NEW HOLLAND 488

[HDRider]

How maintainable is something like this? Just starting out making hay and watching my dimes, is buying something like this a mistake?

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listingsdet ... ID=8889331

 

[hillbilly beef man]

As long as the cutter bar is not bent everything else is repairable.

 

[HDRider]

Are new parts still available?

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I would call your local NH dealer and ask them about parts. I started mowing with a 472 pulled with a Jd 2350. A haybine is slower than a disc mower, but I still like mowing with them.

 

[skyhightree1]

HD I started out with a 479 And 477 guess what I still have and use them. theres a bunch of parts available from nh and aftermarket. dependable of you maintain and keep it greased. slow as h e l l which I hate it I cit over 300 acres twice a year sometimes so I need a disc mower truly and looked at 1 today. beauty of those old haybines is a lot of the parts are interchangeable and sales around here they go for 1 grand or less. I say go for it.

 

[Aaron]

NH still makes the 488 brand new. About the best haybine of the size that you can buy. Parts are pricey, as with anything NH, but aftermarket are available with significant savings. Relatively easy to work on. The 479 is almost the exact same, other than driveline orientation, and can be bought for almost nothing for parts. Make sure wobble box that drives the cutter is tight in every direction. It is a high wear point and the most expensive part on that machine, upwards of $2k for a new unit.

 

[kjonesel]

The New Holland 488 is still marketed. It is still our most dependable mower. I am making final repairs on our disc mower for the last time. We bought one 2 1/2 years ago for $600.00 and made about $450.00 worth of repairs such as belts, skid shoes, upgraded to case hardened sections, and an universal to the pto shaft. If there is any rubber off the rollers then beware, rollers are thousands of dollars. We put up 2 cuttings off of 160 acres of hay with ours. We bought a New Holland 499 this fall for $2,200.00 which is a 12' as my son has left for college this fall. I don't think you can go wrong if the machine is in decent shape.

 

[HDRider]

OK. I am on the hunt now.. Thanks...

 

[HDRider]

Curious. How high can it be set to cut?

 

[Aaron]

Curious. How high can it be set to cut?

About 5-6" above the ground with the shoes completely dropped.

 

[hurleyjd]

Are new parts still available?

488 parts are still available. Also you can by one brand new 488 at NH

 

[HDRider]

Are new parts still available?

488 parts are still available. Also you can by one brand new 488 at NH

Sure, for 14 large! Maybe you missed the part about watching my dimes.

 

[Aaron]

Are new parts still available?

488 parts are still available. Also you can by one brand new 488 at NH

Sure, for 14 large! Maybe you missed the part about watching my dimes.

Pay no attention to buying new. They are grossly overpriced. 8-10k is what they should be worth new, but that is NH for ya. This is the same company that wants almost 8k new for a simple ground drive 256 rake. You can buy a half dozen used ones easily for the price of a new one.

 

[hurleyjd]

Are new parts still available?

488 parts are still available. Also you can by one brand new 488 at NH

Sure, for 14 large! Maybe you missed the part about watching my dimes.

I was not advocating you buy a new one only that it is current and parts are available. I have one and it is great for cutting hay there will be times you will have to replace a sickle section which is no big deal. Also the rock guards are just as important in the cutting action as the sickle is. I also cut about 200 acres total at least two times a year. I usual spend any where between $600 on average each year for new cutting parts. The thing I like about is you can cure the hay in the winrow and it has great color. Any mowing with any machine in my area creates a lot of wear. A lot of the grass cut is Bahia which is tough on any cutting machine. I bought a Vicon disk mower that was slightly used and am really amazed at the amount of wear on the disk after this one season.

 

[skyhightree1]

[youtube]P-Y5txkekF0[/youtube]

This is the only reason why I want a disc mower notice speed. This is when I was cutting a couple weeks ago.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Sky looks like you were moving along pretty good to me. What, 4 mph? I can run a disc mower 5.4 mph in our fields(steep and rough) and still keep it in the row, but not any faster. Unless your fields are pretty smooth and square I do not think that you are going to pick up much speed.

 

[skyhightree1]

Sky looks like you were moving along pretty good to me. What, 4 mph? I can run a disc mower 5.4 mph in our fields(steep and rough) and still keep it in the row, but not any faster. Unless your fields are pretty smooth and square I do not think that you are going to pick up much speed.

Hillbilly yea that's probably about how fast I was going. My fields are smooth and square :mrgreen: I have seen disc mowers go along like at about 10mph.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

If I tried to go ten mph I would need to mount a parachute on the tractor.

 

[skyhightree1]

If I tried to go ten mph I would need to mount a parachute on the tractor.

:lol2: Bumpy there and hilly?

 

[hillbilly beef man]

It takes longer to find a flat place to dump a bale than it takes to bale it.