Wheels for land rake...yes or no?

[Mustard Tiger]

Taking delivery on a BX23S next week. Wasn't something I was originally considering, but after watching a couple videos in addition to a box blade I also picked up a land rake. I have a lot of pine needles that I rake up by hand twice a year along with limbs, branches, pine cones and other ground debris that I get rid of and burn in several burn piles I have around the property. Been doing it all by hand and would be great to find a way to do less by hand and make it all go a little faster, hence the land rake.

I don't have a nice, manicured lawn with grass. Just lots of pine trees with wild clumps of grass here and there, and prefer no grass for fire abatement. Some parts of the land are a but rocky and in a slight slope. Would wheels on the land rake be best so I can control the about the tines dig in? Would wheels make it easier for the rake to go over small rocks?

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I can only offer an "uneducated opinion" since I don't own one, but I would say 'yes' they are a good idea.

It will be interesting to see what the people that actually own one think though, because I am "kinda" in the market for one. (I'd actually like to make one, but thats an entirely different story )

 

[mikester]

Yes

 

[Hoserman]

Your lawn sounds like a carbon copy to mine. I have a lot of pines, oaks, poplars, and maples. Been using a backpack blower for a long time for fall cleanup. I have been looking at land rakes for a while now and haven't pulled the trigger until I see how well they work on property like mine. I do believe having wheels on the rake would give you a lot better control of how it cleans.

 

[marrmanu]

I borrowed my neighbors rake and it dug in so much I stopped using it. I would think for something as small as pine needles you would need to be it very close to the ground. Wheels would probably help.

 

[D2Cat]

If you are using the rake to spread/ level material the wheels would be nice. If you are raking brush/needles/ misc. you can adjust your top link to rake more or less according to your needs. When the top link is shortened the teeth (tips of the teeth) are moved back and less digging takes place. Lengthen the top link and the teeth move forward and they pick up and dig more.

I have two rakes, a 6' and a 7' and neither have wheels. I don't miss them at all, and I have the material (frame and wheels) to put therm on. I took the wheels off of a different implement and just never saw the need to add them. Been in the barn for ten or more years. To each his own!!

 

[imarobot]

I don't have a land rake but did have a gravel rake I used on my dirt driveway. It had wheels on it, but I didn't use them. I found it easier to adjust the height as needed on the fly with the 3 point hitch. Land late may be different, don't know...

 

[bobnic]

Wheels definitely help if you are going over uneven ground. On uneven ground without wheels you have to constantly keep adjusting the 3 point up and down to avoid either scalping or missing the ground. I originally bought my rake without wheels, but soon decided to add them.

 

[imarobot]

Wheels definitely help if you are going over uneven ground. On uneven ground without wheels you have to constantly keep adjusting the 3 point up and down to avoid either scalping or missing the ground. I originally bought my rake without wheels, but soon decided to add them.

Good point, my driveway is pretty much level

 

[Spam Bot]

Land rakes (York Rake) are great for preparing the ground for seed. If you have pine needles or leaves that you want to gather, you want a pine needle rake, which has small, round tines that will skim over the surface and only pick up the pine needles and leaves. It will not hurt the grass like a Land/York rake. The tool needs to match the job you want it to do. Using the wrong tool for the job will only leave you with more work to fix the problems it creates.
If you have a Land/York rake with wheels, you can also purchase a grader blade that will smooth the soil as it rakes out the smaller rocks. Like any tool, you have to develop the skill set to use it properly. The best tools in the hands of the inexperienced will not work any better than the most crude tools in the hands of the same inexperienced person.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

I borrowed my neighbors rake and it dug in so much I stopped using it. I would think for something as small as pine needles you would need to be it very close to the ground. Wheels would probably help.

I was thinking the same thing regarding pine needles, but it would be great for picking up pine cones, sticks and small limbs and other ground debris and even piling up some deep duff on a section of the yard.

I also have a Stihl Combi system and the blower is great for pine needles on the gravel driveway as long as they’re not wet. And the power sweep is awesome for getting gravel out of the dirt along the sides of the driveway and pushing it back onto the driveway.

 

[Henro]

Probably depends what you are doing.

I bought wheels for my 6 foot rake, and never regretted it. I set things up so I can swap the wheels between my rake and back blade.

I find them useful for both, depending on what I am doing...

Unfortunately, as I get older I find I am doing less and less...

 

[Old Machinist]

I have a landscape rake I added wheels to. When I rebuilt the rake I modified the wheel mounts to move them further behind the rake. To be honest I took the wheels off and haven't used them or the rake in a long time. I probably wouldn't buy them again.

A landscape rake isn't the tool I would choose for pine needles. They make a different type rake called a "pine needle rake" for that but I have never tried one. At least not for pine needles. I did buy a lawn tractor version to try to rake some grass I tilled up with and it failed miserably so I returned it. I ended up having to use my lawn sweeper for the grass clumps.

A lawn sweeper would probably work great for pine needles but they fill up fast and require frequent dumping.

 

[The Evil Twin]

The needle rake is probably what you want UNLESS you want a dual purpose tool. I use a York Rake to spread gravel, top soil, wood chips. I use the wheels for some of that.
Never tried pine needles