[Coniberty Acres]

So we will be adding a round baler this year probably a 4x5. What is a good rake to look for? We have 2 NH56 side delivery rakes now and want to speed up raking time we will also be doing squares so we can keep the NH56 for that or use the new rake. So educate me on wheel rakes, the v rakes, and the Vermeer type that look like 2 side delivery rakes raking together.
Thanks

 

[Hogfarmer10]

I’d recommend a good 8 wheel v rake, like a Vermeer vr series, a Kuhn sr series, or a new holland pro cart series. I’m familiar with baling with a 5x6 baler using a 10 wheel rake. Depending on crop, it can make windrows almost too big for the baler. Also, you’ll definitely find them much more affordable than the Vermeer twin basket rakes. Be sure you go with a rake that “raises like buzzard wings” (Kuhn Sr108 or Vermeer brown 820) rather than the older cart style (Vermeer wr 20).

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Depends what your mowing with? Using a tedder?

Match your rake to the mower you have.

 

[Coniberty Acres]

Thanks guys. Mowing with a NH 7’ disc mower for now. Going to upgrade that next year hopefully, and plan on a Tedder this year if funds allow.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

If using a tedder then you really need a rake with center kicker wheels so that all the hay gets flipped.

 

[Aaroncboo]

If your rakes are decent you can do what I did. I needed to speed up raking and already had 2 IH 15 hay rakes. For about $300 I built a sliding pipe hitch for pulling the one rake behind the other.
I had to make a Dolly wheel but that wasn't hard. Works great too. If you are in heavy hay just pull the pin and use one. They pull straight behind each other for down the road.
I wanted to go to a V rake to be able to make two rows into one but the tractor I use doesn't have another gear but road gear so it wouldn't be any faster for me compared to pulling these two. And it was much cheaper. I can get more pics if you are interested. I used U bolts so I didn't need to weld anything.

 

[Tx Jim]

My vote is for a Hi-cap wheel rake. I've owned my H&S Hi-cap 20 yrs. It's a 14 wheel that has capability of raking 6' to 29' feet just by simply moving tractor scv control lever. Windrow width is crank adjusted. H-cap rake wheels push hay in front of rake frame while regular wheel rake wheels pull hay under rake frame.

In '92 I purchased a New Vermeer R23 rake. Manually opening/closing baskets to pass through narrower gates gets old fast. Plus hyd operated baskets get tractor ""hyd oil very hot"". I converted my Vermeer R23 to operate on a tractor operated pto pump & converting square rake tongue into a hyd reservoir so I could operate rake on a smaller tractor such as a Ford 3000 tractor.

 

[TJ Hendren]

I agree with Tx Jim a Hi-Cap is the only way to go and I've ran all types of wheel rakes. As for the center kickers their not really necessary, I've had my rake 6 years and have put them on the ground twice. With that being said I mow high though 3.5 inches is a low cut for me. At that height even tedded, the stubble will hold it off the ground and set the pickup teeth at 2.5 inches, and leave very, very little behind, nothing is 100% efficient. If you have a 8' mower get a 10 wheel, 9' 10, 10' 12 if you don't ted. I have a 10' with a 10 wheel and it ain't big enough. Buy what you want just size it right. One last point, unless you want to replace teeth all the time don't do very short turns with the wheels on the ground. I've seen people do 180's with the wheels on the ground and that is a totally unnecessary expense.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Without center kicker wheels in tedded hay then the hay in the center isn't getting raked. UP here on our damp moist soil that would mean baling wet hay.

 

[danwi]

Depends on the capacity of your small square baler and what you are thinking about upgrading for haybine next year. With a 9 to 13 ft cut in heavy first crop you may need to rake single rows. Then as suggested two rakes on a tandem hitch raking singles is preferred. When you get into lighter crops then you can combine rows. Getting a hi capacity wheel rake wont save a lot of time raking if you have to set it narrow to make rows for the small square baler. Honestly when it comes down to it, like a lot of things one rake won't be good for everything and if you can justify 2 rakes one for single rows and a 2nd for raking wide swaths

 

[Coniberty Acres]

View attachment 92896
If your rakes are decent you can do what I did. I needed to speed up raking and already had 2 IH 15 hay rakes. For about $300 I built a sliding pipe hitch for pulling the one rake behind the other.
I had to make a Dolly wheel but that wasn't hard. Works great too. If you are in heavy hay just pull the pin and use one. They pull straight behind each other for down the road.
I wanted to go to a V rake to be able to make two rows into one but the tractor I use doesn't have another gear but road gear so it wouldn't be any faster for me compared to pulling these two. And it was much cheaper. I can get more pics if you are interested. I used U bolts so I didn't need to weld anything.

That might be a good idea if nothing else just to get us by this year. One of his rakes has a dolly wheel already too. I would like to see some more pics. I like good Fabrication job

 

[Aaroncboo]

Cool. I will get them for you tomorrow!

 

[Tx Jim]

Depends on the capacity of your small square baler and what you are thinking about upgrading for haybine next year. With a 9 to 13 ft cut in heavy first crop you may need to rake single rows.

I'll bet you I can rake as narrow or possibly narrower swath of hay by simply moving scv control lever or at least create same width windrow with my Hi-cap rake as any rake you want to choose to compare. I also have the option of locking in raised position 1/2 of my rakes raking wheels. Back when I owned a small sq baler I utilized my Hi-cap rake to form windrows for my sq baler to bale.

