# Best Single Rotary Rake



## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Hey guys , I'm looking at purchasing a single rotary rake this Winter. Which manufacturer gets yall's vote ? This should start some good discussion.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

Spending your money is our favourite pastime 

Let me go get the Popcorn!


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Hey broadriverhay, I've been using Krone and like their build quality, and functionality.


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## Trotwood2955 (Sep 4, 2012)

We’ve run a Kuhn 4221 over ~250 acres/year for the last 7 years and really like it. Other than having to weld one small stress crack on the curtain hinge frame once the only thing we’ve done to it is normal greasing. It is right hand delivery, which I like, compared to the other brands that I believe are all left hand. This is the only rotary I’ve run so no firsthand experience with other brands. The Krone, Claas, and Pequea seem to be highly regarded though. Some of the earlier Pequea rakes had some issues I believe, but gather that has been straightened out. I heavily considered both a Krone and Pequea before we bought our Kuhn. I liked all of them it just came down to best price I could get at the time plus again a slight edge for me went to the right hand delivery.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

When I was shopping double rotary rake only Kuhn and NH had right hand delivery. IDK if NH has a right hand delivery in the single that Kuhn has. As Trot mentions I wanted a right hand delivery also. But a lot of folks get along with the left hand delivery too. 

How much budget do we have to spend of 'your' money BTW?  :lol:  :lol:

Larry


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## KNFarm (Jul 7, 2011)

I've been happy with my Pottinger TOP421. It's robust and it has the extra jockey wheel that helps it to follow the terrain.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Trotwood2955 said:


> We've run a Kuhn 4221 over ~250 acres/year


Used one of those on a couple thousand acres.Works very well


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

This is the only piece of equipment I am looking at so no real budget has been set. I have a Pequea tedder but have not heard of anyone using their rakes on Haytalk. Can anyone explain why one would prefer left or right hand delivery? Also I see some have curved tines and some have straight tines. Anyone seen a difference in performance with either ?


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

The only thing



broadriverhay said:


> This is the only piece of equipment I am looking at so no real budget has been set. I have a Pequea tedder but have not heard of anyone using their rakes on Haytalk. Can anyone explain why one would prefer left or right hand delivery? Also I see some have curved tines and some have straight tines. Anyone seen a difference in performance with either ?


The only thing I can think of is that those people are raking clockwise and want to see the windrow made toward the centre of the field. IMO there is no right or wrong way.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Trillium Farm said:


> The only thing
> The only thing I can think of is that those people are raking clockwise and want to see the windrow made toward the centre of the field. IMO there is no right or wrong way.


That and simply preferring the discharge side to be the same side as the tractor controls.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

broadriverhay said:


> Also I see some have curved tines and some have straight tines. Anyone seen a difference in performance with either ?


I've had an older 42T with straight tines, and the current one I have has the updated curved tines. I honestly don't notice a difference, but I believe the curved tines are supposed to be better at lifting and carrying the crop.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Thanks for the replies and advice so far. I knew I could get some valuable info from everyone.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I have a Pequea HR1140. I bought it new in 2012. I have had zero issues and it does an excellent job of raking and building a windrow. Mine is the new design gear case that replaced the one that had many issues.

Regards, Mike


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

paoutdoorsman said:


> Hey broadriverhay, I've been using Krone and like their build quality, and functionality.


Ditto. Have a 38T


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Running a Pequea HRS15. Has been an excellent machine and like the adjustable cam. Curved tines

Also have a Kuhn double rotor. Another excellent quality machine and it's old. Straight tines. Both left hand delivery and have never had experience with right hand delivery


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

broadriverhay said:


> This is the only piece of equipment I am looking at so no real budget has been set.


Krone, being it's your money. If it's built anything like their tedders, you'll have a tank.

Larry


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## mstuck21 (Oct 4, 2019)

I picked up a newer Kuhn ga 3200 at the start of the season. It’s the small one but I didn’t have to pay much. The guy was looking for a bigger one and was ready to move on. Fits my small operation and other small equipment. Nothing bad to say about it. Makes a real nice windrow. Perhaps the next size up would suit me down the road but this will do for now. Hydraulic lift would be a nice option at times.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Get a good used double, center delivery if possible. Krone gets my vote, but they's a lot of good un's. I always look used tho.....
The only problem with a single is speed......


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

The issue with a double center delivery will be the same issue I have with my 8 wheel rake rake. The baler can’t handle the large windrow well when I am baling 100 bales per acre. Once this year was 118 bales per acre. I cheat over and only use 6 wheels and still have huge windrows.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

broadriverhay said:


> The issue with a double center delivery will be the same issue I have with my 8 wheel rake rake. The baler can't handle the large windrow well when I am baling 100 bales per acre. Once this year was 118 bales per acre. I cheat over and only use 6 wheels and still have huge windrows.


Get a double rotary, side delivery, that let's you either rake one windrow or two singles. Mine takes about 20' of material, so if I double back in light stuff, while moving all the hay, about 36' if needed. Whereas in heavy stuff, I can go down to 6-7' of material in each of the 2 single windrows. The two single windrows is where the side delivery double really shines. IMHO

Larry


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## Snow Farmer (Aug 30, 2011)

Kuhn single rotary works well for us.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

somedevildawg said:


> Get a good used double, center delivery if possible. Krone gets my vote, but they's a lot of good un's. I always look used tho.....
> The only problem with a single is speed......


There may not be a speed issue with a single pending what is already being used. We were running a Kuhn GA6000 18' and added the Pequea 13' to our line up. When we took the Pequea out on custom jobs the first year the difference in raking time when comparing previous bills was negligible.

The difference we feel was 4 sets of tines per arm compared to 3. In rough ground not having 2 rotors bouncing around. We spent a lot of time researching trying to find the right size but not lose anything in the process. Paid off found a new leftover for $8600 after receiving a quote for $12,xxx several years prior and got it shipped to my local dealer free of charge due to them joining the same chain of stores I'm now part of.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I looked at a Krone 42T today. I was much heavier built than the Claas


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

I picked up a Pequea HR1140 this spring (a used one) and have been very happy with it. It's our first rotary rake, so I don't have much advice one way or the other. One thing that was a big concern for me was matching up the rake width with my mower. We run a JD 13' center pivot MoCo, so a smaller rotary rake wouldn't catch all the swath and move it to fresh ground. The HR1140 is a wider rake that allows this. Just something to keep in mind when looking around.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

I ran an early model Pequea HR1140 over a couple thousand acres. Once I added a brace to the top of the rotor shaft (comes factory on the newer models) I had no real problems with it.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I have a 630 Moco, so a 10-11 ‘ rake will work by what is being said. I ted all my hay about 3 times since I am in the South with the high humidity and on bottom land and usually have heavy dew each morning. So with that being said cutter width and rake width should not really matter I don’t think.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

broadriverhay said:


> I have a 630 Moco, so a 10-11 ' rake will work by what is being said. I ted all my hay about 3 times since I am in the South with the high humidity and on bottom land and usually have heavy dew each morning. So with that being said cutter width and rake width should not really matter I don't think.


just keep in mind that the stated width of the rake includes the part out from the rotor to the skirt. If you include that, it leaves part of the formed windrow unflipped which I personally don't like. I always rake clean to the outside so tedded hay is completely flipped by the rake. Hope that makes sense.

I do agree with your statement that since you typically ted 3x which i do as well, cutter width is pretty irrelevant to the equation. Really becomes a matter of available funds and your absolute need to finish faster.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I usually Ted right in front of the rake. My issue is usually volume . Funds are not the issue , getting the correct size rake is. I would like to flip all the hay when raking but with it just being tedded that should not be an issue.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> just keep in mind that the stated width of the rake includes the part out from the rotor to the skirt. If you include that, it leaves part of the formed windrow unflipped which I personally don't like. I always rake clean to the outside so tedded hay is completely flipped by the rake. Hope that makes sense.
> 
> I do agree with your statement that since you typically ted 3x which i do as well, cutter width is pretty irrelevant to the equation. Really becomes a matter of available funds and your absolute need to finish faster.


