# Wind guards on wheel rakes



## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

Would like to here some pros and cons for wind guards on wheel rakes.

In my area, none of the rakes have them.

How much do they add to prices?

Thanks for any responses.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

huh?????


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

I don't know what they cost, but 2 wheel rakes i purchased had them on it made quite a difference. These were on these rakes.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

First time I've ever seen a set. Don't look to hard to make. I presume it's heavy gage poly film?


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

The wind guards I bought for my H&S Hi-cap rake where made from thick rubber. I will sell my set of 10 if anyone is interested.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Never had any problems with either of my wheel rakes. What advantage do they offer?

Ralph


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

Tx Jim said:


> The wind guards I bought for my H&S Hi-cap rake where made from thick rubber. I will sell my set of 10 if anyone is interested.


how much?


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Aka wind panels. I won't run without them. They do serve to block the wind, but also to keep hay (and cornstalks) from "climbing" the wheels and flying all over. First wheel rake I bought did not have them, was over $50 each to buy. I made my own using 1/8" thick plastic.


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

Most rakes in this area will have wind guards and rubber mounted tines, they help when you have to rake with some wind blowing .


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

I won't be without them. Vermeer ones are $30 apiece. If you have something handy great, otherwise just bite the bullet and buy them if you make hay in much of any kind of windy conditions.

Downfall is keep them on with heavy tie straps and when raking cornstalks when it is very cold the straps break and you can loose the windgaurd.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

Have the wind guards and hub guards on our Rowse V rake. Wouldn't be without either of them. The wind guards really help on windy days and also help to keep clover and other long stemmy crops from climbing the wheel. The hub guards are also nice to prevent clover from wrapping around. I don't remember what they cost to have put on but they are well worth it. Only downside is they make changing teeth a PITA. Get the rubber mounted teeth though and that would solve that problem.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

When Vermeer came out to update my 2 1/2 year old rake at no charge, they also through a set of hub guards on it. The go on and protect the rear seal on the hub and keep wrapping to a minimum. They help greatly.


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Got a 16 wheel Sitrex that I use them on. Great for alfalfa in windy ND


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

I guess we don't have consistent enough wind here to make wind guards worth it. Like I said none of the wheel rakes here have them, and from my experience, have never noticed any problems without them. Even when the wind is blowing it seems like our rake seems to do just as good as when there is no wind. Now if there was something that would keep the windrows from blowing around after they are raked, I would be interested.

Maybe the wind guards are better on larger wheel rakes? 12 wheel rakes are about as big as most are around here.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

My first wheel rake was a 12 wheel 55" high capacity. Even without wind I thought material flowed through the rake better with the plastic panels.


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## treymo (Dec 29, 2013)

How about using a canola roller to keep the windrow from blowing away? Seen it done before. I would like to build a mountable roller for my rake this fall. 
Trey


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

treymo said:


> How about using a canola roller to keep the windrow from blowing away? Seen it done before. I would like to build a mountable roller for my rake this fall.
> Trey


Depends where your at and the crop, here we need to leave the rows as fluffy as possible to aid in drying. Even our grass hay needs raked to dry, especially this year wit the wet ground conditions.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

What the heck is a canola roller???????


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## treymo (Dec 29, 2013)

Lots of canola and small grain guys that have to swath their crop to dry in order to run it through a combine or to keep it from shattering will pull some sort of roller behind the swather to keep the windrow from being caught by the wind. I couldn't see it working well in alfalfa but perfect for any kind of grass if you have dry windy conditions. I had a terrible time this summer with windrows blowing away even in one occasion when the rake was right in front of me not even 100 ft, seemed like I lost 1/3 of the hay in the windrow. Looking at buying a poly roller to pull behind. The steel rollers cost twice as much at least from what I've seen. I think it will pay for itself by keeping the hay in the windrow and also aiding in labor needs by not having to rake directly in front of the baler. In some instances we raked late at night with a heavy dew in order to be able to 'glue' the windrow together so that way I wouldn't have to pull someone off of a baler to rake.

Here is a company that manufactures some of the higher end

http://www.koendersmfg.com/agri.html

Trey


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