m&w hay rakes

[scf84]

are these rakes any good? found a i think decent deal on a 10 wheel one with mostly new tines and two new tires for $1850. what yall think about these rakes and the price? it looks like the front two wheels swing up in the pics what is the purpose of that?(to use as 8 wheel when in thick hay and 10 wheel is making to big of a windrow or?)

 

[SmokinM]

I have used a couple of these. I like them and m&w equipment in general. The swing up wheels are probably for use just as you describe. I would say if the price and general condition are good go for it.

 

[tom4018]

I have a 8 wheel and like it. It will ball up some in thick hay. Overall I am satisfied with mine. The speed of a wheel rake is the biggest plus to me. Only other wheel rake I have used is a Kuhn, it has more clearance and may not ball up as bad. Did not get to use it in heavy hay though.

 

[jltrent]

I have had one since 1999 and soon sold my NH 256 rake as I never used it after I bought the 8 wheel M&W. It will just about cut your raking time in half and also the wheel rakes want beat your hay crop to death. The only down side is after the teeth have been used for several years they start breaking more often. The first few years I would replace bout five per year and now it is bout 50 teeth per year.

 

[bse]

I use 1, i like it alot the 10 wheel makes it more versatile and quicker in thinner hay, if you go to 8 wheel you still need to roll the 2 up, its easy to remove the other 2 but you need the weight to hold the other wheels down.

 

[Kscattle]

I've got the 4565 rake and what I really like about it is if your windrow gets wet, you can pin one side up and just flip the hay over with the other side. Real handy! Like others said once the teeth start breaking you'll go thru a lot of them. Don't go cheap on teeth either, the name brands are heavier I think. It will ball/bundle up in real thick hay but you can raise it up/down real quick and release the ball and not miss any hay. If you want to avoid this, spend $8k on a high capacity rake. Personally I can deal with it since it's not very often occurrence. It's also the same as a panorama brand

 

[scf84]

well i pulled her in saturday think i about have it setup when i got it both sides liked about 3 inches shutting into the locks, had to slide the axle back a inch or two because the ram was at end of stroke before they would lock and now she does pretty good left side goes completly shut but right likes half inch. anyone know if rhino could send me a manual for this rake?