Depends on manufacturer and the specs they use. If you can find clean sweep specs that will not include the curtain. Some list working width which can include the curtain width and sometimes not. When I was researching for my single rotor and was looking at rakes that were rebranded I was utilizing multiple "manufacturer" sites to clarify the specs. Some it seems absolutely do not want to show clean sweep almost like they want their rake to be "bigger" than it really is.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I have the Claas single and it's a really good, heavy tough rake. I opted for the hydraulic folding curtain and side guards. My mulch hay fields are terribly rough and it just chugs along. All that said I wish I had bought the Krone because it has the quick fold arms. I hate disassembling the rake and storing the arms when traveling OTR. 
I didn't see the folding arm feature on the Krone because I only looked at Claas, NH and Pequea.
Wish there was a single rake that hydraulically "folded up" so road transport was quicker & easier.

The Krone single rake is the closest thing to that with the folding arms.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

broadriverhay said:


> I usually Ted right in front of the rake. My issue is usually volume . Funds are not the issue , getting the correct size rake is. I would like to flip all the hay when raking but with it just being tedded that should not be an issue.


Being you are tedding, then raking you very well could be correct. Now, if you let hay settle (like over night or more), that could be a different story, at least in MY case it was.

I experimented one year with a couple times around a 9 acre field, not moving all the hay. The hay was tedded once, right after cutting. Two windrows were made without moving all the 1st cutting hay (2nd year of new seeded alfalfa). I didn't like what I seen left, so I ran the rake around the field after baling. Then baled up the missed hay, 5 more idiot bricks, that were mainly stems, were recovered.  Needless to say, I haven't repeated that experiment.  YMMV

Larry


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Yeah , if my hay settles overnight the bottom absorbs a lot of moisture. Unless it is very dry I always ted the day of raking and baling. This river bottom land can sure grow hay but getting it dry is sometimes a challenge. The wife hates baling large windrows so if a smaller windrow keeps her happy then everybody is happy.


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

Since you're tedding it, just match size to your baler. A tedder is on the list of things to keep an eye out for, but in our area we can get things dried down and ready to bale just laying the swath as wide as we can... on most years anyway.

One other thing I looked at in my searching was the size of the unit when in transport position. Not so much for going down the road, but for storing it in the winter. Most models will let you remove the tine arms and fold up the curtain/safety bars, but some of the smaller ones don't.

Good luck in your search.


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## KRT (Jun 15, 2019)

What about a enorossi/ farm king there have gotten to be several dealers for them around here locally, anybody using them seem to look ok. Interested in one myself, have a farm king Tedder and so far so good, but haven’t talked to anybody that has a single rotary rake by them


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

@Josh in WNY, My same thoughts . No matter what I get the rake needs to match the windrow volume to baler capacity. My NH 5070 will eat a lot of hay and put it in a bale. However I look for a consistent and pretty bale. It will make a bale in 10 stokes but the bale will not look the way I want and they will start to banana. Accumulators don't like banana bales or bales with chunks of hay sticking out. If I can keep the baler moving at a consistent speed and not be slowing up for big wads of hay in the windrow , I will be faster in the long run. Every time you have to stop and clear a bale stuck in the Accumulator you could have baled 10 more bales. As Richard Petty said sometimes you got to slow up to go faster.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

KRT said:


> What about a enorossi/ farm king there have gotten to be several dealers for them around here locally, anybody using them seem to look ok. Interested in one myself, have a farm king Tedder and so far so good, but haven't talked to anybody that has a single rotary rake by them


They are OK, they are lightly built, but will do the job if you don't have too many acres. They are tailored to italian farms which are much smaller and hilly, so for them speed is not a concern.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I only have one field so transporting is not an issue just storage in the off season . I didn't realize that the Italian stuff was built light for these reasons . It makes since that their equipment is lighter with this being said.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

How big is that field BR? Always lusted for on big relatively flat rectangular field with no rocks or trees. While we are at it, let's add irrigation as well!


