studded drum. Probably more than one way to get it to function and get good results.
Maybe the Bobcat attachment (similar to the Harley Rake) has longer fingers on the drum that allow running above and just kicking the large stuff ahead leaving the dirt behind.

 

[namuh1]

Since this is an older thread, I'm not sure if this will help the original poster but here goes! The newer models of both the skid steer and tractor Harley rakes use a Rhino Hide gate that sits above the roller and has adjustable spacing. For separating out sizable debris, both rocks, grass roots and clods, you set the gate to a size that will pass mostly dirt i.e. small space from roller. You set the depth wheels so that the roller is the depth you want in the dirt (often based on the power of your machine) when the chain housing is exactly vertical and the skid steer is just about to come up off its front wheels (you don't run this in float for this application). You can vary the depth slightly by adjusting the curl of the bucket control. You will leave behind sifted soil and push the rocks and debris ahead of you. If you have the box ends for the rake, set them pointing forward to carry the maximum amount of debris. Note this technique also works if you want to move material like a box rake, but you have to increase your forward speed so that the material doesn't have time to pass through the gate.

Hope this helps /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif