Looking for a safe hay baling tractor on mild slopes

[koerbdog77]

I have a John Deere 790 and I know it is to small for hay baling attachments. However I find it to be real tippy when brushogging. I want to buy a tractor largest enough to handle hay baling attachments and was wondering what I should buy. I am a newcomer to tractor driving and was wanting the safest model I can find.

 

[flusher]

I have a John Deere 790 and I know it is to small for hay baling attachments. However I find it to be real tippy when brushogging. I want to buy a tractor largest enough to handle hay baling attachments and was wondering what I should buy. I am a newcomer to tractor driving and was wanting the safest model I can find.

What type of bales--small square, large square, round? What's the bale weight? Can't give a good answer unless you provide more info.

 

[WarrenF]

I have a John Deere 790 and I know it is to small for hay baling attachments. However I find it to be real tippy when brushogging. I want to buy a tractor largest enough to handle hay baling attachments and was wondering what I should buy. I am a newcomer to tractor driving and was wanting the safest model I can find.

Wouldn't you want to buy a tractor that your could adjust the wheels OUT WIDE?? Don't you think it would be worth your while to buy a true farm tractor? Off the top of my head I can adjust my tractor wheels out to about eighty inches width. All I do is losen four bolts per wheel, get on the tractor, put the brake on the side I am not adjusting and put it in gear, either forward or backward depending on what I am doing, widening or narrowing the width, then let the clutch go and it will spin out or in.

Question again, why would you buy a farm tractor that can't be used for true farm use??

 

[carpenter383]

What about a tractor like the county mowing crews use? Low, wide and made for hillsides. I've seen new holland ones, they look very stable.

 

[burnetma]

My JD 5420 is absolutely perfect for making hay on the hillsides that I am working. I have a JD 327 square baler with #40 kicker and pull 8x16 hay wagons. I have added some rear ballast (loaded tires and 200 lb/side wheel weights) for loader work and a 200 lb starter weight on the front. This gets the unit weight up to about 8300 lbs with a full tank of fuel which is plenty for controlling the weight of the baler, wagon and hay.

Note that I do take the loader off when making hay. I am yet to run into a pucker up moment making hay with this set-up. There is one field that I have to make sure I start out with an empty wagon for fear of tipping a full wagon load over (top heavy), but the tractor is completely stable.

All that having been said, you could get away with a 52XX or 53XX series tractor as long as they had enough PTO power for your equipment. There are wider and lower units available and you will have to assess that need based on your conditions. Give us a hint where you are at and we may be able to help you some more.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any further questions, just ask.

 

[koerbdog77]

I live in WV near charleston. I would like to bale round bales, Probably around 750 pounds. The wide and low tractors referred to above, would those be massey ferguson? I bought the JD 790 several years ago and just bought a farm last year.

 

[Duffster]

I live in WV near charleston. I would like to bale round bales, Probably around 750 pounds. The wide and low tractors referred to above, would those be massey ferguson? I bought the JD 790 several years ago and just bought a farm last year.

A 5000 series JD is what you need to do what you want to. I am sure a Massey would work for you too, if your looking for something older, something like a 275 would be perfect.

 

[flusher]

I live in WV near charleston. I would like to bale round bales, Probably around 750 pounds. The wide and low tractors referred to above, would those be massey ferguson? I bought the JD 790 several years ago and just bought a farm last year.

A round baler like you want would need about 45 pto hp, something like the JD 448 baler or similar. There are lotsa tractors in this hp range. For example, my haying tractor is a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, partial constant mesh tranny, power steering).

I traded that little 21 hp (engine ) 2005 Kubota B7510HST in the photo for the 5525 last year.

My old 1964 MF 135 diesel is a field tractor that's been modified for orchard work by using short front axle spindles and replacing the 28" rear wheel rims with 16" dia rims.

The 135 rear axle is 20" above grade and the tires are 83" wide (measured to the outside tire wall). The 5525 has standard 28" dia rims so the rear axle is 25" above grade with tire width of 71" with the rear wheels adjusted for max track width.

If stability is a major concern of yours, you could lower your tractor's CG similar to the way it was done with my MF-135. Or you might be able to use dual rear wheels to widen the track and take the tippiness out of your ride.

 

[Duffster]

A round baler like you want would need about 45 pto hp, something like the JD 448 baler or similar. There are lotsa tractors in this hp range. For example, my haying tractor is a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, partial constant mesh tranny, power steering).

I traded that little 21 hp (engine ) 2005 Kubota B7510HST in the photo for the 5525 last year.

My old 1964 MF 135 diesel is a field tractor that's been modified for orchard work by using short front axle spindles and replacing the 28" rear wheel rims with 16" dia rims.

The 135 rear axle is 20" above grade and the tires are 83" wide (measured to the outside tire wall). The 5525 has standard 28" dia rims so the rear axle is 25" above grade with tire width of 71" with the rear wheels adjusted for max track width.

If stability is a major concern of yours, you could lower your tractor's CG similar to the way it was done with my MF-135. Or you might be able to use dual rear wheels to widen the track and take the tippiness out of your ride.

Lowering a tractor like that isn't a good idea for a baling tractor that has to stradle the windrow.

That is a neat looking 135

 

[RickB]

Recommending a specific brand for the parameters listed makes no sense. So long as the buyer stays away from special purpose narrow, orchard, and vinyard models, just about any wheel tractor's tires can be set wide enough to work steep slopes safely. Proper ballasting and 4WD are also considerations, both widely available.