Thought I’d give a update on the wheel rake after making 600 large squares (500+ tons) of hay.
Ease of use: VERY easy to transport, unfold, fold, angle, extend, etc. In the field it tracks real nice. Not much to worry about except driving the tractor and that’s the way it should be. Adjustments can be made on the fly. All the rake wheels are adjustable with a simple wrench if you want to change down-pressure. Hooking up and unhooking much easier without the PTO shaft. Also no rake guards to field down/up. I’d give the rotary rake the nod in smaller fields, especially a single Rotary. This rake shines in bigger fields where you need to cover a lot of ground. You can lock one of the rake arms up and rake with one side if you want to flip your raked rows to aid drying.
Raking quality: Doesn’t clean up as good as a rotary, period. But it’s still acceptable Rake quality. When you turn, the wheels on the inside of the rake “drag” the hay along until you straighten out. This results in some hay being left behind. We are getting more skilled at the nuances of the rake. I have found it’s better to rake the fields headlands, then bale the headlands clean. Then rake & bale the main middle part of the field. Makes raking go extremely fas with little effort. The faster you rake, the better it seems to clean up. Has some issues with hay that’s been laying a while and new grass has grown. I have wheels set extremely light, so I may add some “down pressure” to help with this.
Roadability: Folds down lower than tractor cab. Width is maybe 9’, which is less than my tractor width with the mirrors. Has lights & turn signals. Tracks perfectly straight.
Value: At 1/2 the price of a rotary. Admittedly, this is what sold me. I was faced with a $30,000 Kubota or $33,000 Claas double rotary rake. At $16,900, this rake felt like a steal. For the $16,000 in savings, I can afford to leave 1% more hay on the field. Money is tight and financing rates are awful, especially on used equipment. That amount of hay left in the field may be reduced as we learn the rake better, too. Another thing worth noting is you are not using the tractor’s PTO, which saves wear on the tractor and lowers fuel consumption.
Overall: I would suggest this rake for fields greater than 5 acres. It works best in medium to large fields or if you need a rake on a budget. It’s easy to use cheap to buy and easy to own & maintain. It rakes a LOT of hay very fast, so it’s ideal for making a lot of round bales or large square bales.
