# V Rake Brand to Purchase



## Sherman Farms (Feb 21, 2012)

What brand v rake to purchase and price to pay. Any thoughts?


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## evan (Jan 22, 2012)

The first place to start is with the size of your mower. You want to make sure that it is wide enough to grab two windrows but not so wide that you are wasting money on extra wheels. That being sait i have a gehl 520 that i really like, it just really doesnt like corners, so you just have to plan your field. I have a 12 wheel that is in pretty nice condition that i payed $3900 for.
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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

My friend and local hay farmer uses a Kuhn speed rake. I found one at auction and bought it. They are the wheel rakes and the first I have ever owned. I like mine. It is 10 wheel and I paid $2500 for it.
I have not run any other brand wheel rake, I suppose most of the top brand names would rake about the same.
My other rakes are a single bar rake and an 8' rotary rake. They do a nice job. I just like the double rake ability.
I like being able to adjust the windrow width to 4 feet, matching the baler.


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

I just bought a new kuhn sr110 for $5900. So far I love it.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

My SR110 was bought slightly used. I decided to shim the down pressure springs a little. The front wheel tines had a bit too much bend. My guess is that the springs lost some of their lift at some point.
I am going to add the middle kicker wheel. My baler leaves a little in the middle unless I run the fluffer over it before raking.
I guess all wheel rakes with out the kicker have the same outcome.
I really like the build of the Kuhn rake. My daughter raked a few acres for me Saturday. She was unsure at first but liked it so much that she volunteered to rake the next field.


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## NewBerlinBaler (May 30, 2011)

Used a Gehl for the first cutting last year and learned the rear rake wheels do not lift very far off the ground when folded up. Could not drive the Gehl over previously-raked windrows without disturbing them. Looked at a Vermeer and it seemed to have the same design flaw. Used a Pequea for the second cutting last year. The rear rake wheels on the Pequea lift way off the ground when its folded up. Could drive the Pequea over previously-raked windrows and the windrows remained untouched. Bought a Pequea TR-10 (22-foot) rake this year.


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## Waterway64 (Dec 2, 2011)

I disagree with minimizing the number of wheels on a v wheel rake. I bought a double 6 S&H rake and it worked great for a 14 ft swather. Then we traded for a 15' 3" disc bine swather. We had to open the rakes up further and it puts much more stress on the rake teeth and we replace lots of them. I think I will have to trade to a double seven rake to solve the problem. Mel


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## evan (Jan 22, 2012)

I have used the fold down style (like the kuhn) and felt it was a little more tricky to pick up all of the hay (especially with short stuff), and not throw dirt around then it is with the expand out kind (like a gehl 520). I like have the front support tires and having each wheel float on its own bogie. I also like the ability to widen and narrow while on the move, if i get some lighter parts and can hit hydro remote and widen it out to catch 3 and pull them together to make a bigger row. The other this is that the wheels are mounted on the inside of the beams so there is nothing for the hay to ball up on and get plugged with. Like I said before the biggest down side is that they are horrible at making tight turns, you have to plan your patern. They take up more room then a tip up style rake (LONG). There are a few more moving parts to wear our too, you have all your pivots for expanding the rake, the linkage for lowering the wheels, and the extra wheel bearings. The final major disadvange is the cost, I think that you can count on being atleast $1000 more for the expanding style.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Depending on your budget I'd recomend a high capacity rake.The wheels and frame are on the back side of the rake wheels.You have a lot less bunching and wraping especially in heavy hay.Prbably in the 9-12K range depeding on size.


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## Cannon (Aug 18, 2009)

I am running Darf 917 rakes right now. I am also going to try the H&S wheel rake. I like how they work the best.


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## Colby (Mar 5, 2012)

I'd get a vermeer hydraulic rake or a high cap. one like was said above.


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