# What’s the best tedder



## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

What’s the best 6 basket Tedder. Been looking at the Vermeer TE 250 . What’s y’alls opinion .


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

can't speak to 6 baskets but I remember about 6-8 years ago seeing a Krone 4 basket at a used equipment dealer and thinking that is my next tedder. So well built. I was having issues with my NH163. When I finally pulled the trigger in 2013, it was the Krone 17 footer and I have never regretted the decision or the money I spent..


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

I have a Tonutti 4 basket and it seems to wndrow the hay in 2 windrows. The tines want stay set properly. I have tried all ground speeds and RPMs.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I've heard good reports on the Vermeer tedders. Hooked tines seem to work well from what I hear. Build quality is probably good seeings it's Vermeer.....I wouldn't be afraid of one that's for sure. Kuhn, of course, makes a very good Tedder that does a fantastic spread job. Krone is probably the best in terms of build quality....they were one of the first to have border spread which is really nice. Most probably have it now.... Claas makes some nice machines as does Pottinger, just not many around to see/feel/demo....
I'd say if I had a good dealer close by that I had a good relationship with, I'd buy a Vermeer in a New York minute.....if not, I'd probably see who wanted my business the most


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

broadriverhay said:


> I have a Tonutti 4 basket and it seems to wndrow the hay in 2 windrows. The tines want stay set properly. I have tried all ground speeds and RPMs.


 I have a Krone 4 basket and while it is well made the one complaint I have is that it tends to windrow the hay if it is a thinner crop or if the hay has dried some and I ted it a second time. In a heavy crop that has not began to dry much it spreads it out very well. I have made the adjustment to the tines and while it helped it didn't fully eliminate the wind rowing.

I like the looks of the Vermeer tedders.....have heard a lot of good about them. Claas also makes a well built looking Tedder.

Hayden


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

Have a TE-250 does a good job tedding I have zero faith in service. I had problem with the drive timing and slip clutch bent tines and such . Dealer repair cost $1100,got it back 10 acres later total break down bent tine arms broken tines $3300 got back spent another $550 on new slip clutch. Vermeer gave me a roll of net wrap, If you get one buy from a dealer who knows hay equipment. I would buy a Kuhn if I had to do it all over again, $3000 cheaper and 100 times beter dealer service. I bought mine from R equipment first and last time never again


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Beav said:


> Have a TE-250 does a good job tedding I have zero faith in service. I had problem with the drive timing and slip clutch bent tines and such . Dealer repair cost $1100,got it back 10 acres later total break down bent tine arms broken tines $3300 got back spent another $550 on new slip clutch. Vermeer gave me a roll of net wrap, If you get one buy from a dealer who knows hay equipment. I would buy a Kuhn if I had to do it all over again, $3000 cheaper and 100 times beter dealer service. I bought mine from R equipment first and last time never again


 Sounds like you had a bad dealer. A good dealer should have been able to take care of those issues under warranty.

Hayden


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

I reckon Lely does the best spreading job. It has different shaped tines from the others. The hook shape really seems to tear into the hay and break it up.

Roger


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

I like watching the Vermeer tedder at Ag progress days. Really seems to do a nice job of spreading it out.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Beav said:


> Have a TE-250 does a good job tedding I have zero faith in service. I had problem with the drive timing and slip clutch bent tines and such . Dealer repair cost $1100,got it back 10 acres later total break down bent tine arms broken tines $3300 got back spent another $550 on new slip clutch. Vermeer gave me a roll of net wrap, If you get one buy from a dealer who knows hay equipment. I would buy a Kuhn if I had to do it all over again, $3000 cheaper and 100 times beter dealer service. I bought mine from R equipment first and last time never again


What was the verdict Beav....what caused that damage? Doesn't sound real promising, you have every right to be concerned, I would be too.....


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Stay away from N.O.Rossi, AKA Enorossi and Ag-Maxx. I don't know where they get their steel from but it is extremely poor--I've seen toilet paper that was stronger.

Ralph


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

The bto's around here that buy what they need and don't worry about the cost, the ones that have big tedders 6 or8 star . They all run Claas


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

If I had to buy a new one today it would be a te330.

This may change though as Vermeer/ lely are no longer partners and Vermeer is rumoured to have a new design coming out. I don't know if they will be able to keep the hook tine.

Last week I was standing beside a te490 visiting with the owner and he was gushing over it, having a krone 8 rotor 3pt before. The cart on the 330 and 490 are Vermeer built with the lely tedder mounted on it. The tongue on that tedder looks like something that should be pulling a 30' disc. List price on that 490 was 49k..... ouch.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Krone KW 7.82 T, six basket (25' 7"), is what I'm presently using, that I purchased new last year. Had a spaghetti 4 basket (Enrossi). I would never go back to the spaghetti made machine. But there are a lot of other good machines available.

Krone will cost a few more $$$, but it is built like a tank. I had a small problem with the machine, but had GREAT dealer service (along with Krone1's help here on HT).

Whatever color you purchase, I'm in the 'pick the dealer with the BEST (and knowledgeable) service/parts managers club'. The color won't matter, if the dealer service is POOR.

Larry


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Depends on what you're mowing with as well. I mow 13', my NH169 does an alright job, not great though, it does fantastic though on tedding three 9' rows as thats what it was designed for. Having the rotors line up properly over you're mowed rows is a big part on the tedder doing a decent job.


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## krone.1 (Jul 28, 2013)

There are some good choices....the te250, kwt782 if you’re going to transport long distances. The vicon branded 6 rotor looks good, but I don't have any experience with it... if you can use a field tire transport model, the Kuhn 7802tha, Krone Kw782t, Claas 800th all would make you a proud owner along with the above models. Hay tool companies are beginning to understand your needs on a Tedder. Some great products out there.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

BTW: Fit your tedder width to your windrow width. Example: I mow with a NH 7230 10'6" (actual cut about 18-19' ). I ted with a 17'4" tedder which just barely reaches over two windrows. I would prefer a 19' tedder so that I could safely cover both windrows.

Also, spend the few hundred dollars extra and get the hydraulic lift--your back will thank me tomorrow!

Ralph


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> What was the verdict Beav....what caused that damage? Doesn't sound real promising, you have every right to be concerned, I would be too.....


Jury is still out have not used it to ted first cutting since all the repairs only lighter second. Tedded 6 acres of first cutting last week work fine but it is early lighter hay so I have my fingers crossed. The second break down was what made me mad they did not make the repair correctly and I had to pay. Vemeer gave us a roll of net wrap for our trouble. 21k new 5k in repair in 3 years. My brother took the net wrap, I wanted to tell them to do something else with the roll. they think I hit something I know I did not broke 8 tines and bent 4 arms in the center of the field no rocks no logs no nothing all parts found in 30'. First break was caused by hitting a log second break caused by dealer error although they will not admit. I replaced the slip clutch last fall figured it was tore-up from the two incidents, asked the shop guy and he said " I never thought of that". I believe the dealer service in just as important as the product. I will never buy from this dealer again. When they delivered the tedder they didn't even test it,because when I tested in my front yard the tines were on the ground and the rotor wheels were 2' off the ground. I called the shop guy told me they ran it and worked fine.I got the owner's manual changed all the settings to Vemeers recommended set up positions and worked correctly. R equipment never again


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Yeah , I noticed the Vermeer and Lely looked a lot alike.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Beav said:


> I will never buy from this dealer again. When they delivered the tedder they didn't even test it,because when I tested in my front yard the tines were on the ground and the rotor wheels were 2' off the ground.


If I'm reading this correctly, you wasn't tedding hay, you were burying it. :huh: Good golly, I wouldn't want to measure the 'ash' content of that tedded hay.

Larry


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

endrow said:


> The bto's around here that buy what they need and don't worry about the cost, the ones that have big tedders 6 or8 star . They all run Claas


Does any one run the Class 4 basket Volto 52T? I've been considering another agco branded unit, but I would rather not be chasing after tedder arms or baskets for another season. 3 basket tedders just look wrong!


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

r82230 said:


> If I'm reading this correctly, you wasn't tedding hay, you were burying it. :huh: Good golly, I wouldn't want to measure the 'ash' content of that tedded hay.
> 
> Larry


by baling the root system first cutting yield was greatly increased at this setting but ground speed had to be reduced


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

I'm not really qualified to recommend a tedder, especially a 6 basket one.

With respect to Krone, IMHO they have more online info for one to make an informed decision in regards to their products than any other manufacturer.

Their tedder brochure is around 44 pages. You can download the operators and parts manuals free - something I'd recommend for a read prior to purchase. In addition Krone has a bunch of videos specific to their tedders on YouTube, as well as various individuals that have uploaded videos for a look-see.

I think a lot of JD dealers are carrying Krone as a short line, so maybe parts, support and product knowledge might be good and it makes for some price shopping too.

I have a Kuhn tedder in New Holland colors and like it (and access to online parts list via New Holland - can't understand why Kuhn can't do this). For our acreage, if/when I buy another tedder, it will either another Kuhn in New Holland colors or a Krone (4 basket). I guess the most frequent comment I read regarding Krone tedders is that they are very heavy build.

Hope this helps.

Good luck,
Bill


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## Northeast PA hay and beef (Jan 29, 2017)

We like our NH 3625. It is really heavily built. We tested a frontier 6 star and would say to run away from them. Have no experience with most the others being mentioned. I had nothing but problems with our NH 3417, but the 4 star and 6 star are built completely differently.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Northeast PA hay and beef said:


> We like our NH 3625. It is really heavily built. We tested a frontier 6 star and would say to run away from them. Have no experience with most the others being mentioned. I had nothing but problems with our NH 3417, but the 4 star and 6 star are built completely differently.


Curious on your reason with the Frontier.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Purity sure that Frontier is a Kuhn rebadged....


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

No by looking at Pequea sale literature Frontier line of tedders are clearly Pequea brand not Kuhn . John Deere tedders where Kuhn but frontier is Pequea.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

IH 1586 said:


> Curious on your reason with the Frontier.


My hay making buddy up the road has a frontier 4 banger and a neighbor of his does also. Always complaining about the POS and looking at my Krone in envy. don't know specifics.


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## Trotwood2955 (Sep 4, 2012)

Depends on how old it is. Used to be the Frontier tedders were re-badged Kuhn tedders, same as the NH 163 I had which was re-badged. But the Frontier tedders now are Pequea as far as I can tell.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Trotwood2955 said:


> Depends on how old it is. Used to be the Frontier tedders were re-badged Kuhn tedders, same as the NH 163 I had which was re-badged. But the Frontier tedders now are Pequea as far as I can tell.


Yeah, guessing it is the rebadged Pequea. Neither one of them are more that several years old.

I had a 163 for 10 years and for the most part it worked fine. Did break the axle housings on both sides but I think they were cracked with the used eq dealer I bought it from picked it up incorrectly to load on a trailer. Local NH dealer said I bought the only two axle housings they ever sold and I don't abuse my equipment.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Re that lely / Vermeer failure I’m pretty sure that dealer missed latent log damage that let go later. After struggling with a Deutz Tedder that was never right after some damage it took I feel for trying to diagnose what was hurt though. Due to the timing every time a drive pin would randomly shear it would wipe out tons more tines and roll pins etc even with the slip clutch working ok.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

I looked at the Frontier tedders at our local deere dealer last year out of curiosity. Castings all had Pequea clearly visible.


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## Northeast PA hay and beef (Jan 29, 2017)

On the demo we had on the frontier, we had nothing but problems. Maybe it was just a lemon, but while salesman was still there setting it up and riding with me, a leak in hydralic coupler on tedder would keep letting the tine height drop. Managed to get that fixed, after breaking a tine from it digging in the ground. Then had the hydralic cylinder that folds tedder up blow a seal and tedder couldn't go into transport position. While i was with sales guy screwing with the frontier, my brother tedded all the hay with the 4 star NH we had. Never looked at another one.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

One other variable I'd like to mention.....on-line support. Here on Haytalk we have at least two brands that have folks on this website that follow these posts. 
I had an issue with a new baler that was a total POS that I wanted to set fire to, until I realized I didn't have any insurance , after several attempts by my feeble dealer (no longer in business after 30 yrs) to diagnose the problem I relied on one of those contributors and they got me all the correct info I needed to update the baler and get the problems fixed for good....it's a great baler now. 

On another occasion I had a hydraulic valve fail on my rotary rake and again relied on one of our contributors and he promptly got me the correct part within 48 hours.... 

Sometimes it's all in who you know, it's a valuable lesson in life......


