# rebel 5400 belt slip



## kirkgard (Jun 28, 2009)

problem with vermeer 5400 rebel. when starting a bale the core and belts stop turning and the machine plugs up. the belt drive roller is turning but the belts are slipping around it. any help is appreciated


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## Izzy (May 27, 2009)

Can't say that I can help fix the problem, but this is the sort of thing that is making me think of getting a Krone round baler. The metal slats of the Krone aren't a flat surface like with the standard belts, so it is able to keep the bale turning.
Izzy


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

kirkgard said:


> problem with vermeer 5400 rebel. when starting a bale the core and belts stop turning and the machine plugs up. the belt drive roller is turning but the belts are slipping around it. any help is appreciated


The teeth on the pickup may be bad.They help start the bale,if the rubber is weak it will not help to start the bale like it should.The teeth may look OK but are shot.Compare with a new one and see how hard they are to bend back.Cornstalks are hard on them.


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## swycr (Jul 6, 2009)

Make sure your RPM is up and start your bale on the left side of the baler (as you sit on tractor). Make sure belts are turning good before starting bale. Align your belts while lift gate is open also helps and make sure no small pieces of hay have wedged in side of belt.


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## rdwaterdog (Jun 10, 2014)

I have the same problem with my rebel 5400. We have to start out VERY slow with the PTO rpm at 540.

The baler will clog up very easy.

the belts turn but once you get a 1ft bale it will not spin anymore the clog up.

little help please.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

If you say the belts stop could be bearing failure on a roller . The roller will turn until bearing has load on it once loaded bearing drags or pulls roller against scraper / frame etc and it will act as a break and cause belts to slip / stop .


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## purplewg (Nov 4, 2009)

Interesting thread. I have a 5400 and have seen the baler belts stall when I first start into to a row. I usually just stop and let the baler spin till it catches up. I can see the hand writing on the wall that it will only get worse from what I am reading here.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Hmmmm....maybe someone will give us some positive insight into this problem, seems to be a design flaw or a problem that happens during normal break in/use of machine? Lots of folks on this forum are high on Vermeer balers, around here we never see them.....has anyone contacted their Vermeer dealer?

Another thread on here titled "Vermeer balers" that may be of some insight to u folk


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## smcd (Jul 19, 2014)

I have a 5400 that has this problem, the spiral roller rolls the hay out on top of the wind gate and is then pulled back in until the bale is a bigger diameter then no problem. I did not have much problem with this when baler was new but after 7-8 thousand bales it got worse. I see the post by swmnhay about pickup teeth I will check that out. I found that loosening the big return spring a little makes a bigger core which makes the diameter larger a little sooner when the core starts to roll. If anyone comes up with a cure I would like to know thanks


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

smcd said:


> I have a 5400 that has this problem, the spiral roller rolls the hay out on top of the wind gate and is then pulled back in until the bale is a bigger diameter then no problem. I did not have much problem with this when baler was new but after 7-8 thousand bales it got worse. I see the post by swmnhay about pickup teeth I will check that out. I found that loosening the big return spring a little makes a bigger core which makes the diameter larger a little sooner when the core starts to roll. If anyone comes up with a cure I would like to know thanks


is there a scrapper above spiral roller,I' m thinking there should be.check your operator manual


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## All day and night cattle c (Aug 25, 2014)

Vermeer actually makes a adhesive sand paper that goes between the belt and roller to help with traction it's around $20 will get about two hundred rolls per application 
It works


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## cmd (Oct 26, 2012)

All day and night cattle c said:


> Vermeer actually makes a adhesive sand paper that goes between the belt and roller to help with traction it's around $20 will get about two hundred rolls per application
> It works


So you have to stop every 200 bales and put on new grip tape? F that!


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## danzig (Jul 30, 2015)

I also have a rebel 5400 with the same problem. Bought it new some years back and only bale around 200 bales a year. It has only baled approx. 1500 bales and yet this problem seems to be getting worse. Its nice to have a site like this to get other owners opinions and solutions. Since I don't have a lot of hay to bale,its more of a nuisance for me. Seems to know when rain is coming and Im trying to hurry.Thats when it jams up the most. I will look into that sandpaper idea. Dan


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

somedevildawg said:


> Lots of folks on this forum are high on Vermeer balers, around here we never see them.....has anyone contacted their Vermeer dealer?


