# Grizzly Wheel Rake



## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

http://www.agrisupply.com/product.aspx?p=52577&sid=asf10&eid=Easf10&utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=MerchAdv&zmam=77232640&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=52577&gclid=CMfKpoviiMUCFZKGaQodWj0A-Q

Anybody have any experience with one of these? My cousin is on a budget and thinking about buying one, and I haven't been around wheel rakes a lot, so I don't know what to think. Seems built a little light to me.... anything else obvious that I'm missing?


----------



## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

I would have this to say about rakes in general. You get what you pay for. I am sure that set up properly it would do the job, and it does look light to me as well. 
Good luck!


----------



## treymo (Dec 29, 2013)

You could find a used 14 wheel H&S or Sitrex for that kind of money.

Trey


----------



## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

Thats kinda what I told him too. Buy a good used ride from a trusted brand. Vermeer, Kuhn, H&S, M/F, etc...

Anything in particular we should look for? I know independent wheel travel, but anything else specific?


----------



## treymo (Dec 29, 2013)

Good wheels with rings that aren't mooned out too bad, and a few welds are alright but if they get excessive there is usually more problems than what someone wants to tackle.

Trey


----------



## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

Gotcha..... yeah, I mean I know how to look at the condition and repairs etc, I'm just trying to figure out if there is anything else structurally i.e. from the factory that I should look for.

Do you guys see a lot of advantage (aside from working width) to a 12/14 wheel as compared to like an 8 wheel? Higher capacity, right? Granted, I have seen a little 8 wheel rake some fairly heavy stuff. How about gentleness on alfalfa?


----------



## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

All of this is what works for us. Rake in the same direction of the mower swaths. The number of wheels/raking width matching mower swaths - 8 wheels match 7' and 9' swaths. Rake two swaths onto the clean area in between. If too much hay is being raked together they will make a huge, I mean huge, pile of hay that is a real pain to kick out to go into the baler -- if it starts bunching up STOP immediately and adjust the settings. Don't run the raking wheels too low so that they dig into the ground and rake dirt into the windrow. Can't tell from the picture if you can add cylinder stops to help fine tune the down pressure of the wheels. [this one is a bonus: raise jack before starting to rake; reduces embarrassment factor tremendously]

Shelia


----------



## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

I'm all too familiar with balling up a wad of hay with rolabar V-rakes. My old man made us spread 'em out by hand as kids so we learned real quick to not do it.

Thanks for the tip on down pressure. I was under the impression that wheel rake contact with the ground was not adjustable (or pre-set from the factory), so will keep in mind.

So what we do out west here is cut 16 foot (or 14') swaths into like 3' windrows. We don't need to lay them wider than that or ted them, the Desert SW takes care of drying on its own. Sooo.... windrows are 16' on center, plus 1.5' on either side equals 19 feet to merge two together. This 8 wheel rake listed as having a maximum working width of 20', so I guess it will work? Would a 10-wheel be better for an extra 2 feet of wiggle room?

I hope I don't sound ignorant, but I have seen everything from 8-wheel to 16-wheel rakes working around here successfully. I just don't know anything about them. I have always used Allen or Vermeer twin rolabars (well, I demo'd a Kuhn twin rotary one time...)


----------



## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

Would consider the 10 wheel for the extra wiggle room.

Shelia


----------



## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

Ok... would there be any point in going bigger? If 10 is good, 12 must be better right? Could run them straighter and therefore more efficiently?


----------



## RockyHill (Apr 24, 2013)

Are you meaning running the wheels in a more straight angle (as opposed to V-ish)?

We run V-ish so the hay rolls together and kinda fluffs up. Straight doesn't work for us.

Look at the room you'll have under the frame and consider how much hay you will have raked up. The picture looked like a 'regular' instead of 'high clearance'. All of the hay pulled in front of the frame will have to fit under it. We used an regular 8 wheel with 9' mower conditioner and in really thick hay had to be cautious to not move over to next swath to not get too much hay. Last year we started using a 12' cut and the 8 wheel would barely reach both swaths AND had too much hay. Some of the wheel rakes have adjustments that you can change both front and back sections. Our 8 wheel does not have that feature. This year we'll be using a 10 wheel high capacity with adjustments for both front and back.

That said, more wheels may or may not help -- crop conditions will affect that a lot.

Shelia


----------



## PackMan2170 (Oct 6, 2014)

Ok, well thanks for your help ya'll. Will probably reccomend that he look for a 10 or 12-wheel rake used rake from a more well-trusted brand.


----------



## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

For 2 16 foot swaths good call. Unless very very light yields that rake will jam and clump up. Good call.


----------



## tomharmon (Jan 28, 2015)

I got one of these. Seems to be well built for the money


----------

