[weedkiller]

I need to buy a V Rake for making high quality alfalfa marketed to dairies. There are more than a few designs to choose from and I just assumed they were all the same. Any opinions on different designs? I will be using a self propelled Challenger windrower with a 16' disc head. My fields are quarter sections and rolling terrain. Tractorhouse has over 3,000 rakes for sale!

 

[SWFarmService]

2800 Vermeer power rake, if you can afford one they are the only ones that stand the test of time and no dirt in the hay

 

[custom_farmer]

As with everything, location and conditions play a major role in the decision.
Irrigated, dryland, gophers, how smooth or rough the fields are, size of fields, and swath width. You stated your cutting with a 16' header, that is going to limit you a little bit. You would have to keep your windrows a little on the narrow side to be able to pick them up with a hydraulic rake. Sometimes its very difficult to spread a hydraulic rake wide enough to pick everything up, and still function properly. Narrower windrows works fine in lighter crops, but 2-3 ton p/ac p/cutting, you need the swaths a little wider.

If you fight gophers/dirt, a hydraulic will make cleaner hay than a wheel rake. I don't care what anybody says about properly setting a wheel rake, they still put more dirt in the hay. If the fields are clean, it's hard to pass up the speed you gain with a wheel rake. The big wheels aren't as agile as a hydraulic, so if you have small fields, with a lot of corners to contend with, a hydraulic gets around better. Especially compared to a Sitrex type design, with the tires on the very rear of the rake.

If your in a area where getting rained on is a concern, at some point you will have to re-rake. This is a weak point for the Vermeers, and the wire wheel type wheel rakes.

If the fields are rough, you should look for a rake with walking beams on the tire setup. Makes a big difference in the longevity of the frame work.

Adjustability: the more adjustments a rake has the better IMO. When the hay is dry you want to "rope" it up a bit, when it's wetter, you want to lift and fluff. On most of the hydraulics you can change the pitch of the basket up or down. Up for fluffy, down for ropey.I'm not sure on the 2800 Vermeers, but the 2300 I used to own, had little to no adjustment for this. The only wheel rake I'm aware of that does this is the H&S/New Holland.

Generally speaking, a wheel rake is gentler on the hay. With a hydraulic, you need to match the ratio between basket rpm and ground speed, not saying it can't be done, you just have to be aware of it all the time. As conditions in the hay change, so must your speeds.

FWIW: I have owned 3 rakes in my 15 yrs in the miserable custom haying business. 1st was a Vermeer 2300. Loved it in dry light hay, hated it in heavy, and it absolutely would not re-rake. Broke the pipe frame on both sides where the lift chains wrapped around, stripped out the ACME threads on the front tires height adjustment, changed one hydraulic motor, and broke a rear tire spindle. 2nd was a New Holland 216. All around great rake. Wore the teeth of it twice. I had trouble keeping the front tongue welded together after a few years, and the control cables always gave me some trouble. Crossing pivot tracks was terrible with the single tires. 3rd, and still using is a H&S wheel. I can't say enough good about this rake. It will be getting its third set of teeth, and second set of bearing this spring. I've only welded one time on it-one of the pivot arms for a wheel broke off. The weak point I've found is the tire spindles and bearings aren't big enough.

Again FWIW, and that ususally isn't much, if I was going rake shopping I would look at a Twin Star for hydraulic, and H&S for wheel.

 

[SWFarmService]

Why would swath size matter with a power rake? Not calling bull on ya or nothing but I never had probs with ours, I raked up disc mowed (no windrow) to 16' windrows and three 12' windrows from a 495 that layed 7' wide windrows with a 2800 Vermeer

Best investment in the haying we ever made, never had to weld anything and after owning iteight years never even had stress marks in the paint and the best part was we paid 18k for it new and sold it for 23k after all them years of use

 

[cptusa]

I have a Kuhn speed rake, not sure of the model. Never plugs or bunches, really happy with the job it does. Run everything from nice alfalfa fields to grass waterways for hay.

 

[farmshop]

We run a h&s 14 wheel with the larger dia wheels and it does a good job. Don't know if it would do 16's we do 14's. We refer to basket rakes as hay beaters if you don't set them right they can beat the hay up or Roto till

 

[hog987]

You could look at any rotary rake. All I will say is now that I have one would not make hay with out it.

 

[weedkiller]

Thanks for the help guys! Up until today, I just thought a rake was a rake, but apparently I'll have to put way more thought into the purchase than I originally planned.

