V-Rakes. Vermeer or Kuhn?

[cowski]

i have a older vermeer 8 wheel.i like it.i could not see a 10 wheel in my heavy hay.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Have narrowed down some shopping for a v-rake. A Vermeer wr1022 or a Kuhn sr110. Both are 10 wheel high clearance style folding rakes with center kicker wheels. Our baler seems to prefer all the hay raked. It pickups better. Prices are within $100 of each other. I like some of the adjustments on the Kuhn better but the Vermeer has the option of going to a 8 wheel rake by pulling 4 pins. In case I get into some very thick hay. Kuhn is in stock. Vermeer has to be ordered but purchase time for me is still 6 weeks away so not a huge deal.

Thoughts on each?

I just started haying last years after years of having our hay put up by a local hay shaker. I bought a Bush Hog V 10 wheel rake with hydraulic lift arms. The front two wheels are adjustable so you can latch them up out of the way for heavy cuttings. It has worked well for me so far and it pretty heavily built and was reasonably priced.

I'm a rookie at haying and we are baling grass hay in big rounds but so far the entire process is very straight forward. Our previous bales were put up too dry by our custom hay maker and literally fell apart when you took the twine or the net off. I spent the winter forking hay off the lanes and over the fence to feed our cows. Big bales are supposed to be labor savers but his bales made for more labor. The bales I make are nice and tight and don't fall apart because I took the advice of some of my local rancher friends and baled early in the morning when the humidity was higher. Some of these guys bale in the evening to have the same effect. While many of you easterners have a problem with too much moisture, we have the opposite problem- too dry. I never knew hay could be "too dry". But overly dry hay makes for poor grass bales here.

 

[Kessler Farms]

I have the Kuhn SR108 GII speed rake. Down pressure is infinitely adjustable using the springs and nuts on both sides. You run the rake in hydraulic float, so it follows rough terrain fine. Each arm has a flex point in the middle as well. It takes some time to get adjusted properly, but works well once you get it figured out. Also, if the hay has been tedded, I don't use the center kicker wheel, but do if hay has not been tedded. In heavy hay that has been tedded, the center kicker can cause some balling issues.

 

[vtlpluyr]

The (farming) guru I go to for advice told me not to buy this type of rake, I usually listen to him, but did not this time. I just couldn't afford a rotary rake that could handle 2 swaths of my discbine, but needed a wide rake to beat the rain. I went for the SR110 GII. His rake broke one day, so he borrowed mine and fell in love. It won't fluff up hay like a rotary, but according to him it does a much better job than other carted wheel rakes that he had tried in the past. He loved the fact that he could adjust the windrow width without effecting the total width of the rake. We have used the Kuhn in extremely heavy hay with no problems. I am a little concerned about using it in new Alfalfa fields, but that is a carted wheel rake thing, not specifically a Kuhn thing.

Two of my neighbours are supposed to be buying the exact same rake this year after seeing mine in action.

I can't speak for the other rake, but after two seasons with the Kuhn I cannot say one bad word about it.

 

[Catchad81]

Had both brands not sure if specific model but Kuhn all the way.

 

[farmer2009]

Had both brands not sure if specific model but Kuhn all the way.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Catchad81]

I looked up the model numbers the op listed. Vermeer has obviously changed the design since we had one which has been some time again. The type we had only had one cylinder that raised both wings. The frame and metal was weak, tongue bolts would break and after a couple of years the wings would not hold there self in position well enough to spin the wheels and give a consistent windrow.

Looking at their website the design now is much better and closely matches the Kuhn model of which we have had two. No issues with the Kuhn rakes at all. We also run their cutters.

 

[farmer2009]

Thought I'd give a quick update. Ended up getting neither of my original choices. Just pulled a New Holland Procart 1022 home today. It's dark and rainy so pictures will have to wait till later.

If anyone is interested I'll go into my thought process of choosing this one.

 

[farmer2009]

Finally remembered the pictures.

 

[Btown]

Finally remembered the pictures. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=469636"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=469637"/>

Looks good. Now it's time to make some hay. Enjoy.