# Tractor size for a 3x3 baler??



## rob_cook2001

Hey guys, 
Not to serious yet but have been kicking around the idea of getting into 3x3's. I love putting up small squares but its hard to keep up. Rounds are great but they don't sell for near the price in my part of the country. 3x3's bring almost the same price per ton as small squares. If i did this i would be buying a new NH 3x3 or hesston/agco/massy lol. What size tractor would you all reccomend for running a baler like this, they say like 120 pto hp minimum but no way would i want to run it with 120hp. I was thinking like a JD 7630 but what do you all think?? Around here all the 4x4 guys run mfwd tractors with duall's. Could i get away with a 2wd?
Thanks for the info guys.
Robert


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## leenertshay

I have a 97 case which is a Hesston 3x3 Im pulling it with a 4450 2wd with a power shift. I have ran duels on it and wished I still was at times like when your stuck in a customers DRY hay field like I was last week. But there again you cant turn as sharp with them on and your wider going down the road. I love mine and would really like to have a new one one of these days. Good luck.


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## rank

We have a 2wd CaseIH 7110 on a Hesston 8575 and it works fine unless you get into a wet spot and then you're finished.

Also have a 4wd MX150 on an LBX332 roto cut. Plenty of power there to bale but the tractor will barely pull the baler up a hill in road gear.

Having the big 4wd tires up front allows me to run low air pressure in them....it smooths out the ride. Not sure I could do that with 2wd tires.


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## tonner

my work runs a MF 2150 Baler behind a Valtra N121 which has about 125 Pto hp and a MF 185 (both 3 x 3 balers, both hesston built) behind a Valtra T151 (160 hp). both tractors handle the balers with relative ease in the paddock and on the road considering our area is quite hilly. 4wd is always better than 2wd in my opinion and i'd recommend about 140 hp so it is not a huge load on a smaller tractor


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## rob_cook2001

Good info, keep it coming guys :} 
The only reason for wanting a 2wd is I would also like to run a pull type discmower behind the same tractor. How reliable are these balers? Anythings that give you many problems? And how fast can you guys run in thick windrows, lets say 1st cutting alfalfa with two 14 or 16ft windrows raked together.
Thanks
Robert


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## Va_plowboy

I have heard that the Krone square balers are very nice. Never seen one in action though so I don't know for sure.


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## tonner

haven't had too many problems with the 2 balers, the 185 is up to 35,000 bales while the 2150 is about 20,000, the 185 went through the workshop about 6 months ago, only replaced all the chains and the pickup slip cultch was worn out, as for how they go in the paddock, i'm only the mechanic and don't get to do any baling with them


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## JoshA

I think a (JD) 7630 would be a great size tractor for a 3x3, large frame for weight (control) and ride (smoothness) and about right in terms of power. I used my 7630 for pulling my 3x4 balers before adding a 7830, and I find both tractors too small for the 3x4 balers. Probably good for a 3x3.

That said, IVT!! That's absolutely the best part about any baler tractor, either IVT or CVT, in my opinion is a must.


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## NDVA HAYMAN

Josh, I would have thought that a roughly 165 pto hp tractor would have pulled a 3x4 very easily! What hp tractor do you think it would take to comfortably pull that baler? I have been toying with the idea of going to a 3x3 or 3x4 because of freight on 5x6 rounds. Would prob. stick with 3x3 but now I don;t know. Is your ground hilly, rolling, flat? Mike


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## rob_cook2001

Heck i have seen guys running 7830's on 4x4's here. Does not mean it works well lol.
Robert


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## Customfarming

Its really not the horse power of the tractor that is needed to pull a big square baler but mainly the weight of the tractor. You can pull a 3x3 with 90hp tractor but the baler will push you around and you will not be able to stop when you want too. We run a krone 890 and demoing a krone 1270 multibaler and run them on a puma 210 and puma 225. The bigger the tractor the better. The balers are heavy and with 1-2 bales in the chamber it adds more weight. A 2wd drive will work with duals but a 4wd tractor will be better.


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## rank

rob_cook2001 said:


> How reliable are these balers? Anythings that give you many problems?


Anything with teats or tires it will give you problems, but for the amount of product that goes through them they are remarkably durable IMO. The LBX332 (3x3 CaseIH) that I drive most often has 25,000 eight foot bales through it. I had a U joint on the PTO shaft let go last year. Also replaced a roller bearing on the stuffer mechanism. Replaced ~ 5 sensors. One pickup guard. Probably spent ~ $5,000 on this baler including labor.



rob_cook2001 said:


> And how fast can you guys run in thick windrows, lets say 1st cutting alfalfa with two 14 or 16ft windrows raked together.


Our 3x3's will easily bale 20 - 25 tons per hour. I can put out one eight foot / 850 lb bale every minute when the hay is heavy enough.

