# Round Baler Thoughts



## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Hello, I am a new member but not new to reading this forum as a guest.
I have always farmed some and recently retired from my day job. I mostly work alone with the help from my college age son. (Good hand)

I am in the market for a late model used round baler. 
In my area the Vermeer and John Deere are most popular. I was lucky enough to demo a used JD 467.
I have also rolled @ 50 with a friends Vermeer 504 Super I.
Both were impressive balers and made nice bales, started rolls well and would probably bale around the same speed. (I took my time since I owned neither)
We have a very good JD dealer.
We lost a nice Vermeer dealer and I am not (yet) familiar with the ones farther away.

From reading here I have become more and more impressed with the Vermeer balers. They seem to be reliable. 
What is the major design difference between the JD and Vermeer balers? I want to know what I am comparing when I look at balers.

I want a baler with a monitor. I do not want to twist around, flip a toggle switch and guess whether I am tying the right amount.
Net wrap is not a necessity but would be nice.
Do all Vermeer balers need to have the PTO disengaged to dump the bale?

I will only be baling 300 - 500 per year. I do not want to spend 15+ K and later find I would have been better off going with something different. I am making this investment for the long haul and will probably keep the baler until the wheels fall off.
I have read testimonials for each brand. I have friends that swear by their brand but can not tell me why one is better than the other.
Can anyone explain the major differences?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Tim


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## scrapiron (Mar 10, 2010)

J D & Vermeer are both very good machines & will do a good job. Have run both,like both. The NEW Vermeer & John Deere balers are about like peas in a pod when you get them in the field. I just like the Vermeer better,also feel maintenance & parts are a little lower cost. Better dealer but farther away for me. My next baler will be a Vermeer. Green paint is big $$$ in this area.

scrapiron


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

scrapiron, Thanks for the reply.

I went looking yesterday and found a small Vermeer dealer that impressed me. He had several used balers and talked the pros and cons of each. He did not talk down other brands.
I really likes a 604 M he had on the lot. Local trade, 4,400 bales, net, kept in the dry. 
It is a little more than I wanted to spend but can swing it if I feel it is what I need.

I stopped by two JD dealers. Neither had much used inventory on their lot.
I have a good relationship with one of the dealers. They just can not seem to find a baler with less than 10,000 rolls on it with in my budget.

Thanks Again.


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## wheezie (Aug 5, 2011)

with the Vermeer you can also switch from net to twine in mid bale, which is nice if you sale your hay and customers want different things, I totatlly agree with scrapiron, in the field the end product is pretty much identical, and in my opinion no matter what color it is at one time or another it will break down, just depends on which dealership will provide the service and have parts in stock that you may need


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

If you get a Vermeer I strongly recomend an M or SM series. They are heads and tails better machines than their pedecessers.


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## OK Wheat farmer (Aug 30, 2011)

barnrope said:


> If you get a Vermeer I strongly recomend an M or SM series. They are heads and tails better machines than their pedecessers.


I'd second that. We run the bigger round balers here but design is the same. We had a Vermeer 605K. I didn't care for it all that much. We just traded off a 605M that we have been really happy with. We traded it because we are going 4X4 squares but for a rounder we'd have another. Truthfully JD, Vermeer, and Hesston balers are all very similar now in terms of the bale chamber, and I know happy customers with all three.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I like the 604M. I also like the hay rolling on the large drum rather than just the rollers and belts.

It looks like my choices will come down to a Deere 458 or the 604M Vermeer. Both are close to the same bale count and not much difference in price.
I bale with a JD tractor and think a green baler would look nice. Looking at how tough the 604M is made has opened my eyes some.

Where is the crystal ball when you need one?

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Great thread. I'm in the same boat as Tim/South. Looking for round baler and advice. So many choices-I thought buying a trailer was confusing......


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have a 605 Super M and it has been a outstanding baler. Once you have used net wrap you will wonder why they bother adding a twine option!


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Thank You everyone for your input. I am still shopping.



barnrope said:


> If you get a Vermeer I strongly recomend an M or SM series. They are heads and tails better machines than their pedecessers.


This post has me thinking.
There are some older balers out there for sale by owner. The most common seems to be the Super I.
I know some locals who still bale with them and have been telling me that is all I need.
I know the Super I balers were a good design. I can also see they are not what the M series is.


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

Tim/South, I purchased a Super J Last year was my first with it and I loved it. I was well used when I bought it and "had" to find a new monitor and conversion harness replaced some sprockets chains etc. My next will have net wrap and it looks good behind a JD green and yellow!!! As stated earlier all three are well made.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I finally decided on a 504M Classic. Net, hyd. pick up, bale ramp, Accu bale plus.
A dealer called this morning to verify he could still get an M Classic. They are phasing them out for the new N series.
I had hoped that waiting until winter would pay off. It did.

By the time I figured the price of late model used bales and added net, the price difference made the decision to go new a lot easier.


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