# Are JD Balers Worth The Cost Difference?



## Anonsky's Hay Service (Feb 1, 2017)

I'm not trying to start a flame war, but I am in the market for a new baler. I could get a JD 450M for $37k or a Vermeer 504R Signature for $31k. I've never had a baler from either brand.

I want the longest lasting, with fewest repairs baler that I can buy. This comes before everything else, like features, etc. Is there an argument for the JD being worth the premium price? Does anyone know if there would be a difference between the two balers in how long things like bearings or belts would last?

Does anyone know if the life expectancy between the two would be much different? Thanks in advance.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

No


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## LukeS (Feb 24, 2015)

The Vermeer has the camless pickup and that is a really nice thing over JD. JD parts are usually more money.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

One must be very careful about comparing price and not comparing equipment. The 450M is a premium baler. Does the 450M have a precutter? It is common on the premium balers. Pretty sure that the R Signature does not have a precutter. That is a very costly option. Are the tires the same on the two? Well, you get my point. Not saying what is best, just saying to compare apples to apples. Then you might find that there really isn't that much of a price difference if you get comparably equipped machinery.

Regards, Mike


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## LukeS (Feb 24, 2015)

No the R does not have a cutter, the only Vermeer with a cutter is the PRO balers


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

450M mega-wide pick up has precutter.

All I know is my area JD rd balers baling hay in field outnumber other brands of rd balers by a vast majority. I traded a JD 467 with 30,000 bales on monitor just to get netwrap & for another 467 that now has close 27000 bales on it. I pulled it out of barn yesterday,greased it and baled hay with it. If one needs dealer support then a good dealer close by is very important


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## Anonsky's Hay Service (Feb 1, 2017)

Tx Jim said:


> 450M mega-wide pick up has precutter.
> 
> All I know is my area JD rd balers baling hay in field outnumber other brands of rd balers by a vast majority. I traded a JD 467 with 30,000 bales on monitor just to get netwrap & for another 467 that now has close 27000 bales on it. I pulled it out of barn yesterday,greased it and baled hay with it. If one needs dealer support then a good dealer close by is very important


Ah. I wonder how many bearings, etc, that one must replace in 30,000 bales?


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I haven't keep very good records but my memory thinks less than 5. I run my baler at maximum hyd pressure BUT only bale 66'' diameter bales which is less stress on brgs/belts than 72'' diameter bales. My baler is stored inside when not baling & I don't high pressure wash it which I think extends brg life


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## 10ecfarmer (Jun 9, 2015)

Tx Jim said:


> 450M mega-wide pick up has precutter.


If I understand JDs webpage correctly, the 450M base has no precutter. When I click on precutter it reconfigured the whole baler.

I find JDs webpage with all the models & options offered Very Confusing,


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

I have no opinion on the 450m vs comparable Vermeer model but in the 5x6 605n vs 560m the vermeer will outlast the JD by a wide margin


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

carcajou

May I ask in your experience how many more bales can a Vermeer 605N bale vs a JD 560M before the JD is worn out? Are you referring to hay/ Corn stalk bales or both types?
Thanks,Jim


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## jr in va (Apr 15, 2015)

As many have asked before,how much dealer support do you have for each?That said,all things equal,you can drive a lot for 6K.

Personally,I like my John Deere but have never run a Vermeer.


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## gradyjohn (Jul 17, 2012)

10ecfarmer said:


> If I understand JDs webpage correctly, the 450M base has no precutter. When I click on precutter it reconfigured the whole baler.
> 
> I find JDs webpage with all the models & options offered Very Confusing,


Both are good and I think resale is good on both. I prefer JD and have not run a Vermeer other than a rake. That said ... some dealers will add things to things when they order the lot inventory. So the baler at the dealer might have the 450M w/precutter. Example: 6145R I saw on the lot will have all the bells and whistles but if you just ordered a 6145R it would not have it. They are getting like cars and trucks ... damn confusing. Also they will have things more adapt to the area. Silage or Haylage package you won't see down here much.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Tx Jim said:


> I haven't keep very good records but my memory thinks less than 5. I run my baler at maximum hyd pressure BUT only bale 66'' diameter bales which is less stress on brgs/belts than 72'' diameter bales. My baler is stored inside when not baling & I don't high pressure wash it which I think extends brg life


Let's think about this here now. Making a smaller bale equates to less stress on a bearing? Maybe Texas is different but in MN, making a larger diameter bale equates to less stress on a bearing as it reduces the number of revolutions that bearing has to make. Pressure washing bearings is done pretty reading around here on bakers combines you name it. Dirt kills bearings. Water does as well but if water got into the bearing the seal was shit anyway and was destined for failure.

And bale count is such an arbitrary number. A baler could have low bale count but have been used baling grass clippings. That's why combines have separator hour meters. Balers should be measured in hours of operation.


