Time For A Landscape Rake? | The Hobby-Machinist

We've lived in our current house over 35 years, and at the time we built it we turned it from a corn field to somewhat of a forest. About 30 trees have gone by the way, but we still have well over 2 dozen left. Among them are River Birch, Ash, Spruce, and Crab Apple, with a few other types of conifer's thrown in. They tend to be messy dropping branches, leaves, pine needles, and pinecones all over the place.

Before each mowing I have to patrol the yard and pick up bushels of branches that can't easily be chopped up by the mower on the JD 445 tractor. I'm getting tired of the exercise and thought some type of pull behind landscape rake might make the job quicker and easier. I've done a fair amount of research and there seems to be literally dozens on the market. At this point the most interesting seem to be the wheeled type that are height adjustable and can be pulled by an ATV or small tractor. High on the list is one like this made by DR Power Equipment.

DR ATV Landscape Rake | DR Power Equipment

A great tool for finish grading and leveling gravel, stone, topsoil, and more. Removes loose debris from lawns, gardens, or food plots. Free Shipping - Factory Direct!
Does anyone have experience with this or any other style rake that would do the job, but not break the bank. I've seen some of the fancier models with asking prices in the $2,000.00 range, and shipping costs in the hundreds of dollars. I'd like to keep the total cost below the $1,000.00 mark.

I know some are going to say build what you want. That's a great idea, but not practical at this point. Most of our "free time" for the next couple months is already spoken for with commitments to friends and family. The little time we will have at home will be spent keeping the place in shape not embarking on new projects.

Above and beyond that I've done some cost estimating as to what building what I want will take as far as time and money are concerned. Raw materials, rake tines, wheels, and hardware alone are in the $500.00 to $600.00 range. I estimate the build time to be around 40 hours, with several hours spent at a friend's commercial welding shop. His shop is over 20 miles away so I would have to coordinate with his schedule to get that part of the job done.

I would love to do the welding myself, but long ago I made a promise to the wife there would be no torches or welders in the shop. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Buy used - that's what i did many years ago. I ended up with a ATV/UTV trailer 48" pull type with a ball hitch on the front. I found a few flaws with it:

• 48" is almost too narrow behind a garden tractor when angled to the side, some machines i've pulled it with are driving over the windrow when circling things into a pile. I think a 60" would work better and most machines wouldn't have an issue pulling it.
• It is heavy (which is good) but i could not easily lift or lower it from the seat because it was just a bit too far back and also too heavy to raise from the awkward angle. Fine standing up next to it but not from the operator's seat.

I unbolted it from the trailer frame and bolted the rake portion to a piece of square tubing and slid it into a home made 3pt heavy hitch adapter and now it lifts easily with hydraulics!

It will work to rake up sticks and such but expect it to tear up some grass and for the sticks to plug up in the tines or get missed in general.

Here's one: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item//

Thanks for your input everyone. I made a purchase this afternoon, but ended up with something far different than I originally thought I would need. Over the course of the last couple days I've spoken to two different agricultural equipment dealers, two sports shop owners, and viewed dozens of videos. They all nixed my idea of a landscape rake and steed me to what's referred to as a "Pine Straw Rake."

Apparently, the landscape rake is a bit much for an established lawn unless you go with the multi thousand-dollar variety with a touch control hydraulic leveling system. I'm sure they would all have loved to sell me on if they actually had one in stock, or could have it within a reasonable amount of time. Since neither of those scenarios was possible, they all suggested a much less expensive and more prudent way to solve the problem would be to purchase something like this.


One of the dealers directed me to an online video showing a comparison between a higher end landscape rake and the low-end Yard Works pine straw rake in action. The video showed conditions of soft soil, leaf cover, and debris similar to what I have to face. In this case the straw rake did little or no damage to the yard while the landscape rake removed large patches of sod and topsoil.

If all goes according to plan the rake will be here Saturday. That should give me a day or so to assemble it, use it, mow fertilize the lawn before other responsibilities once again need to be attended to.

A spring tine or leaf rake has prongs (also known as ‘tines’) laid out in a fan shape that go down at the ends. This rake is particularly useful across your lawn.

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Some leaf rakes have plastic heads and aluminium handles, making them lighter to use.

Telescopic lawn rakes have adjustable handles and heads. This allows you to set your ideal height and width. These can be fiddly to use.

Rubber rakes are available to clear leaves. You can also use these to clear debris across your beds and borders. The gentle rubber is less likely to damage new plant growth.

Search for spring tine rakes online or search for leaf rakes online

Hand rake

There are many varieties of short-handled hand rake available. These include solid steel models and ones with softer fan-shaped heads. Hand rakes can be useful when working in raised beds and containers or when kneeling to work in borders.

Search for hand rakes online

Leaf blower

You could use a leaf blower instead of a rake to move leaves on your lawn into big piles. They reduce bending and you can use them from a seated position. Some are combination blower/vacuums, also allowing you to suck up leaves.

Leaf blowers are heavier than a rake and may take practice to master. You may only want to use one for a few minutes at a time.

Search for leaf blowers online

Long-handled leaf grabber

Alongside raking comes clearing debris. A long-handled leaf grabber uses a scissor action to collect fallen leaves and debris. This limits any bending. You will need to use both hands to work them.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Garden Rake Manufacturer.

Additional reading:
[PDF] Operating an Electric Jig Saw - Environment, Health and Safety

You may also see these called ‘grab and lift’ rakes or leaf collectors.

Search for long-handled leaf grabbers online

Litter picker

A litter picker allows you to collect debris without bending via the push of a button. You can work it with one hand, if you have the strength to keep pressing the gripping button. During autumn, if you get heavy leaf fall in your garden, it may take a long time to clear using a litter picker.

Search for litter pickers online

Leaf tarp

This is essentially a large plastic sheet that you can rake leaves onto. The sheet has handles at each corner. This allows you to make it into a bag shape and transport the leaves to your compost / garden waste bin.

Search for leaf tarps online

2. To clear leaves from the lawn

As autumn comes to an end, our lawns are often covered in a mass of brown leaves. These may be fun to crunch through, but they are not very good for the the lawn if they are left over winter.

Raking up leaves and other debris helps keep our lawn healthy.

3. To remove dead grass and moss from the lawn

Every couple of years, it can be worth giving the lawn a thorough rake to clear dead grass and thatch. This helps improve the health of your lawn, making it easier for water and nutrients to get to the soil. Use a lighter spring tine rake for this, as a steel rake may damage your lawn.

This activity is also known as ‘scarifying’ – read more in our guide to lawn care.

For more information, please visit Garden Watering Tools.