# SP Swathers



## wheatridgefarmMD (Sep 14, 2008)

What was YOUR breaking point or reason for switching from pull type to self propelled? I know everyone's operation is different but I would like to compare.

Ben


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## dirtball08 (Jun 26, 2011)

Pull type was wore out. Figured if I got a low houred sp unit with new disc header, should be the last cutter I should have to buy.
So far not regretting it one bit!!!!!!!!


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have a Heston 8550s. I have irrigated fields and a self propelled is much handier. Also I don't have another tractor tied up. I did have a pull type for several years.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

The self propelled is a blast to run.


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## Circle MC Farms LLC (Jul 22, 2011)

I'll probably buy one in the next couple of years. I'm at the jumping off point where our cutting efficiency is the limiting factor on how much hay I can get put up in a given window. To run a larger mower I need a much bigger tractor which will have very few uses outside the moco. I feel like a used Hesston sp machine with new or near new header would be a great upgrade for me.


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## Snow Farmer (Aug 30, 2011)

I have never owned or run a self propelled swather but would like to have one. It could only make a hay operation more efficient plus I bet it is easier to see what you are cutting, and you would'nt have to run over the crop on your first lap around the field.

Sounds like a winning idea to me.

There is a used Case/IH s.p. swather with 16' header for sale not 4 miles from my place, but I am afraid to stop and enquire, there is a strong possibility that the machine would follow me home, and how would I explain that to the missus?


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## hillside hay (Feb 4, 2013)

My take on it is if it fits your budget get it. 10 hrs of looking behind you for a couple decades kinda strains the neck and back. Especially without air ride seats.


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

It is a lot nicer for an old guy. Very time efficient, the smaller odd shaped fields are where it really shines.

However, if you have a appropriate sized tractor sitting idle while you cut it is pretty hard to justify on paper. Big upfront cost, expensive to repair and driving with fluid vs mechanically is not as fuel efficient. With all cuttings I might go over 900 acres and that probably isn't enough, but I won't go back to a pull type unless forced to.


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

I grew up driving selfpropelled sickle machines on my uncle's dairy. It is the ultimate way to cut hay. You never run any crop down even when opening up a field, everything you watch is in front of you. I have not been able to afford one myself and at this point the ones I could afford are getting old. In today's world the price of these machines is staggering. If I ran pure alfalfa I'd have considered buying an older used sickle machines, such as an 8200 Heston or a 2450 New Holland. Once you have worked self propelled you will not want to go back to a pull type. My uncle has a new Holland 8010 or something like that with a 14 foot sickle header. Not many hours on it but he is having hydraulic issues. He can't justify new but is sticking to his guns. In his 50s and a lifetime bachelor his line is if I have to go back to a pull type I think the cows can go and I won't be making hay anymore. Keep in mind his absolute favorite job is cutting hay.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Snow Farmer said:


> There is a used Case/IH s.p. swather with 16' header for sale not 4 miles from my place, but I am afraid to stop and enquire, there is a strong possibility that the machine would follow me home, and how would I explain that to the missus?


I try telling her it was like a lost puppy and love at first site. Might not work but could be worth a try anyhow.

Larry


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## Green Fields (Jul 25, 2014)

I was looking for a baler when I came across a NH1495, was using a NH469 so it was an upgrade. Paid $4100. That was four years ago, no serious problems with it, has worked great but I only cut around 60 acres a year. I have a lot of hills and was surprised how good it handles the hills.


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## 6125 (Sep 14, 2009)

Out of all the sp massey/hesston/challenger windrowers I see advertised for sale, it seems for the hours on these machines, the state of California has the best prices. Anyone know why that is? Some are considerably cheaper than one's out of say Idaho, Washington, and Colorado.


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## Bruce Hopf (Jun 29, 2016)

I had a 655 Massey, that I replaced with a Renn 2000 (both built by Mc Done), both 12 foot sickle decks on them. Massey came with a crimper, so when I repaced the Massey, I put the crimper, on the Renn. Being both are built by the same manufacturer, I have lots of spare parts.
Love the fact, I don't run any crop down, like I did, with the pull type, which cut 9 feet, and every 3 rounds around the field, I cover ground, that would have taken me 4 rounds, with the haybine. Plus, everything is in front of you, amd you can spot a broken knife guard, or broken knife sections, a lot quicker, than as if, it was a pull type.
Once I get 6 rounds made around the field, I just go back 
and forth, up and down, one side of the he he he field, till I get everything cut, as if I was swath in grain.


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

Green Fields said:


> I was looking for a baler when I came across a NH1495, was using a NH469 so it was an upgrade. Paid $4100. That was four years ago, no serious problems with it, has worked great but I only cut around 60 acres a year. I have a lot of hills and was surprised how good it handles the hills.


How do self propelled swathers handle hills? Side slopes?

Have visions of my zero turn lawn mower screaming down hills out of control (only on a much larger scale).


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## wheatridgefarmMD (Sep 14, 2008)

My dilemma is that in order to use larger mower I need to buy a larger tractor that really would have no purpose other than cutting. But with custom cutting and my own hay I would only be crossing about 500 acres overall. With 10 foot cut it never seems to be time efficient, but where do you justify the extra expense?


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

6125 said:


> Out of all the sp massey/hesston/challenger windrowers I see advertised for sale, it seems for the hours on these machines, the state of California has the best prices. Anyone know why that is? Some are considerably cheaper than one's out of say Idaho, Washington, and Colorado.