Amen Buddy. I'm glad I bale hay with a JD rd baler that needs no grip tape to make belts rotate.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Tx Jim said:


> Amen Buddy. I'm glad I bale hay with a JD rd baler that needs no grip tape to make belts rotate.


But you need traction belts to get the hay spinning.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Tim/South said:


> But you need traction belts to get the hay spinning.


Traction belts with the help of a metal starter roll to start a core BUT I'm not getting off tractor to apply adhesive sand paper.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Tx Jim said:


> Traction belts with the help of a metal starter roll to start a core BUT I'm not getting off tractor to apply adhesive sand paper.


Then do not buy an older Vermeer baler with worn out belts.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Tim/South said:


> Then do not buy an older Vermeer baler with worn out belts.


No shit.Jeeze I had a JD 510 and belts slipped on there also and wouldn't start a bale for shit.Belts get old and weathered,hard and dry and they slip.I don't care what brand it is.Newer balers have rubberized drive roller and it maybe an option for the original poster to see if that's a option or update.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

swimhay

one Vermeer baler owner(danzig) stated baler only had 1500 bales on it. FYI JD 510 had rubberized drive rollers & if forming belts didn't turn with pto on 510 something was incorrect with baler. Take a look at roller (parts key 10)


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Tx Jim said:


> swimhay
> 
> one Vermeer baler owner(danzig) stated baler only had 1500 bales on it. FYI JD 510 had rubberized drive rollers & if forming belts didn't turn with pto on 510 something was incorrect with baler. Take a look at roller (parts key 10)


It's been many bales ago since I had the JD 510 but I don't recall it haveing rubberized drive roll.Perhaps I had a early one that didn't have it.I know I was happy when it was gone and I got a Vermeer.

I bought the JD 510 used so someone prior could of changed rollers or something IDK if all 510's were crap or just mine.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

JD 510 was JD's 2nd model attempt at manufacturing a rd baler which is no comparison to the a JD 67,68 or 69 series rd baler. I agree JD 510 rd baler was built back over 35 yrs ago & drive roller(parts key 10) with rubber has no serial number break so I quite certain that the 510 had rubber on drive roller. Don't judge JD later models of rd balers comparing them to a 410/510. That would be similar to comparing a Vermeer 605SM to a 605C or D


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Had to go bale our former bus mechanic's hay for him... he had a bunch of beautiful Old World Bluestem hay cut, cured,and raked, but his old Vermeer couldn't form a bale in it... too slippery. It'd form a core and then quit turning and plug up. About every 3-4 tries he could actually get it to make a bale... so he called me in with my Ford 552 (Gehl) baler to finish the job...

Rolled it up no problems... Don't remember which series his old Vermeer was (maybe an "I" series?) but it's not the first time I've heard of Vermeers having this problem.

Sure, it's an old baler, but then again, my Ford 552 built by Gehl is an old baler too... but it handled it...

I like the heavy-built construction of the "newer" ( "K" series on up) Vermeers, but not quite sure that I'd go with one-- all I can afford is used and I've seen and heard too much about them being finicky about crop conditions and problems like this...

Later! OL JR


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I bought a 605D 3 years ago for about what it weighed. Scrap had went down since, so it has depreciated accordingly. Learned some new swear words running it/fighting with it. I could clear a field with the NH 269 and rack wagons faster. I traded the baler off today, and my blood pressure is already dropping. Happy days!!!

73, Mark


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

D? Wow. How old was that?


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

Ya know, Deadmoose, I never did know JUST how old it is/was. It does have rubber tires on it, so it can't be THAT old . I can attest that there are absolutely NO electronics on it. It only takes 1 set of remotes as you pull a rope to move the twine tube back and forth to tie the bale. I think it was built in the mid to late 70's. It was very rudimentary, but I think (for some reason) it is still CLASSIFIED as a "baler".

73, Mark


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