Hay equipment

[rjbovine]

I'm in the market for a hay rake . Not looking for new . Any recomendations in mind with a price to go along . Just bought a 617 NH disk mower . Bought through a dealer . He had traded for it from a county township . Has been used less than 40 hrs. and keep in a dry.

 

[skyhightree1]

personally I have a rhino v rake and IMO v rake is the only way to go saves time and fuel

 

[hurleyjd]

I'm in the market for a hay rake . Not looking for new . Any recomendations in mind with a price to go along . Just bought a 617 NH disk mower . Bought through a dealer . He had traded for it from a county township . Has been used less than 40 hrs. and keep in a dry.

WR20 vermeer is a good wheel rake and not much money. Tonutti, frontier also has the exact rake. You might go to tractorhouse and search.

 

[Tim/South]

I second the suggestion of finding a V rake. I bought a Kuhn SR110 almost new at an auction.
I would not go with a wheel rake unless it was a V. I tried a 3 point hitch wheel rake for about 3 minutes one time and that was too long.

 

[pricefarm]

I have been looking at th v rakes. Are there any brands to stay away from? Are they all about the same ?

 

[skyhightree1]

I have been looking at th v rakes. Are there any brands to stay away from? Are they all about the same ?

I don't know all there is to know about hay rakes I've only owned 1 v rake its a rhino I have had it 3 years no issues so far. Just keep them greased well.

 

[millstreaminn]

I've had a NH 256 roll a bar and I currently have a Kuhn GT3200 gyro rake. The Kuhn wins hands down, but the NH was a good rake for what it is.

 

[bigbull338]

there are few good wheel rakes out there.if your smart youll get a good 10 wheel rake new and be done with it.we picked up WR20 8 wheel rake this year for $1500.i dont like it but itll work for a few years.the only reason itll last a few years is because the guy bought it a few years ago to rake 20acs once or twice.then parked it and never used it again.

 

[skyhightree1]

8 wheel rake does me justice its alot faster than the nh 256 i had or the 3pt wheel rake i still have. Whats funny is I bought the 256 for 500 bucks cleaned it up painted it changed a few teeth and sold it for 1500 it sold in 2 days I thought I would have it for a long while since everyone is going to wheel rakes ... WRONG

 

[John SD]

I bought a new Vermeer R2800 last year loaded with all the bells and whistles, and priced accordingly. It easily puts 2 - 16' swaths together in one pass. For the first time in my life I actually look forward to raking hay when I can see how much ground can be covered in a short time.

I realize the R2800 is not what you are looking for, but Vermeer does make a smaller/more basic rake and there are a lot of them around this country. IIRC, the model is R23 or R2300.

You might get lucky and find a used one at a dealer or on an auction. :2cents:

 

[OklaBrangusBreeder]

I've had a Rhino SWR-10 (I think they call it a Velox rake now) for the last 3 seasons and have really been pleased with the rake. I think I paid $4950 for it new. Mine is a 10 wheel rake, but the front two wheels will kick up so it can be used as an 8-wheel (which I have done maybe a couple times in really dense cutting).

Love my rake. First wheel rake I've had and really enjoy it. I added a center wheel kit to it last season so I can now throw three 10 ft cutter swaths together. Great move, much faster getting done. You might keep that in mind also...

 

[herofan]

I used a neighbors wheel rake last year and loved it unless I was in thick hay; then it would pile up, drag it, and make a mess. Another neighbor said he had the same experience with them. I don't recall the brand or anything. Does this sound like a cheap one? Do most rakes not have this issue?

 

[highgrit]

What size windrow are you trying to make? I tried to tighten mine up and clogged it up in heavy grass. When It's set up for 4 1/2' windrows it doesn't clog up, but the baler will miss some hay. Most of the time it's driver error.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

It all depends on what your raking. Lite, thin hay, a wheel saves lots of time. Heavy, thick stuff like Sudan, you need something with power to keep the rake going.

 

[hurleyjd]

What size windrow are you trying to make? I tried to tighten mine up and clogged it up in heavy grass. When It's set up for 4 1/2' windrows it doesn't clog up, but the baler will miss some hay. Most of the time it's driver error.

That is the size I use for a 4 foot bale. My rake is the Vermeer wr20 which is 8 wheels any more than that would make too large of windrow for my 5410 rebel. Really is a pita to dig the hay out when it jams. I bought the rake in 2000 wore out one set of wheels. Atwoods had the wheels on sale for $65 and I replaced all of them two years ago.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

herofan,
There are several things you can do to stop the hay from balling up in the wheel rake when the grass is thick. One is you can widen the "throat" of the rake a bit. Also you can just slightly raise the rake so that the first set of wheels (or two) are raised a little bit off the ground. Doing this, plan on going back for a second round to clean up what you missed. Lastly, you can lock one side of the rake up and only use one side. I hate this method but have done it in a pinch.
By doing these things you can reduce the amount of hay entering the rake for the first lap, until you get to the second lap and you can simply rake with a portion of the rake on the hay and thereby reduce the windrow a bit and lessen the balling.
We have a H & S 12 wheel rake. Only thing I don't like about it is it doesnt' have a center wheel. The next rake I buy will have a center wheel.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm always the opposite of everybody else. I like a NH 256. They are getting cheap enough used, you can afford to buy 2, and hook them together.

 

[skyhightree1]

This was my rake in action yesterday. Yes I know I missed some hay I was going too fast and trying to record and drive at the same time I went back and cleaned it up.

[youtube]OFC7HSSMWHQ[/youtube]

 

[highgrit]

Driver error, if you need any tips I'm good at it. You don't Tedder I see. I like to Tedder at least once. But that's the way I was told to make good hay.

 

[skyhightree1]

Driver error, if you need any tips I'm good at it. You don't Tedder I see. I like to Tedder at least once. But that's the way I was told to make good hay.

LOL yea.. Na I don't tedder anymore since our hay dries quick you could most of the time cut today and bale tomorrow.