You should plan on a dedicated tractor for the baler though. They have a hammer strap and they are a pain in the butt to hook and unhook and that will get old quickly. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do tho.


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## rob_cook2001

Thanks for the info but what is a hammer strap?? lol
Robert


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## NDVA HAYMAN

Rob, A hammer strap is a piece of steel which is bolted to or clamped to a drawbar to receive a hitch from your equipment. It gives you a top and bottom hole to insert your hitch pin thru. Mike


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## rank

Yeah, what Mike said. The "hammer strap" is a big piece of flat bar ~2" thick that gets bolted on top of the tractor hitch and the baler tongue.


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## Cannon

I would say 165 would be a great size tractor for a 3x3 or 3x4. We have over 200 for my 4x4's


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## rob_cook2001

Ok thats what i thought you might be talking about. I still don't like the idea of dedicating one tractor just to one machine, any pull type swather I would run with it would be a 2pt hitch so no big deal. What brand of balers do you run Cannon?
Thanks
Robert


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## Rodney R

My neighbor runs his 4910 with his 4440. The other week he baled some stuff for us on some nasty hills. Made me nervous just thinking about it. 165pto hp is more than enough. There was a member on here.... 4755? that pulled 3x3's with a 4755 2wd. If it's flat a guy wouldn't even need duals. The other neighbor has a 8575 behind a CIH 7130, and his has a flat bar boted to the drawbar, and then like a ball on it?

Rodney


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## NDVA HAYMAN

Rodney, Sounds like the same type of arrangement on my JD Moco's. They are like a lower lift arm swivel type ball . I love em. They are so easy to hitch by yourself. Mike


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## haybaler101

I run a NH BB940A on a 7220 CIH 2-wheel drive. Plenty of power (about 170) but I wouldn't want to have any less iron in front of it. You have to run duals even on flat ground. Every time the plunger hits, the tractor will lug and kick up loose dirt which goes right in the baler. Running duals reduces this dramatically. We ran one day with single tires and our hay sample jumped about 4% on ash which is dirt in the hay.


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## haybaler101

As far as dedicated tractor to the baler, yeah its nice, but I can hook or unhook in less than 5 minutes. 2 sets of hydraulics, baler control wire, lights, and applicator plus the PTO and your loose. We run the hammer strap. Works great, pull the pin and go. Use it to pull tillage equipment also. You do have to have one tractor only that pulls the baler because if you have to move the monitor and the applicator control for the inoculant, then you are talking about hours of labor.


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## Production Acres

You need plently of iron in front of that baler. Baler will weigh approx 18-19,000 fully loaded. We pull one baler with a JD7700 MFWD - Book says it weighs 13900 but with fluid in all tires and full set of weights on front, it weighs 19250. Well last week one operator went down the road a little fast and the tail wagged the dog and the baler went into the ditch. Looks like it may be totaled!


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## rank

haybaler101 said:


> I run a NH BB940A on a 7220 CIH 2-wheel drive. .....Every time the plunger hits, the tractor will lug and kick up loose dirt....


What? Are you kidding? We run those tractors in front of the big balers in my signature line below and I don't think I've ever had that happen. That's weird.


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## Rodney R

On the NAT board Badger runs a couple 3x4 balers, and he doesn't use duals, on account of having so many tire tracks in his field. I really think that a guy should either have duals or MFWD. I really don't think that you need both, and having never run one all I can really say is that for sure you need enough weight to keep the tractor planted to the ground. There have been way too many mishaps because of the tractor being overpowered by the baler, especially bad if a guy runs an accumulator.

Rodney


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## dirtfarmer

Ok now im talkin a bout a 4x4 baler but this may give you some idea. for years we pulled a 4800 then a 4900 hesston 4x4 with a IH1466 turned up to 175 hp and here in PA. you had to choose how you came off a hill since that 10 ton baler would push that 6 ton tractor. now we pull a 4910 4x4 with a 6195 white, 200hp its mfwd and we run duals and the baler will still push you on a good hill. here i pa alot of guys pull 3x3 balers with a caseih 8920 size tractor and i use that as my example cause i know of 4 of them pullin 3x3 balers


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## mlappin

Always figured if I went to big bales that I'd use my White 4-210 on it. About 22,000 lbs, 210 hp four wheel drive articulated.

With the tractor I used to bale with even had to be real careful on hills with the round baler. Granted you don't have the plunger adding any inertia, but when making silage bales and it was almost full, turning while going down hill was generally a very bad ideal.


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## deerezilla

I have a Krone 1290 3x4 I pull it with a JD8100. In grass hay with 2 16ft rows raked in to one I can do 8mph. That 3 ton to the acr grass hay. Alfalfa I can go even faster as long as the fields are smooth.


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