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Just 34 acres. Average 8000 squares a year. Water is available. This year I needed a dehydration system.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I meant 8000 bales.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

broadriverhay said:


> I meant 8000 bales.


I figured it was wrong but didn't figure you got that much. I assume that it is Bermuda


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

We have a Kuhn GT 3200 9' left hand delivery and a Kuhn 4221 10' right hand delivery. Use the 3200 on first cutting SM squares and 4221 on first cutting rounds. Use both on second cutting SM squares mostly double windrowed. Both work well and very few problems just grease and go. We also had a Miller Pro 1150 worked well but no longer a dealer in the area, don't know for sure if they are still making Miller Pro equipment.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

@Hayman1 , yes Bermuda. 9615 bales last year. It’s just dang good soil. But if it rains a lot like this year it is a challenge.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Sounds like Congaree or Wickham depending on whether you are on first bottom or on a terrace. I would love to have either but Wickham has better water management properties


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Broad River


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## Chase72 (Nov 12, 2017)

Personally everyone around me uses krone rotary rakes, but go with who has the best dealer support and you should be happy


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I think Krone . I do all my equipment maintenance so dealer support is not all that important.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

broadriverhay said:


> Broad River


What county are you in? I am not finding a hit on that soli series name


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Just figured it out. Fairfield soil survey is currently being redone to replace the 1911 version. That series probably has not been correlated (meaning approved and published in a final survey). Guess it replaces one of the two series I mentioned.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> Sounds like Congaree or Wickham depending on whether you are on first bottom or on a terrace. I would love to have either but Wickham has better water management properties


Educate me on Congaree and Wickman ,please. I misspoke when I said Broad River. Broad River is where I am located. Sorry to sound dumb here.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

broadriverhay said:


> Educate me on Congaree and Wickman ,please. I misspoke when I said Broad River. Broad River is where I am located. Sorry to sound dumb here.


Both are well drained soils from mixed rock alluvium but usually over sandy strata from gneisses and granite predominantly. Congaree will have a sandy loam over a sandy loam substrata or sandy clay loam is on first bottoms (meaning floodplain) but the well drained part of the flood plain. Beautiful corn soil if you can keep it from flooding and if you have irrigation when it gets dry. Typically, the first bottom does not get the soil development (subsoil clay content and soil structure) due to the young age of the soil

Wickham is one of the prettiest soils we have in VA and elsewhere through much of the south. Terraces have typically been in place much longer than first bottom so they have had more time to develop a profile with a clay enhanced subsoil. Terraces are old floodplain when the river was at a higher elevation. It has a reddish brown subsoil and I think it will get up to a sandy clay or heavy clay loam. loam or sandy loam surface and superior water holding capacity. If you have ever been on route 17 south of fredericksburg va or east on Route 3 (the terraces of the Rappahannock river) they are dominated by Wickham soils from old alluvium washed from the Blue Ridge and piedmont. Guessing you have them there and near brevard in GA, Also a little east of Richmond. You can't go too far east of the fall line before you get into coastal plain soils.

I am quoting characteristics from memory when I was doing soil surveys in the 70s so many be slightly off but you get the idea. Altavista was the moderately well drained to somewhat poorly drained soil mapped next to both as I recall. Never could figure why they mapped the same soil in both terraces. As long as it is on the better end of the drainage range it is a really good corn soil as well. Most people back in the day used them for corn, corn and corn


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Altavista.....that refreshes my memory of driving up to Altavista, VA in the fall and buying a truck load of Murry's Apple and Cherry cider for one of our retail stores for resale back in the late sixties and early seventies. I was a very young lad and enjoyed the different scenery. The Murry's had an orchard and a dairy farm.

