JD447 Baler?

[Southernspeed]

I'm looking at buying my first baler (amongst all the other equipment) to hay 15 acres on our farm. A JD447, standard pickup, no ramp has come up for sale locally. Are they any good? There seems to be so little info on them out there.
If they're 'ok' is there anything I need to look out for in particular?

Any info appreciated!

 

[LHF2019]

Had a 446. Good baler. I wouldn't go back to 4x4 and string only though.

 

[Tx Jim]

Ditto I wouldn't want to be limited to 4' diameter either. I've never personally seen that model of JD rd baler.

 

[Southernspeed]

Ditto I wouldn't want to be limited to 4' diameter either. I've never personally seen that model of JD rd baler.

I don’t think they made a lot of them from what I can tell.
I don’t mind twine as it’s for horse hay and will be barn kept. Plus if we have surplus, the horse people around here seem to like that size. Easier to manage with a small tractor.
We are just getting into raising our own hay so we’re trying to start cheap!

 

[Farmer495]

There were a lot of the 335 446 447 family sold around here. Many had the high moisture kit for making haylage. Certainly less of the 446 447 models and by the time those were new most went the the 456 / 457 silage specials etc. Deere and NH owned the round baler market here for years.

4x4 is fine if you have small tractors to run the baler or handle the bales especially haylage weight.

Twine is ok if you are doing a few bales at a time. I make 4x4 and have made over 100 4x4 bales a day with twine wrap

 

[Farmer495]

I'm looking at buying my first baler (amongst all the other equipment) to hay 15 acres on our farm. A JD447, standard pickup, no ramp has come up for sale locally. Are they any good? There seems to be so little info on them out there.
If they're 'ok' is there anything I need to look out for in particular?

Any info appreciated!

I'll add no ramp is a little extra work when baling, unless you dump bales heading uphill everytime. I have ramp on NH and still have to back up (and turn) if I am headed downhill when ejecting bale. If you are only making a few bales it's not exactly a deal breaker.

 

[Southernspeed]

I'll add no ramp is a little extra work when baling, unless you dump bales heading uphill everytime. I have ramp on NH and still have to back up (and turn) if I am headed downhill when ejecting bale. If you are only making a few bales it's not exactly a deal breaker.

Please excuse my ignorance (I'm trying to learn, even at my age!) but what/how does the ramp aid production? The dealer sells new ramps (not sure if they are for this particular model) but they are around $2k. I'll mostly be on the flat but a few acres are on a gentle grade.

 

[Hay Dude]

Welcome Southernspeed.
It helps the baler eject the bale away from the baler after the wrap/tie cycle rather than just sit under the baler.

Stick around and keep asking questions. Most of the people around here will answer you in a polite & helpful manner.

 

[Tx Jim]

On level ground ramp allows bale to roll far enough behind baler to give tailgate clearance to close. The ramp allows clearance to close rear gate without the need to back baler up from windrow then eject bale then pull up & close tailgate

 

[Farmer495]

Please excuse my ignorance (I'm trying to learn, even at my age!) but what/how does the ramp aid production? The dealer sells new ramps (not sure if they are for this particular model) but they are around $2k. I'll mostly be on the flat but a few acres are on a gentle grade.

As stated it lets the bale roll away from the baler and lets the tailgate close with out moving the tractor. What this means is you clutch tractor, tie the bale, open the tailgate, the bales rolls out, you close tailgate, the let clutch out to keep baling.

Without ramps, you have the extra step of shifting into reverse, backing up several feet before opening tailgate, plus drive ahead beforing close tailgate and not taking hay in the bale).

2k for ramps seems like a lot, and as I find, ramps and pointing downhill mean you still have to back up before dumping bale or it will roll into the tailgate instead of away from the baler.

 

[Farmer495]

I just reread your post and saw 15 acres to hay. Not sure on what your ground yields now for hay, but that could be baled in a few hours easy with 4x4 baler, no ramps and twine. I would assume you'd break it up though.

I see 2850M listed for tractor, that will just be on the low end of size and power for a 4x4 baler, still go 3-4 MPH with it.

