Hay Rakes / What Brand?

I currently have an old NH 258 rolabar rake and was considering getting a v-twin type rake.
I am losing some help for this coming season and have seen some working in the field that looks to save allot of time.
Is there a brand or model that you folks prefer over another?
Thanks,
DM

I borrowed a kuhn gryo rake. I said if ever I buy another rake, I would like one. I had an old finger rake,4 wheel 2 pt. It was a disaster. It didn't really rake and it broke the teeth which are a pain to replace. I have no experience with the v rakes you are asking about. I have read that they pick up a lot of trash. While viewing a presentation on Ky forage & grassland's web, a fellow had made and installed some plastic pieces 1/2 inch longer than the rake teeth about every 4th tooth. It had solved the problem with the trash so they could satisfy their horse customers.

I did the same thing you are doing about 16 years ago buying a Gehl 8 wheel V-rake. They have made alot of improvements on them since then. The cheap style like I have has a straight frame assembly paraelle to the ground that the wheels are mounted to and passes the hay underneath the frame after it leaves the wheels, sometimes this can cause bunching problems with hay getting lodged between the frame and the ground. Some newer rakes have a high clearence frame that goosenecks upward inbetween the wheels to prevent this problem, I have seen this on the Khuns. Frontier rakes look just like mine. Eventhough, I still would never go back to the New Holland Rollerbar, my V-rake has been very low maintenance and a huge time saver. The large V-rakes that the commercial producers use have the wheels set to the inside of the frame and the hay never passes between the frame and the ground but you are looking at a whole another price catagory, a friend of mine has a 22 wheel Rowse that is around $25,000.

mrvictordomino":14qelbqp said:

I currently have an old NH 258 rolabar rake and was considering getting a v-twin type rake.
I am losing some help for this coming season and have seen some working in the field that looks to save allot of time.
Is there a brand or model that you folks prefer over another?
Thanks,
DM

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I prefer the Kuhn Speed rakes over the other brands of V rake
they are built heavier,have a higher clearance and prevents plugging in heavy hay
they have more adjustment settings than any of the other brands I have looked at
have used an owned all kinds,sizes and brands and I believe the Kuhn is the best
I would reccomend getting the center kicker wheel on whatever brand you go with especialy if you use a disc mower to cut with or if you use a tedder to help condition your hay

Angus Cowman":34cqd259 said:

mrvictordomino":34cqd259 said:

I currently have an old NH 258 rolabar rake and was considering getting a v-twin type rake.
I am losing some help for this coming season and have seen some working in the field that looks to save allot of time.
Is there a brand or model that you folks prefer over another?
Thanks,
DM

Click to expand...

I prefer the Kuhn Speed rakes over the other brands of V rake
they are built heavier,have a higher clearance and prevents plugging in heavy hay
they have more adjustment settings than any of the other brands I have looked at
have used an owned all kinds,sizes and brands and I believe the Kuhn is the best
I would reccomend getting the center kicker wheel on whatever brand you go with especialy if you use a disc mower to cut with or if you use a tedder to help condition your hay

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Keep in mind your type of soil on the wheel rakes. Neighbor has one. We are on the Blackland Prarie. The black dirt likes to stick the the rake teeth if the ground is a bit damp (like is supposed to be in Spring hay season around here) and sometimes the hay doesn't slip from the teeth as it should.
Since you said "an old 258 NH" I suspect you don't do a whole lot of hay so finding something affordable (new) or something not worn out (used) is what you are thinking? I picked up a good JD 672 and 673 rig a number a year back when everone was trading up the hydraulic v-rakes. Pain in the butt to set up and brake down in the summer heat if you have to do a lot of small patches but they work. Cost of a rig like mine ran about the same as a new Khun wheel rake of the same size plus there are 6 more tires to keep aired. :lol2:

Angus Cowman":30z6yptc said:

I would reccomend getting the center kicker wheel on whatever brand you go with especialy if you use a disc mower to cut with or if you use a tedder to help condition your hay

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Absolutely. The baler will not pickup the hay that is laying flat on the ground, and the rake without the center wheel will pitch hay on top of the hay in the center of the "V" without lifting the center off the ground. If that makes sense.

It all depends on how much you are willing to spend. I had a 10 wheel 3pt. V-rake like hayray described with the frame inside the wheels and that was nothing but a pain. Constantly plugging when I would get into heavier windrows. I upgraded to a Case pull type 14 wheel V-rake. Last year was the first year and we had some awfully big windrows go through that thing without a single problem. The rake is really heavy duty compared to most brands but it isn't cheap either.

novaman":lq0z4ibu said:

It all depends on how much you are willing to spend. I had a 10 wheel 3pt. V-rake like hayray described with the frame inside the wheels and that was nothing but a pain. Constantly plugging when I would get into heavier windrows. I upgraded to a Case pull type 14 wheel V-rake. Last year was the first year and we had some awfully big windrows go through that thing without a single problem. The rake is really heavy duty compared to most brands but it isn't cheap either.

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That is one of the reasons I like the Kuhn I haven't plugged it but once or twice in the last 4 or 5 yrs
the way it is designed the frame of the rake sets alot higher than any of the others unless you go with a hi -capacity wheel rake
a Kuhn isn't cheap but not as pricey as the hi capacity rakes either
Vermeer, and John deere are the same rakes and they are made alot like the Gehls

I am running a 8 wheel H&S v rake and will replace it with another if it ever wears out.

Most people around here running Sitrex. How do they compare with others?
Bear

Hard to beat Kuhn hay equipment.

bear":2ptlu4ou said:

Most people around here running Sitrex. How do they compare with others?
Bear

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depends on if they are the regualr wheel rakes or the Hi-capacity
I know on the reg wheel rakes they are priced in line with the JD,Vermeer and some of the others and they are made like them
about 1500 or 2000 cheaper than a kuhn

At the Michigan Ag show a couple years ago the Khun rakes I saw were around $7500, can't remember if that was a 10 or 8 wheel. I paid $2600 for my Gehl back in 95 or somewhere abouts that time.

hayray":8jn2pfsk said:

At the Michigan Ag show a couple years ago the Khun rakes I saw were around $7500, can't remember if that was a 10 or 8 wheel. I paid $2600 for my Gehl back in 95 or somewhere abouts that time.

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a 10 wheel Kuhn should be around $5400 don't know about the 8 wheel
a 8 wheel vermeer or JD will run around 3500

id go with a 10 or 12 wheel rake.so you could get your raking done faster thus saving fuel on the rake an baler.

The number of wheels is based on your width of cut. Ideally you want to match that up so that you are properly flipping the row. I have a 9', 2" cut and that matchs well with a 8 wheel rake. If I used a 10 wheel on the 9 foot cut then I would be too wide and have problems grabbing part of the third and 4th rows or have to adjust the angle of the rakes so narrow that the double row might be too wide for baler pickup and unable to also flip the inside of each row properly.

bigbull338":g1eiehvw said:

id go with a 10 or 12 wheel rake.so you could get your raking done faster thus saving fuel on the rake an baler.

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That depends on how heavy your hay is and how much throat you have on your baler and how wide you cut swath is
I have a 10 wheel that alot of guys can't bale behind because I have it spread too wide in the front and the back for their standard pick up balers

when I am producing 3.5 to 5.5 tons per acre even my extra wide pick up balers can't handle much more hay in the windrow than what I can rake with a 10 wheel

I wish Kuhn would make a 10 wheel that the front 2 wheels could be raised when in thick hay like AC's. Sometimes I wish I had a 12 wheel during some of the dry times. Guess I am just hard to please.