Harley Rake / Ventrac power rake for arena renovation?

[MapleLeaf]

I have an outdoor arena that is mostly limestone stone dust that has lots of low spots that hold big puddles. I didn’t install the arena so I’m not sure how deep the base is. I’ve had several contractors come out to assess and prepare quotes. Most want to use excavator to strip arena, then build back with limestone and compact. (None are arena specialists, so I’ve been telling them specs from Underfoot).

I have one contractor who thinks his power rake can tear up the top layer of stone dust to level everything with the holes. Essentially there will be a soft layer of stone dust dug up to then level and compact. Then truck in more stone dust to compact as needed. His price and speed of doing this with the power rake is super attractive. He showed me videos of completely fixing a gravel road with deep pot holes using this thing. Seems legit.

I also just want to have him spread added sand and relevel indoor that is in good shape.

One possible downside is Ventrac Harley rake does not have laser level (it has an inclinometer?), so contractor would need to rent one and figure how to attach.

Has anyone used this or have experience they can share? Seems like this could save us thousands. Thanks!

[MapleLeaf]

I thought I would update this since I did have the power rake work on the arenas. The landscaper took his harley rake to my dressage ring that was very “wavy” and really made an amazing difference. It basically chews up the top surface much more aggressively than a drag and then smooths it. It completely eliminated the waves and lows spots. I was very worried that it would make it too deep, but it was perfect to ride on right away. Now about a month later, my stonedust has really hardened and I am looking at possible rolling the now level surface and adding a bit of sand. But this was a great tool for a quick re-leveling.

[awaywego]

Thanks for sharing. I have similar footing in my ring and have been trying to figure out what to do with a 30x60ft section that has had a lot of run-off and now has clay soil mixed in. No matter how much I drag the ring that section stays compacted 1-2 inches down. I am now wondering if I could try what you did to essentially redistribute all of the footing. Am I understanding correctly what you did OP?

[MapleLeaf]

Yes. That’s basically it. I had tried dragging this arena with different drags, but I could not get the waves or low spots to resolve. The arena is probably 90% stonedust with maybe a little sand left in the mix.

The power rake churns up the top layer evenly and then smooths it. There are lots of videos on youtube. So far, it seems like it completely resolved the waves/low spots. I think it would definitely help to break up a compacted area.