Field tested: the Rabbit RD2345 scarifier from Schouten Machines

ARTICLE

MARKET & CURRENT AFFAIRS

Heleen Kommers, Wednesday 23 July 2025

112 sec

Evers: "The scarifier is aggressive, robust, and significantly heavier than the type we used before"

Do the scarifiers from Schouten Machines live up to their promises? We asked André Evers, senior maintenance technician at Onderhoud Enschede, the maintenance division of the municipality of Enschede.

the Rabbit RD2345

But first: what do we need to know about these scarifiers? We're talking about the Rabbit RD1545 and the Rabbit RD2345. Mike van den Hardenberg, responsible for marketing at Schouten Machines, explains that Enschede has been using them for a second season. "The RD1545 has a working width of 150 cm and requires 30 hp. The RD2345 covers 230 cm and needs 70 hp. You can easily set the working depth using a front-mounted roller, which features a scale for precise adjustment. Both machines can work up to 5 cm deep. At the rear, there's a hydraulically adjustable spreading flap that lets you direct where the loosened material is discharged—for example, to keep paths or advertising boards clean."

less fuel and minimal maintenance

How fuel-efficient and low-maintenance are the machines? Van den Hardenberg: "The blades are made of hard metal. They are arranged so that one blade is out of the ground before the next enters, which helps prevent turf damage. They rotate in the driving direction, requiring less force and using less fuel. The machines have a robust frame and feature V-belt drives on both sides, which require little maintenance. The support legs are positioned underneath the machine, so it can be parked safely without damaging the blades. Maintenance is simple: only the bearings and PTO shaft need greasing, and that's easy to access."

"The machine is aggressive, robust, and built heavier; that lets you work faster"

scarifying sixty football fields

Sounds promising, but does it hold up in practice? Evers is enthusiastic. In addition to comprehensive maintenance, Onderhoud Enschede carries out landscaping and redesign projects for public green spaces, as well as small-scale maintenance on paving, drainage, playgrounds, and traffic infrastructure. And since the start of this year, they've also been responsible for maintaining sports fields, following the integration of Sportaal—an organization that promotes and facilitates sports and physical activity.
With the Rabbit RD2345, you're not just handling a patch of turf somewhere in the corner—you're tackling sixty natural grass football fields. Maintenance on the 22 artificial turf fields involves different tasks, like refilling cork and brushing. Evers: "The scarifier is aggressive, robust, and significantly heavier than the type we used before. That lets you work faster." And that's a welcome benefit now that major field maintenance has begun.

"All in all, it's a great machine. It does exactly what it's made for, and it does it well"

disc option

"First, we scarify all the fields," Evers continues. "To reduce weed pressure. It slices right through entire root systems with ease. Then we mow the grass short using the Panda mowing-collection combination from Schouten Machines. That takes two to three days."
Evers mentions they also opted for extra cutting discs for the scarifiers. "We also bought an additional shaft to make disc changes easier. Otherwise, you'd have to loosen each disc with a wrench—and they're spaced only 3 cm apart. In our experience, the machine performs best in moist conditions. All in all, it's a great machine. It does exactly what it's made for, and it does it well."

"The extra shaft makes swapping discs even easier"

This article was previously published on July 18, 2025 on the Stad + Groen website.

Schouten Machines B.V

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