Baler belt tracking question

[M.Magis]

I used my new to me baler for the second time today, Vermeer 505 Super I. First time I had a belt routed slightly wrong, and it didn't last long. The baler has 14" belts on the ends and one in the middle. Between them are 6" belts. I put the new 14" belt in the middle today and started baling again. When running empty, the new belt tracks fine. Once I start a bale, the new belt starts tracking to the left, when looking back at the baler. If I don't watch it, it will fold the belt over. Sometimes the 6" belt next to it will work over too, but not near as bad. I feed hay heavy to the left side to force the belt back in place, it seems to help. Once the bale gets about half size, the problem seems to work itself out. My guess is maybe the new belt is slightly shorter than the old belts, and thats causing the issue? Any other thoughts?

 

[Josher]

There's a couple things u can try or check. One thing u can do to be sure of the correct length is take off all 3 of the 14" belts and lay them on the ground and make sure they are all same length. Another thing u can do is find the roller that adjusts and keep adjusting one side so it makes it tighter or looser on that one side to see if that corrects your problem. I had a baler that most of the belts wanted to track over the one direction but after I adjusted it then it fixed that problem.

 

[1982vett]

Not saying it isn't belt problems, just keying in on your comment...heavy to the left side.... what does your windrows look like? If your having to weave a lot to fill the edges to keep from making barrels, that can make the belts move around a lot. Making windrows that fill both sides of the bale evenly help that at the start a lot. Shouldn't be a problem once the bale has a good start. You probably already know that don't you.

Majority of my baling issues are caused by the way windrows are made. Thin hay or thick. Each has a different windrow build.

 

[jltrent]

If just one belt my SWAG is the end of the belt was not squared off when the lace was attached. They will not track straight if not perfectly squared off.

 

[M.Magis]

I assumed it was a feeding problem too, but as soon as I started a core and the belt started rubbing, I opened the gate and checked the core. It looked perfectly even. Its always to the one side no matter what I do. My windrows aren't perfect but not too bad I don't think.
I had a thought today. The new belt is 3 ply, the old ones are 2 ply. If I remember college statics classes right, that would mean the thicker 3 ply would rotate around at a different rate than the rest. Could that be causing the issue?

 

[M.Magis]

Just a small update in case anyone has a similar issue. I took the new belt and moved it over to the far side, in the direction it wanted to move. Swapping 14" belts in 90+ degree heat is loads of fun.
I won't say it fixed the problem, but it was a huge help. I can see it still wants to move, but the wall keeps it from moving far and it never folded over on itself. I was able to finish the last 15 or so bales I had to go without much issue. I still ordered another 2 ply belt to see if that fixes the problem. I needed to have a spare belt anyways.