Good hay rakes

[greavesytractor]

I'm doing my own hay now and need a rake what's a good brand I'm thinking a V rake?

 

[Bigfoot62]

I have a Sitrex V-10. No brand loyalty, it was a package deal with my baler.
From my experience, the Vermeer V wheel rakes are good also. And, IIRC, the John Deere V rakes are just green Vermeers.

 

[sweettractors]

I'm doing my own hay now and need a rake what's a good brand I'm thinking a V rake?

Any Italian made rake is fine. Ken Sweet

 

[MIKE R]

Vermeers are good. Don't know if Kuhn makes on but have great success with there rotary rakes.

 

[dan28040]

I have wheel rake, I've been very interested on a rotary rake. Do they work good?

 

[Ross71]

Rotary rakes are very good. I've used single and twin rotor wheel rakes. They do a good, tidy job. You can't run too fast relative to rotor speed, but that goes for pretty much any haymaking equipment- take it steady and it'll work well.
The only downside is that you have to be very careful working near field edges, especially turning at the field corners. You can be two feet off the fence, then a moment of inattention, (like looking where the front of the tractor is) and you hear clackclackclackclack and before you can stop the pto you've ripped out a length of fence wire and bent four of the arms... Keep the drawbar as short as possible. A massey with a 18" drawbar on a 16' wide twin rotor rake has some very peculiar steering/trailing characteristics.The same rake on a small tractor with the shortest possible drawbar and it worked like a charm.

Ross

 

[BeeferMan]

I actually think that the corners are one place where the rotary rakes are the best - regardless of how tight or which direction you turn a rotary rake will always rake exactly the same width swath.

As far as running into things, well I've run into things with all sorts of rakes, lol. It was operator error every time!

 

[cowski]

i have owned both sitrex and vermeer v rakes.recommend both of them.

 

[TED20MAN]

I'm doing my own hay now and need a rake what's a good brand I'm thinking a V rake?

Does it have to be a V-rake?

 

[sixdogs]

New Holland rakes are the standard by which others are judged. They barely leave a crumb in the field and rake fluffy or tight with ease. If you want a V rake, hitch a right and left together with a hitch. You just need a LOT of room to turn around.

V rakes can present drying problems, however and a better way might be two rakes going the same way but hooked together with a New Holland hitch.