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

DSLinc1017 said:


> Does any one run the Class 4 basket Volto 52T? I've been considering another agco branded unit, but I would rather not be chasing after tedder arms or baskets for another season. 3 basket tedders just look wrong!


Well, How about this.. Ill just respond to my own post! Pulled the plug on a slightly used Claas 52T. I will let ya'll know how things go.


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## krone.1 (Jul 28, 2013)

I'll jump in. I've never owned one but have some experience with them. It's proven and still a current production model. If it's good shape you will like it. Very durable.... Like all European models, the guards are not sturdy enough. Claas added a folding feature which IMO didn't help any at all. The only solution i can post about is to keep tires inflated properly and slow down in really rough ground. (Europeans don't hay pastures apparently). In rank hay you want to make sure to keep rpms maxed. All in all a very good machine. It would be on my 4 rotor tedder want list for sure. Good luck with it! Did you get a good deal on it??


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

DSLinc1017 said:


> Well, How about this.. Ill just respond to my own post! Pulled the plug on a slightly used Claas 52T. I will let ya'll know how things go.


I am sure you will be happy with it. They don't seem to make bad stuff


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

krone.1 said:


> I'll jump in. I've never owned one but have some experience with them. It's proven and still a current production model. If it's good shape you will like it. Very durable.... Like all European models, the guards are not sturdy enough. Claas added a folding feature which IMO didn't help any at all. The only solution i can post about is to keep tires inflated properly and slow down in really rough ground. (Europeans don't hay pastures apparently). In rank hay you want to make sure to keep rpms maxed. All in all a very good machine. It would be on my 4 rotor tedder want list for sure. Good luck with it! Did you get a good deal on it??


As always Krone, I appreciate your incite and honesty and support of your commentators. So you know I did get a quote for a new 4 basket Krone. It was $9,250. A bit out of my price range. Any used units looked well used and one for sale by a well known action re-seller is 7k. He likes to pressure wash, touch up with appropriate color paint and advertise "like new" one look at the tines or hitch.... not so much ..

https://vermont.craigslist.org/grq/d/krone-17-ft-hay-tedder/6594981863.html

The Claas I purchased cost me 5k and about a 2 hour drive.

Cheers,


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I guess I missed a post about a new Claas.....I have a mower made by Claas and it's a very nice machine, as usual, very well engineered....I always consider Claas to be first Class  see what I did there.....
You got a heck of a deal at 5k.....that's what I paid for my used Krone 4 basket, sold it four years later for 4.5k 

You'll be able to do the same should you desire......


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Claas is good stuff... German engineering at its finest...  OL J R 

PS. I like Krone too...


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Beav, we have our 6 basket vermeer for 4 years. 
Bought from r equipment originally.
Never had any issues. I know 3 owners who have got their tedders from there. 2 6 basket tedders and one 4 basket.

I wonder where it wrong with your setup.
One thing I have noticed and informed the other owners is to never ever ever grease the undersized sprag/ slip clutch. It will slip for no reason when greased.
Figured I'd let you know.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Also it teds 400 acres a year for 3 cuttings.
I tend to Ted twice like most people on heavy hay.


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## Beav (Feb 14, 2016)

grease was not the issue the slip clutch is one of the easier things to grease once a year. I do appreciate your input, which R equipment do you deal with?


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Sycamore, Illinois.
They have some of the best parts guys around. Always get back to you asap, and go out of their way to help or leave parts out. 
Unlike our local John Deere dealership, where a salesman don't call you back for 4-5 days. Good luck on parts there.


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## Dan_GA (Dec 29, 2015)

somedevildawg said:


> I've heard good reports on the Vermeer tedders. Hooked tines seem to work well from what I hear. Build quality is probably good seeings it's Vermeer.....I wouldn't be afraid of one that's for sure. Kuhn, of course, makes a very good Tedder that does a fantastic spread job. Krone is probably the best in terms of build quality....they were one of the first to have border spread which is really nice. Most probably have it now.... Claas makes some nice machines as does Pottinger, just not many around to see/feel/demo....
> I'd say if I had a good dealer close by that I had a good relationship with, I'd buy a Vermeer in a New York minute.....if not, I'd probably see who wanted my business the most


You have a good one about an hour straight up 75 from you in Elko... Perfect Equipment Co.


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