Pulling multiple lawn sweepers: how would you do it?

[jimbob200521]

Alright, first off, this isn't meant to be a high dollar, super efficient operation. I've got a good amount of lawn that could use sweeping from time to time, and using my single 32" sweeper would take half a day. Since I don't technically NEED to sweep this area (thereby removing the option to go buy a nice shiney new 45" sweeper), I've been toying with the idea of simply picking up another (or two more) 32" cheap sweepers from Craigslist. My dilemma comes up when I start to think about how I could hook them together to be pulled by the same machine for as little cash as possible (again, this is more of a tinkering project than something that I want to spend a lot of time or money on. I just think it'd be cool ). That being said, would pulling two sweepers behind one Cub really be as simple as making a triangle frame and hooking the sweepers together at the corners? If so, would the same be true for THREE sweepers? My worry would be they might not pull evenly. So what do you guys think? How would you tow 2 or 3 sweepers?

[Shaner]

hire a neighbor kid and a rake and tell him to have at it.... lol

normally for tandem setups, the middle implement (in this case the sweeper) would be coupled directly to the tractor just like if you were just pulling the one. then the next two sweepers would be off to each side, behind the middle sweeper. itd pull allot easier, and be cheaper to make brackets for.

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by Shaner

hire a neighbor kid and a rake and tell him to have at it.... lol

normally for tandem setups, the middle implement (in this case the sweeper) would be coupled directly to the tractor just like if you were just pulling the one. then the next two sweepers would be off to each side, behind the middle sweeper. itd pull allot easier, and be cheaper to make brackets for.

So, in other words:

[olds45512]

I think the first design would be best but you'd need to have the 2 sweeper hooked to each other somehow so they moved as one otherwise you'll never be able to back them up to dump them

[Berwil]

I would setup a triple like shaner said. If I were to do a double, I'd space them so the distance between the brushes was ~6" less than the width of the sweeper. This way you don't leave a narrow unswept strip and waste a pass to come back for it. I also think for this to work well you would need 2 similar sized sweepers and a rear crossbar to connect them like olds was saying.

Bill

[J-Mech]

You can't hook Agri-Fabs up like that. Look at the hitch design. When mounted to the tractor, there is (supposed) to be a spacer in the hitch. The tongue actually pics up on the tractor. In other words, when you hook up, you have to press the tongue down to hook it up. This lifts the sweepers bag off the ground. If the hitch you make to pull it isn't heavy enough to push down on the tongue, then it's hitch will just pop up in the air and the bag will be on the ground. The tandem hitch will have to be very heavy, and have wheels on it. Then it would work.

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by olds45512

I think the first design would be best but you'd need to have the 2 sweeper hooked to each other somehow so they moved as one otherwise you'll never be able to back them up to dump them

The one good thing about my dump site is I shouldn't ever have to back up to it. It's basically a burn pile I can circle around. That, or with this setup, I'd bring a trailer with me and pull up next to that whenever I needed to dump. Then I'd just unhook the catch bags and dump them.

Originally Posted by Berwil

I would setup a triple like shaner said. If I were to do a double, I'd space them so the distance between the brushes was ~6" less than the width of the sweeper. This way you don't leave a narrow unswept strip and waste a pass to come back for it. I also think for this to work well you would need 2 similar sized sweepers and a rear crossbar to connect them like olds was saying.

Bill

Olds & Berwill: as far as linking the two/three sweepers together so they move as one, I had wondered about that as I wasn't sure what would keep them moving as one if say one hit a thicker patch of grass/debris and the other didn't. I was thinking if one slowed down, it might pull unevenly but the cross bar might help that. I'm thinking I'm going to start with a 2 sweeper setup and see how that goes. I found one locally for a good price and called the guy, waiting on a call back

[olds45512]

I didn't mean to hook the wheels together, I meant hook the frames together so when you back up they go the same direction and not turn whatever way they want.

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by olds45512

I didn't mean to hook the wheels together, I meant hook the frames together so when you back up they go the same direction and not turn whatever way they want.

That's what I was talking about, as well. I was thinking something simple like a bar across the front housing of the sweeper. Use your imagination, but I was thinking about placing a bar like this (albeit not so big/long):



I also found these two other pics. One looks like a simple steel frame with links between the front sweepers to keep them acting "as one". The other pic is hard to see the setup in, but I think it's interesting that both these designs show 2 sweepers up front, and one trailing behind. Hmm...

[darkminion_17]

A hand held leaf blower mounted red green style would do the job, then when you get a big enough row, go to the sweeper.