Cyclone Rale alternate hitch

[jmarkwolf]

I've owned a Cyclone Rake yard vacuum for about 8 years now. It works well for vacuuming up all the leaves my oak trees deposit in my 1.2acre yard every Fall and cleaning up the yard in the spring.

However, I've never liked the stock hitch for attaching the unit to the back of my lawn tractor. The hitch consists of two clevis pins that drop vertically through brackets (see pics below). Two pins are required because of the way the factory designed the Rake to follow the tractor. The Rake stays straight out the back of the tractor regardless of how you may steer the tractor. Takes some getting used to.

I believe they did this because the big hose, between the mower deck and the big squirrel cage fan, would foul otherwise. The factory now offers a "single point" hitch option that pulls like a typical trailer but requires a longer hose with a "trapeze" to support it from dragging and bunching and different wheels underneath it. But I don't imagine the new hitch kit is "economical".

I've never liked this stock hitch arrangement because it would often bind and buck and bend the connection bracketry when traversing slopes and hills because the only compliance is the over-sized holes for the vertical clevis pins. I've been thinking how to remedy this cheesy hitch for awhile now, and I think I've arrived at a solution.

I wanted to keep the stock "two point" connection but it needs to be able to hinge vertically to allow for hills and slopes. I've scanned the inter-webs for DIY solutions, but I think my solution is more straight forward and easily implemented. I removed the factory stock "C-form" brackets and bolted up plain vanilla barn yard gate hinges from Tractor Supply ($7 each), then fitted up 1.5in angle iron on either side of the hinge with a horizontal 7/16in clevis pin through each hinge.

Seems to be working fine so far.

Hope it's of some use to forum users.

[V30crewcab]

thats pretty slick.

[garydee]

A very good idea indeed! Really helps to increase the life of the expensive hose going to the collector. I have the Cub Cadet/Agri-fab unit that really does a great job as well. It is the "trailer" type setup that stresses the hose with every turn. I try not to turn too sharply when I am picking up leaves. I do go through hoses every few years due to them splitting because they don't seem to be flexible enough. More like plastic hoses rather than rubber. Very expensive too!

The hitch setup on your machine reminds me of my neighbors "DR VAC" system with the rigid, non turning frame. He was nice enough to let me borrow it years ago to pick up my leaves. It takes a little getting used to. As I recall, I nearly knocked my air conditioner off its base the first time I made a sharp turn near the house! I finally got the hang of it.

One other thing I learned is that it is better to use the collector nearly empty when going back and forth on slopes. Seems the weight of all the grass and leaves pulls the collector down making it want to slide down the slope and stress the hitch. You have to be especially careful when going next to obstacles, like power poles. My neighbor came to the rescue when I got tangled up on one of my poles next to the shop. He's a good neighbor! Ninety four years old this year!!

The only other problem with leaf collectors is that they have to be emptied. Not always easy. I use the rope and tarp method that was shown on the website some years ago. I have also made the floor of the collector sloped with sheet metal to aid in emptying the box. Nothing looks nicer than a fresh, green lawn in the fall after collecting those pesky leaves!