 

[Southernspeed]

I just reread your post and saw 15 acres to hay. Not sure on what your ground yields now for hay, but that could be baled in a few hours easy with 4x4 baler, no ramps and twine. I would assume you'd break it up though.

I see 2850M listed for tractor, that will just be on the low end of size and power for a 4x4 baler, still go 3-4 MPH with it.

Yeah I realize I'm a bit light on HP but the budget is what it is (was!) I may go up to 20 acres here, I need the rest for other stuff plus 30 are wooded but I'd like to find some land locally to rent/lease to hay .... one day! Thanks for the info.

 

[Southernspeed]

Looks like I’ve missed this baler. Salesman is still in negotiations with a customer wanting to trade. I got the impression the salesman would have welcomed a straight sale with me but is rightfully honouring the trade deal.
There’s a very tidy New Holland BR7050 (4x5) over by the mountains which I believe I can just roll 4x4s on? But it states min HP 50 and my pto HP is around 40. If I was just doing 4x4s, would I get away with being so underpowered? I don’t want to tear my new tractor up but can I just drive slower and only roll to 4’??

 

[Hay Dude]

Looks like I’ve missed this baler. Salesman is still in negotiations with a customer wanting to trade. I got the impression the salesman would have welcomed a straight sale with me but is rightfully honouring the trade deal.
There’s a very tidy New Holland BR7050 (4x5) over by the mountains which I believe I can just roll 4x4s on? But it states min HP 50 and my pto HP is around 40. If I was just doing 4x4s, would I get away with being so underpowered? I don’t want to tear my new tractor up but can I just drive slower and only roll to 4’??

If on flat ground only, I think it’s possible.

Too bad we aren’t “in season” so you could take it from dealer and try it for a day.

I’d be looking for an old reliable 2WD tractor with about 75-80HP to pull it. Who cares what it looks like, just something to attach the baler to. You can get a tractor like that for 5-10 grand.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Looks like I’ve missed this baler. Salesman is still in negotiations with a customer wanting to trade. I got the impression the salesman would have welcomed a straight sale with me but is rightfully honouring the trade deal.
There’s a very tidy New Holland BR7050 (4x5) over by the mountains which I believe I can just roll 4x4s on? But it states min HP 50 and my pto HP is around 40. If I was just doing 4x4s, would I get away with being so underpowered? I don’t want to tear my new tractor up but can I just drive slower and only roll to 4’??

I wonder if the recommendations for hp are more for safety/brakes and weight so the tail doesn't wag the puppy. I've seen people use smaller than recommended tractors. Usually within a year or so they get replaced with something larger.

 

[Southernspeed]

I wonder if the recommendations for hp are more for safety/brakes and weight so the tail doesn't wag the puppy. I've seen people use smaller than recommended tractors. Usually within a year or so they get replaced with something larger.

That had crossed my mind too, especially after seeing a YouTube guy ( tractor time with Tim?) using a round baler behind a sub compact!

 

[pmsmechanic]

That had crossed my mind too, especially after seeing a YouTube guy ( tractor time with Tim?) using a round baler behind a sub compact!

I baled (with a small NH square baler) about 2 miles of wheat straw swath with my 4410 for the fun of it. The tail wagged the puppy and I don't think the pto would handle the intermittent strain long term. But it was fun and the cruise control/hydrostatic transmission worked awesome to keep the baler at capacity.

 

[Farmer495]

Looks like I’ve missed this baler. Salesman is still in negotiations with a customer wanting to trade. I got the impression the salesman would have welcomed a straight sale with me but is rightfully honouring the trade deal.
There’s a very tidy New Holland BR7050 (4x5) over by the mountains which I believe I can just roll 4x4s on? But it states min HP 50 and my pto HP is around 40. If I was just doing 4x4s, would I get away with being so underpowered? I don’t want to tear my new tractor up but can I just drive slower and only roll to 4’??

BR7050 is 4x4 baler and part of the 630/634/638 lineage. When the 630 came out it needed 35 PTO HP...as the baler got newer the power requirement upped for user experience.

I run a 630, the oldest model in that line, I used to run it with 42 PTO HP utility, full baler heading uphill 4.5 MPH I had to downshift to keep rpm up.

Example:

https://www.marketbook.ca/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/216524583/2012-new-holland-br7050