 

[weedkiller]

I'm leaning towards a wheel rake for simplicity. We owned a sitrex twenty years ago and it worked good, but I remember the frame being a little too light for rougher terrain. We will be using it in the occasional waterway or ditch from time to time. We have a lot of wind here, so I think a rake the wind plates over the center tines would be a must. I remember seeing a wheel V rake a long time ago with a very heavy frame and large implement tires with one articulation point along each frame rail. It looked as though there was enough steel on it where you could dismount the tine wheels and replace them with chisels and go break out CRP with it. I can't remember the name, but if I search the web long enough, I think I'll find it.

 

[madcow]

I am looking at rakes and for my first rake I am going to get one from frontier. I have tried several from the neighbors and these cheap quick pick rakes seem to work very good for there cost.

the heavy 20k dollar rakes are more user friendly, can handle heavy wet grass windrows and corn stalks.

call me old fashioned but I am not spending more on a rake then I spent on each tractor.

 

[farmallman1949]

My only recommendation to you is to get a 14 wheel rake and put the wind guards in the wheels. With a 16 foot disc head and a 14 wheel rake you can take 2 windrows.

 

[hog987]

I am looking at rakes and for my first rake I am going to get one from frontier. I have tried several from the neighbors and these cheap quick pick rakes seem to work very good for there cost.

the heavy 20k dollar rakes are more user friendly, can handle heavy wet grass windrows and corn stalks.

call me old fashioned but I am not spending more on a rake then I spent on each tractor.

The only solution to that problem is now its time to upgrade the tractors.

 

[madcow]

yeah!! lol

 

[alfred123]

You could look at any rotary rake. All I will say is now that I have one would not make hay with out it.

Agreed we run a Claas liner twin Rotor rake light years better than wheel rakes or the Vermeer basket rakes in both swath formation ease of use ground following ability to lift on headlands etc etc worth the extra $$ if your doing lots of hay

 

[Dan Vanderwell]

Agreed we run a Claas liner twin Rotor rake light years better than wheel rakes or the Vermeer basket rakes in both swath formation ease of use ground following ability to lift on headlands etc etc worth the extra $$ if your doing lots of hay

I've looked at them but assumed the rotary rakes would be hard on alfalfa leaves in lighter crops? Currently using a NH 258/260 basket rake and like it.

 

[hog987]

I've looked at them but assumed the rotary rakes would be hard on alfalfa leaves in lighter crops? Currently using a NH 258/260 basket rake and like it.

Rotary rakes are about the least hard of all rakes on alfalfa leaves. Don't want to rake when things are bone dry, no rake is easy than. But can adjust pto speed and ground speed to suit the conditions. By the way I never run the rake at full 540 rmp. Usually around 400 plus or minus a bit depending on conditions.

 

[mbhay67]

Have to agree with hog987. Rotary rakes are the most gentle on alfalfa. If you are happy with a Vermeer or NH bar rake you would be really impressed with a rotary. You have to manage your time as when you can rake but it builds a fluffy, square swath that dries much quicker. Our old v rakes seemed to rope up the swath and if raked to soon with too much plant moisture took forever to dry. Our old NH just beat the **** out of the alfalfa. Dirt is left in the field with a rotary and the ash content goes down in your hay test. If you have merged two swaths together the rotary rake still has the power to move a large swath, unlike many others. If you do look for a rotary look for one with more arms per rotor, and more teeth per arm. Dairy buyers are really fussy as to what they buy, and will not be happy with a rake that puts a lot of residue or dirt in the swath. As far as cost goes the better quality v rakes are getting up there in price, so if considering a rotary for a bit more would really make you happy. You usually get what you paid for, and in my own experience have seen that those cheap priced v rakes are just that.

 

[CRToney]

We have a Bale King 14 wheel v rake. Wind guards and tandem rear axles. Hydraulic adjustable windrow width. It isn't cheap or light. We don't have to slow down in the heavy spots. It rakes 2-18ft swaths together easily. We had the hitch crack at the weld but they only had it welded on one side. It uses trailer wheel bearings instead of metric bearings. The rake wheels are larger in diameter and thus turn slower too. The rake teeth are heavier and we haven't broke one yet.

 

[alfred123]

I've looked at them but assumed the rotary rakes would be hard on alfalfa leaves in lighter crops? Currently using a NH 258/260 basket rake and like it.

We assumed the same however running the pto rpm just high enough to make it do a good job (slightly faster than ground speed sorta like a combine pickup reel) seems to be very gentle on the hay remember it touches one set of tines not dragged and battered by every tine like a wheel rake. If you ran your pto at full speed and only drove 4 mph it would batter leaves but matching ground speed to pto speed makes it more gentle than any wheel or basket rake

 

[mbhay67]

The Bale King made by Bridgeview Mfg is a great wheel rake. MF has a heavier duty one as well. Pass on the cheaper priced wheel rakes and spend a bit more. Look at overall weight to help determine wall thickness of steel used etc.