Look for used Massey/hesston/challengers at John Deere dealers. They seem to be offering the best deals on them out west here. Especially if you are getting it out of their area. My cousin found a 1000 hour Challenger 9770 with all the options including gps last summer for $97,000 in Nebraska. Before he even asked for a price reduction the guy said it's yours for $95,000 and we will ship it for free because we want it out of the area. Those typically are listed for about $120,000.


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## Idaho Hay (Oct 14, 2016)

It all depends on preferences, needs, existing recourses, methods, etc. In other words, there isn't any one thing that will cause you to go self propelled or pull type. My operation is relatively small compared to many, but I made the opposite switch from SP to pull type. First off, my SP was an old worn out 12' NH that needed to be upgraded anyway. I considered upgrading to a newer used SP (after all, that's what I was already accustom to), but for the same cost I could get a brand new pull type disc, and being that I cut first thing in the morning, my tractors were sitting idle at that time anyway. The other thing that I could not get with a SP that I now have on my pull type, is the ability to swath the hay to 90+% of the cutting width. That, and using a tedder, has revolutionized my haying operation more than anything else. So for me, switching from SP to pull type has been nothing but positive. In other words, it really depends on your circumstances, and only you will be able to determine what's best for you.


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

6125 said:


> Out of all the sp massey/hesston/challenger windrowers I see advertised for sale, it seems for the hours on these machines, the state of California has the best prices. Anyone know why that is? Some are considerably cheaper than one's out of say Idaho, Washington, and Colorado.


A big part is the hours put on them. South part is ready to start alfalfa any time.Central part starts in late March,making 7 cuttings or more on a lot of it. Some places make 10 cuttings,where the other states average 3 and have a larger amount of grass hay that will be 2 cutting at most.

I am very abnormal for California in that I am dryland in the coastal hills so working sidehills. Normally we don't hay on hillsides as a automatic bale wagon will not work there. But for a number of reasons I have cut crazy steep hillsides,with a SP cutter.

Cutting hay timely is more important with my oat or barley hay than baling as I don't expect rain after April and can leave it windrowed for weeks. Better to leave it lay until we have dew to bale rather than making powder out of it baling dry. Cutting with a 14 foot header didn't raked hay for 30 years,so a time and fuel savings with a SP.Would have been few used 14 foot cut pull cuts around in 83 when I got my first,as the alfalfa guys were all SP.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

I run an sp and would guess I cut less than 2000 acres last year, considerably less than yrs prior. Still wouldn't go back to a pull type, I'd say somewhere around the 1000 acre mark I'd buy one if I didn't have a use for a tractor in the offseason that would be used for cutting


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

My 1st SP was an old Versatile 400. I cut maybe 30 acres 3 times a year with it. I was a challenge to road it because it would occasionally spin in circles on you. I usually spent more time wrenching on it than cutting with it.

Following that, and when we bought the new place, I sold it to a neighbor for more than I bought it for ($1000) and bought a Hesston 8100. I have put roughly $5K in new parts in it and it is currently running strong. We are doing custom with it. It did have low hours when I bought it. It isn't the fastest machine in the world but it cuts very well, and it is worth more than I have in it. Most importantly, to me, it has long since been paid for.

The thing that folks forget to calculate is what they will get out of a machine when they sell it. Add that to the depreciation and it may be doable.

I can't even imagine paying $60k or more for a swather. Of course if the money was in it I suppose that I would.

Some folks obviously think nothing of paying $130K for one. I am not that guy. I have never been able to figure how that pays for itself.


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## Green Fields (Jul 25, 2014)

JMT said:


> How do self propelled swathers handle hills? Side slopes?
> 
> Have visions of my zero turn lawn mower screaming down hills out of control (only on a much larger scale).


I end up going mostly sideways on slopes but there's one steep one I go straight down. My 1495 is the hydrostatic one and it just seems to slow it down as much as needed with no problem. Also I noticed when it isn't running it doesn't roll as easy so I figure if it stalled on a hill it might not be so bad, with the mower down and all. The wide stance feels a lot more stable on a side hill than my tractor with the 469. I did make sure the emergency brake was working cause I was worried what would happen going down a hill. One year I did have some problems on a side hill when the ground was more wet than usual and it spun out, but no big deal. It has turf tires on it which need to be replaced so I was thinking of putting lug tires on instead.


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## MFSuper90 (Jun 26, 2015)

My first mower was a 6600 Hesston with the gas guzzling slant 6 in it. I bout it cheap due to the fact that it was wore out. However I got a season and a half out of it and it served me well. Then I went to an even more wore out 3 pt disc mover. Could cut anything but lacked efficiency. Then I briefly went to a Hesston 1014 as a get me by mower until I found my JD 2280. Low hours, excellent condition and very trouble free. Came with a trailer so custom jobs 40 miles away are no big deal. It does a fine job on hills and with a 219 diesel engine, I can cut around 70 acres on a 37 gal tank. For irregular shaped feilds the sickle sp will out cut a pull disc any day of the week. Sp are fairly simple in retrospect to a combine and a baler knotter. I wouldn't go back for anything. Biggest downfall of the SP is that the head leads the way and often plows in the dirt on bumps, terraces, and wash outs.


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## Bruce Hopf (Jun 29, 2016)

The crimper on my swather, has Steel, on Steel Rollers. There is nothing in my Operator's Manual, covering how to set the Clearances, for the crimper. If anyone can advise me, on setting the clearances, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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