 

[calico190xt]

I agree with those that voted on the v rakes. I have a Kuhn 10 wheel V rake with kicker wheel and I can set the width of the windrow to match the round baler pickup width. This makes for a well formed bale. When using a bar rake, we have to weave and don't get consistent bales. I think it is still hard to get the width right when using two bar rakes hooked together.

We had a small capacity small square baler (24T) so we could not rake with the v-rake with both sides down on first cutting. However, you can raise one side and then do a single windrow. I kept a bar rake just to use on small square baler but it wasn't necessary now that time has gone on. On all future cuttings, we used both sides of the wheel rake and really cuts down on your time. Now that we have stopped using the 24T, we can rake with both sides down. Even the 24T could handle the 2nd cutting raked with both sides down (we try to cut every 28 days so it doesn't get out of hand). We have also had to roll the hay over for faster drying and use just one side of the wheel rake. It is nice to be able to hydraulically raise and lower the sides of the v rake versus the bar rake just running over the windrows on turns.

I think if you want just one rake for all situations and the least expensive with very few parts to maintain, the V rake is the way to go.

I do think that the rotary rakes do a good job of fluffing the hay and cleaning up the field but are more expensive and have more maintenance issues. I know that guys like the R23s but again, if I had to have one rake on a budget, it wouldn't be the one.

I was at a forage council meeting recently and one of the professor's pointed out that the recent hay tests showed a lot more Ash in the hay tests. He stated this was a result of aggressive raking and pulling in too much dirt. it is possible that the v rakes could be doing this but they also may need to be adjusted better. The down force may be too much. I am going to watch out for this myself.

 

[danwi]

I know that you can narrow down a hi capacity rake to make smaller rows but other then ground speed he wouldn't be save any time because you are only making one row at a time.

 

[KurtS1]

I did not notice where you are located. If you live in a humid area with dewy nights a rotary rake may work better for you. I live in SW MI and they seem to give a little edge in drying the hay. It's just my opinion and what has worked best for me.
Also, the NH 56 rakes are good for what they are and you may be further ahead to double them up an invest in a good 4 to 6 basket tedder. Again, this depends some on your location, but tedders do make a big difference in the damper area's.

 

[Hawkins2015]

I’d recommend a good 8 wheel v rake, like a Vermeer vr series, a Kuhn sr series, or a new holland pro cart series. I’m familiar with baling with a 5x6 baler using a 10 wheel rake. Depending on crop, it can make windrows almost too big for the baler. Also, you’ll definitely find them much more affordable than the Vermeer twin basket rakes. Be sure you go with a rake that “raises like buzzard wings” (Kuhn Sr108 or Vermeer brown 820) rather than the older cart style (Vermeer wr 20).

You'll have to elaborate on the "buzzard wing" fold vs the other.

Here's my take on the topic from southern IN. I bale with a 5ft wide baler. Just bought a Enorossi 10 wheel, where the outside wheels can be locked up to turn it into an 8 wheel. I think in our very thick 1st cutting, the 10 wheels will make the windrow too large. But when we get into 2nd and 3rd cutting, those two extra wheels will be nice. I'm excited to see how it will play out.

Also, most of the time we are raking just an hour or so in front of the baler. This means that, at least for us in our tedded, the hay is ready to bale when it is being raked. So I think the kicker is not needed for us. It does not need to be flipped to dry down any more, and honestly, I think the kicker loads one side of the windrow heaver. This gives you and uneven windrow that you have to acount for when baling or you'll have a big spot in your bales.

We also chose to go with a caddy style rake vs the hi-capacity. There are several places in the hay fields that have wash outs. We have seen lots of people snap off the wheels on those hi-cap rakes in those washouts.

 

[calico190xt]

I know that you can narrow down a hi capacity rake to make smaller rows but other then ground speed he wouldn't be save any time because you are only making one row at a time.

Agreed. I think he is going to get a higher capacity sq baler at some point soon so it would hold him for the future. I also think it is only first cutting that you have to hold one side up depending upon the baler he has. My JD 348 can handle double windrows on first cutting. All other cuttings will be fine is my experience. Essentially he could cut his raking in half on all cuttings versus bar rake, if he can handle the volume.

I got by with a v rake, rolling the hay over to help dry, and no tedderer for a year but the tedderer is another must have as soon as financially possible, in my opinion. 2 baskets are cheap but you will use fuel and time. If he does alfalfa then a fluffer is better but they are lower capacity in general. I am still thinking about how to hook two Pequas together.

 

[danwi]

Calico, there was a post going a couple years ago, one of the regular guys on here was building a fluffer type tedder with 3 units. We were spit balling some ideas how he could make it fold and drive the outside units. I just took a couple seconds to look for it but didn't find it so far.

 

[calico190xt]

Calico, there was a post going a couple years ago, one of the regular guys on here was building a fluffer type tedder with 3 units. We were spit balling some ideas how he could make it fold and drive the outside units. I just took a couple seconds to look for it but didn't find it so far.

I found it and I commented on it awhile back so I was in on that discussion at a later date. I am probably not going to get it done this year. My winter has escaped me.

My plan is to make a two fluffer version with the second being a ground driven version. Backup plan would be to go to a PTO version with a hydraulic pump driving it. Depends upon what I can find. Going to rig up a solid frame to pull them and transport them. I will tune the spacing to my windrows from my options on my discbine. The 3 fluffer version may never happen or will have to wait until I am a lot better metal fabricator.

I dread the thought of tearing them both up due to poor structural design.