Type of rake

Help Support CattleToday:

chevytaHOE5674 said:
Started making hay with roller bar rake and it did an ok job but it really liked to rope the hay, also not very quick.

Went to a 13' rotary and it made the nicest fluffiest windrows that would dry down awesome and baling was a pleasure but also was slow. Also had a lot of moving mechanical parts to it.

Have a 12 wheel carted v-rake now and it does a job about the roller bar but man is it fast. I do just about everything myself and it is the only way possible I can rake 40+ acres of hay and get it baled in the same day. Also it is stupid simple, no pto/gears/ujoints/etc to have to worry about.
Click to expand...

Did the rolla bar thing.
Could not afford the rotary.
How fast do you go with your wheel rake?
Have you looked at the hyd driven rolla bar V rakes?
 
I go as fast as the ground will allow be it 5mph or 15mph.

Looked at and demoed a Vermeer R2300 and it does a nice job (not as nice as a rotary) but it was a big heavy clumsy machine that had lots of points that looked like failure in the making in rough ground. For the 18-20k price tag for a nice used one I can buy 3 brand new wheel rakes.
 
I havent had too much issue pushing 3 or 4+ ton to the acre hay thru my carted wheel rake. On the heavy end I may get a clump/wad here or there but the baler has no problems gobbling them up.
 
Stocker Steve said:
What do you think about a disc mower - - wheel rake combo for making mostly baleage?
Click to expand...

I run a Kuhn GMD 600 7' ft disc mower and a Kuhn SR 110 (10 wheel V rake) and put up about half our hay for baleage (JD baler, and a small one bale wrapper).

The only issue I run into really with the rake is wind. I live in a really windy part of the country (lots of windmills). There are wind shields you can put on the rake wheels. I've just been to cheap to do that.
 
I've got a 10 wheel Vermeer. Kinda wanting a 4 wheel rake for the 3pt, won't use it much, but I have a few applications it'd be nice. They any good?
 
Aaron said:
Rake everything double with 256 every year on all 280 acres. It really slows a day down, but I am not ready to splurge on the Vermeer 2800 until I can find a steal of a deal. As with the haybine, if I was to put an upkeep cost on the rake for the number of acres it does, the cost would be less than 50 cents an acre each year.
Click to expand...
Aaron, you ever considered a double hitch and get nh 258?
 
I bought a used 10 wheel V for $1700. Lost a wheel bearing on the way home... Then sold the rolla bar for $800.

The 10 wheel has a low cart so it is not ideal for Reed Canary, otherwise OK.
 
kickinbull said:
Aaron said:
Rake everything double with 256 every year on all 280 acres. It really slows a day down, but I am not ready to splurge on the Vermeer 2800 until I can find a steal of a deal. As with the haybine, if I was to put an upkeep cost on the rake for the number of acres it does, the cost would be less than 50 cents an acre each year.
Click to expand...
Aaron, you ever considered a double hitch and get nh 258?
Click to expand...

Yes, I know about the hitch 256/258 combo. My neighbor has one. Only one locally that does. Works for him with large fields and no fences/gates to squeeze through. I am exactly the opposite and the idea of unhitching the rakes 50 times a year is not very appealing.
 
I find un-powered rakes work alright in grass, but if you have alfalfa stubble, that can be hard to move the hay through

Baled the field I posted a picture of last night, 666 x 75lb bales, 9 acres.. there's another 50 bales out there the mower didn't get, was badly lodged.. was 3 weeks overdue to cut
 

Similar threads

Mountaintown Creek Ranch
What type of grass weed
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
504RP
5
L
Summer of 24 forecast
Replies
1
Views
349
wbvs58
wbvs58
J
Which type of waterer?
Replies
10
Views
992
Silver
Silver
L
Cost of Lime
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
brandonm_13
B
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Cost of Hay
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
5K
Stonewall Joe
Stonewall Joe

Latest posts

Top