# Vermeer 504 Classic round baler



## ZetorProxima90 (Jun 11, 2018)

Im curious to hear from anyone who purchased a new Vermeer 504 CLASSIC round baler with net wrap and their experience with it. Good baler, bad baler, ok baler, swear by it, swear at it........... What was the price range and approx how many bales to you roll up with it each season??


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## Popnson04 (Nov 12, 2019)

i can not relay on the 504 classic but i did make the switch to Vermeer this year. 504 R premium and 604 Pro G3 There was a little learning curve with the net wrap system. Both balers are different and completely different from the New Holland i am used to. After acclimating myself to those new systems, i am absolutely elated with the decision to jump brands and become a Vermeer. They have my business


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## ZetorProxima90 (Jun 11, 2018)

Thank you very much for your input. I was hoping you'd say something to that effect ;-)


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## dvcochran (Oct 1, 2017)

I am a little older in models, a 504SI and 6640 Rancher. I have been very happy with both. Based on their performance I would not go back to green.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

ZetorProxima90 said:


> Im curious to hear from anyone who purchased a new Vermeer 504 CLASSIC round baler with net wrap and their experience with it. Good baler, bad baler, ok baler, swear by it, swear at it........... What was the price range and approx how many bales to you roll up with it each season??


Which Classic baler are you considering?
I have a 504 M Classic and it has been a great baler.
A friend has a 504 N Classic and loves it. He traded a low bale count Rebel that he was never pleased with.
The M and N Classic balers are commercial balers. Wide belts, wide tires, 5 row pick up teeth.


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## ZetorProxima90 (Jun 11, 2018)

Tim/South said:


> Which Classic baler are you considering?
> I have a 504 M Classic and it has been a great baler.
> A friend has a 504 N Classic and loves it. He traded a low bale count Rebel that he was never pleased with.
> The M and N Classic balers are commercial balers. Wide belts, wide tires, 5 row pick up teeth.


 I guess I really didn't know there was two versions of the Classic (M & N)?? Is one better than the other? Difference price wise or is one just an updated version of the other??


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## ZetorProxima90 (Jun 11, 2018)

ZetorProxima90 said:


> I guess I really didn't know there was two versions of the Classic (M & N)?? Is one better than the other? Difference price wise or is one just an updated version of the other??


 Looking on Vermeer's website all they list for the Classic is the 504R Classic.


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## dvcochran (Oct 1, 2017)

ZetorProxima90 said:


> Looking on Vermeer's website all they list for the Classic is the 504R Classic.


There are Classic versions of the M & N. The name escapes me right not but there is a model, at least on 5' wide models that have heavier rollers and bearings and there is an upgrade for the M's. I have always heard an M without the upgrade has bearing/roller problems.


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## E220 (Feb 10, 2016)

TL;DR 504M Classic was a new model designation like Iphone 6 versus Iphone 6S. R Classic is a duty cycle designation i.e. F150, F250 etc.

Technically, there is only an 504M Classic and an R Classic. The original 504M had a wide pickup. While the original 504M is heavier than the Classic, the wide pickup did not work well for us in wet hay.

Very little changed from the M Classic to the N. I do recommend the N over the M Classic because they changed some of the roller positions for better bale start.

An R Classic is a designation for duty cycle. The R classic would be the lightest, then Signature, then Premium. If you are doing a lot of silage, I would recommend either the Premium or move up to a PRO.


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## ZetorProxima90 (Jun 11, 2018)

Im in the process of purchasing the Vermeer 504R Classic I had made mention of in prior posts. This will be a new baler with net and twine. On average how long (seconds/minutes) does it take to net wrap a 4x5 bale?? I currently have a Vermeer 5420 Rebel that is twine only. Running the tractor/baler at 540 speed it takes me on average 45 seconds to twine tie a 4x5 bale (time the tractor comes to a stop to the time I start moving again). Figuring 2-3 wraps of net which Im guessing is on average??


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

ZetorProxima90 said:


> Im in the process of purchasing the Vermeer 504R Classic I had made mention of in prior posts. This will be a new baler with net and twine. On average how long (seconds/minutes) does it take to net wrap a 4x5 bale?? I currently have a Vermeer 5420 Rebel that is twine only. Running the tractor/baler at 540 speed it takes me on average 45 seconds to twine tie a 4x5 bale (time the tractor comes to a stop to the time I start moving again). Figuring 2-3 wraps of net which Im guessing is on average??