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## Anonsky's Hay Service (Feb 1, 2017)

Well, I bought the VERMEER!!! I was mostly set on the Deere but wasnt sure that I could find one in stock within 2-3 hours of me, then a semi-local Vermeer dealer turned up with the exact vermeer baler that I wanted, already set up and ready to go. He was a really motivated salesman, had a good price and nice to work with, straight up stole the sale out from under JD haha. Anyway, I now own a 504R Signature. Time to set that monitor up and wait for a break in the rain! Thanks for the feedback, everyone.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Tx Jim said:


> carcajou
> 
> May I ask in your experience how many more bales can a Vermeer 605N bale vs a JD 560M before the JD is worn out? Are you referring to hay/ Corn stalk bales or both types?
> Thanks,Jim


Jim not many cornstalk bales made up here and i have never made any. The Vermeer 605n has more steel in areas that matter. Bearing supports and bearings,shafts, frame, bale chamber etc. Every component on the pickup is made with thicker steel and more of it. Though i have not weighed one i wouldn't be surprised if the strippers weigh twice what the JD strippers weigh. Heck the Vermeer weighs 1400-1500 lbs more then a similar equipped JD 560M. Both have their respective advantages and disadvantages as balers so i'm not picking sides here. Hypothetically if i could not have a new baler till the one i use has 50,000 bales on it i would go with a Vermeer. The cost of ownership and maintenance would be much less. They dropped my new JD 560m off this week and i kept my Vermeer so i think i'm as unbiased as one can be.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Ray, it is kind of puzzling for me to understand why you would buy a new JD 560M when you regard a Vermeer so highly. I am not disagreeing with your statement on Vermeer, I just find it hard to understand.....but, I am sure you have a good reason.

Regards, Mike


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## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

Congratulations on your new baler! I hope you get many years of trouble free service.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Vol said:


> Ray, it is kind of puzzling for me to understand why you would buy a new JD 560M when you regard a Vermeer so highly. I am not disagreeing with your statement on Vermeer, I just find it hard to understand.....but, I am sure you have a good reason.
> 
> Regards, Mike


DITTO


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

carcajou said:


> Jim not many cornstalk bales made up here and i have never made any. The Vermeer 605n has more steel in areas that matter. Bearing supports and bearings,shafts, frame, bale chamber etc. Every component on the pickup is made with thicker steel and more of it. Though i have not weighed one i wouldn't be surprised if the strippers weigh twice what the JD strippers weigh. Heck the Vermeer weighs 1400-1500 lbs more then a similar equipped JD 560M. Both have their respective advantages and disadvantages as balers so i'm not picking sides here. Hypothetically if i could not have a new baler till the one i use has 50,000 bales on it i would go with a Vermeer. The cost of ownership and maintenance would be much less. They dropped my new JD 560m off this week and i kept my Vermeer so i think i'm as unbiased as one can be.


Why buy a JD baler if Vermeer balers are superior? IMHO that extra 1400-1500# does add strength but it also adds to SOIL COMPACTION. The part about the strippers weighing more to me is no advantage as my balers pickup has had very few strippers replaced in 26,000 plus bales & those strippers failed from hitting rocks not wearing out.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Mike and Jim, you guys are not wrong to scratch your heads but as i said the OP asked which would last longer. I'm back baling hills and the extra weight does cause available hp issues for me. I like my tractors and don't want to change them. 2nd bale appearance, we sell most of our hay and much as i have tried the JD or for that matter NH balers just make better looking bales and that sells hay. 3rd the Vermeer/Kubota split left me with going to a dealer 3 hrs away that i don't know or dealing with a great JD dealer who offered me a better deal.

Jim about the strippers all i can say is i changed a few do to rock/root/fatigue etc on every JD baler i have owned every year. Sooner or later the stripper mounting holes need attn too. Been nice not to do that on the Vermeer.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

carcajou

Thanks for reply. Sounds like good reasoning to me.

Jim


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

carcajou said:


> 2nd bale appearance, we sell most of our hay and much as i have tried the JD or for that matter NH balers just make better looking bales and that sells hay.


Ray, if I understand you correctly, you are saying that in your opinion that Vermeer makes a better looking bale than John Deere or New Holland. Or did I interpret wrongly?

Regards, Mike


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Vol said:


> Ray, if I understand you correctly, you are saying that in your opinion that Vermeer makes a better looking bale than John Deere or New Holland. Or did I interpret wrongly?
> 
> Regards, Mike


Other way around


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

carcajou said:


> Other way around


gotcha.

Regards, Mike


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

carcajou said:


> Other way around


Ouch!


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## dvcochran (Oct 1, 2017)

Anonsky's Hay Service said:


> I'm not trying to start a flame war, but I am in the market for a new baler. I could get a JD 450M for $37k or a Vermeer 504R Signature for $31k. I've never had a baler from either brand.
> 
> I want the longest lasting, with fewest repairs baler that I can buy. This comes before everything else, like features, etc. Is there an argument for the JD being worth the premium price? Does anyone know if there would be a difference between the two balers in how long things like bearings or belts would last?
> 
> Does anyone know if the life expectancy between the two would be much different? Thanks in advance.


Your comment that jumped out at me was bearing/belt etc... life. The R is Not Vermeers heavyest duty baler. A rancher or Pro would be much heavier built. I cannot speak for the JD M but I would suggest figuring out the options you need and figuring out the side-by-side comparsons for each brands models.

Vermeer's models can be hard to track the differences. A SuperI is one of their most reliable balers ever built. Then the Rebel came out as an entry level baler but people were buying them and trying to put 5000/yr on them. It was a disaster for many. I would say a buyer needs to know what they need and can then find a Vermerr that will deliver as good as anyones. JD, well is JD. They do not try to spread out tool many different models. Not take what we have or go somewhere else, but closer.

Like other comments have said, you have to figure out the features matrix for each brand you are looking at or it will never make sense. All that said, you could just as easily be disappointed buying JD if it does not have the features you need, and that it has a bunch of "crap" you never use.


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