Regards, Mike


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

When I say I’m on the river I mean it.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

yeah, saw that in your previous pics. Do you get annual, 10 year or seldom flooding. You could be on a terrace and the first bottom be on the other side of the river. Happens a lot on a bend like that.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Just looked up the Congaree soil series description. Type location is Richland County SC. Another good possibility that I had forgotten about is the State soil series. That is on really low terraces and is well drained but has a more pronounced subsoil than Congaree does. Beautiful high productivity soil.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Flooded October 2015 and February 2020, so about every 2-3 years. Richland County is across the river and to my south as well.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

I am guessing you have State sandy loam


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

broadriverhay said:


> Flooded October 2015 and February 2020, so about every 2-3 years. Richland County is across the river and to my south as well.


Just curious, when it floods, how long (hours, days, weeks) and how deep does the water get? And do you end up with any (or a lot) of debris/unwanted dirt/sandy, etc.? I've read about some places that flood end up with feet (not inches0 of un-wanted soil/dirt/sand, that they have to deep plow to mix in to be able to grow crops again.

Larry


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

bought a used Kubota ra1042t single rotar rake today (been looking for and to try one for 2 years)......rotary rakes are almost non-existant in our area 90% are wheel rakes ........if anyone has insight or suggestions on the Kubota ....issues...etc pass them along

will seem strange hooking up a orange implement to green tractors LOL


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Flood water usually lasts about 2-3 days. 4 feet deep in the field is average but last year the deepest spot was 8 feet. I watch the levels on USGS and monitor it that way. I know at what level it starts to come into my field. Last year was the highest I have ever seen it in my lifetime. It was within inches of getting into my barn. Soil deposits are usually minimal but last year it left several inches on most of the field and in some places about a foot. I used a bulldozer to push some of the worst areas . The Bermuda recovered well on those few act and I was able to cut hay there on the last cutting. Large debris has always been minimal. Sorry for the delayed response. I just saw your question.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

ttazzman said:


> bought a used Kubota ra1042t single rotar rake today (been looking for and to try one for 2 years)......rotary rakes are almost non-existant in our area 90% are wheel rakes ........if anyone has insight or suggestions on the Kubota ....issues...etc pass them along
> 
> will seem strange hooking up a orange implement to green tractors LOL


Kubota rotary Rakes as far as I know are made by either Vicon or Kverneland both are very good companies in the hay business for decades.


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

It looks a lot like the New Holland Pro Rotar 3114 Kverneland built so i imagine your correct


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Got the Krone 42T.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Very quiet running.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Congrats on the new rake! You will love it!


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I hope so . I know it is going to be slower than the VR820 wheel rake but what I give up in quantity ,I hope to gain in quality. I have just got to figure out my new raking pattern .


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

You'll be surprised at the difference in quality and how much better the windrow is and how much better it feeds into the baler!


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Hey Trillium Farm don't let color get in your way. I have all different color equipment, its all in who makes the best implement for the situation.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

@ Trillium Farm , that's what i have heard . I have never ran one or seen one run.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

My wife hates baling when the windrows are inconsistent. This should help that. I usually have too much volume for the wheel rake . The windrow gets too big and inconsistent when only using 6 wheels. So I will be making my windrows with a single pass of the rotary rake I'm thinking.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

broadriverhay said:


> Hey Trillium Farm don't let color get in your way. I have all different color equipment, its all in who makes the best implement for the situation.


O no with me it's NEVER colour, but the product that comes out and rotaries do a better job, no matter the make 99% of the time. 

Now there may be situations where another type may be more suitable.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Hey BR, congrats, you will love it. Just watch your lift arms on the 3 pt, they make great metal brake tools for RR PTO shafts. It's not fun. You will have to figure out in your set up if its better to leave the arms dragging on the ground or raised or taken off (that dummy proofs it). I did not take them off last year for the first time in at least 4 years and made it. YMMV


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Thanks for the heads up, Hayman1


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

broadriverhay said:


> Thanks for the heads up, Hayman1


My bent one was a beauty, just couldn't rake with it


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