How many wraps of twine are you applying? Then you could work in reverse somewhat.

With my 5 x 5, at 2.25 wraps, about 17 seconds, from clutch in to clutch out on the tractor. So I'm stopping, wrapping, opening, ejecting, closing and taking off in that time. Maybe in my younger years my reflexes were faster, so I could've been even faster. 

Larry


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## Snow Farmer (Aug 30, 2011)

My JD 569 5' x 5' runs about the same as Larry reports, 15 to 18 seconds., with 2.5 wraps of net. Barely enough time to grab a swig of water.

I bale custom sizes for the horse people 36" to 42" diameter,, no time for a drink of water, takes about 5 seconds or so


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

r82230 said:


> How many wraps of twine are you applying? Then you could work in reverse somewhat.
> 
> With my 5 x 5, at 2.25 wraps, about 17 seconds, from clutch in to clutch out on the tractor. So I'm stopping, wrapping, opening, ejecting, closing and taking off in that time. Maybe in my younger years my reflexes were faster, so I could've been even faster.
> 
> Larry


Sounds about right. Seems like the stopped time for us runs from 15-20 seconds for 2.25 turns wrap. 5x6 bales. There is a noticeable wrap time increase from 2.25 to 3.25 wraps.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Snow Farmer said:


> My JD 569 5' x 5' runs about the same as Larry reports, 15 to 18 seconds., with 2.5 wraps of net. Barely enough time to grab a swig of water.
> 
> I bale custom sizes for the horse people 36" to 42" diameter,, no time for a drink of water, takes about 5 seconds or so


That's funny. I remember with twine having time to grab several bites of sandwich. Now I don't have time to position baler on hill before done wrapping.


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## E220 (Feb 10, 2016)

Snow Farmer said:


> My JD 569 5' x 5' runs about the same as Larry reports, 15 to 18 seconds., with 2.5 wraps of net. Barely enough time to grab a swig of water.
> 
> I bale custom sizes for the horse people 36" to 42" diameter,, no time for a drink of water, takes about 5 seconds or so


Wow, those are small bales! Is it because of loader/handling weight or do they think they get better feed from a smaller bale?


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

E220 said:


> Wow, those are small bales! Is it because of loader/handling weight or do they think they get better feed from a smaller bale?


I've custom baled 32" before. Wrapped as soon as the number appeared on screen. Amish were wrapping them with a small square bale wrapper. Wrapper wraps 3 squares high in tube fashion. They were able to push 34" through but 36" were really hard to get through or so I was told.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Gearclash said:


> There is a noticeable wrap time increase from 2.25 to 3.25 wraps.


Are you sure the increase in time for an extra layer of wrap isn't "mental"? 1 more turn of the bale in the baler even at lowered pto speeds would happen in a little more than a couple of blinks of the operator's eyelid.


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## Snow Farmer (Aug 30, 2011)

E220 said:


> Wow, those are small bales! Is it because of loader/handling weight or do they think they get better feed from a smaller bale?


They sure are small, and you make way more of them, it's a bit of a nuisance to be honest, but they are easier to sell.

The people who want them do not have a tractor, and usually require delivery too.

One thing, the smaller bales are a lot easier to roll off the trailer and into the customers storage area.

That makes it a lot easier on this old man's body.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Tx Jim said:


> Are you sure the increase in time for an extra layer of wrap isn't "mental"? 1 more turn of the bale in the baler even at lowered pto speeds would happen in a little more than a couple of blinks of the operator's eyelid.


It is distinctly noticeable. It takes approximately 3 seconds to apply 1 turn of net. 2.25 turns should take just under 7 seconds, 3.25 should take just under 10 seconds. The wrapping part of the stop-wrap-dump cycle therefore takes about 42% longer.

Our record is making 500 bales in one day with one baler. That means had we been running 2.25 turns instead of 3.25 as we were that baler would have been finished about a half hour sooner. That same day the other baler made 450 bales, so the two together lost almost an hour with that additional turn.


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