Hay Rake (Wheel vs Rolla-Bar)

Jerry in NC gave one of the best descriptions I have seen on pros and cons. I used a wheel rake for about a month. Went back to rolabar. We do 2-3K acres a year and run nothing but NH 256's (3 of them). The wheel rake I had was a V and it didn't rope the hay (feeds better in a square baler) and in good hay to make a narrow enough windrow for a 4'round baler pickup it wants to make piles instead of windrows. The guy that bought my v rake loves it, he doesn't push for high yield per acre and is only doing grass hay for his own beef cows.

after almost two decades of use on my 5 wheel rake, i purchased a trailor type double M & W 10 wheel rake. the double Vee allows me to combine three passes of my haybine into one windrow and cuts my raking time almost in half. the trailor is more stable than the 3 pt hitch double rake and is alot, a whole lot easier to hitch to. you can't get into some tight spots with the trailor but thats a trade off i was willing to concede. the M & W is alot better made than anything close to its price (mine was $3000) and has one feature the other rakes don't have. the m & W folds forward and up. this feature allows you to slightly fold the rakes forward creating a larger opening at the rear.whenyou get into heavy hay, you can spread the opening and allow the clog of hay to pass through without stopping like you would with other models (you need double acting hydraulics to operate the M & W). since it rakes from the left and right,tight turns in either directions will sacrifice raking action. i usually make the turns anyway and then as a finish, rake across the ends of the windrows to repair the mess. i have to admit the whole rigg seams a little rickey on rough land so i'm really glad i didn't purchase the lighter made models that John deere and others put their names on.

i waited four years to purchase the double rake and did a lot of studing before hand. i put up between 150 and 200 tons of fescue a year (not this dry year) single handed.i just wished i had purchased it years ago. sorry for being so long winded.

Now for Rolabars. My perspective will be based on a NH Rolabar rake. Rolabars are not created equal. The NH rakes are heavier and do better at raking heavy crops but they are more expensive. A comparable V wheel rake capable of raking 20 ft will cost around $3000-$4000 new and $2000 used. The single Rolabar from NH will cost $4000 for 8 Ft. and a dual hitch setup will cost $10000 new. The Rolabar will build a fluffy windrow or roll a rope depending on how it is set up. They rake above the ground and do not engage dirt in the raking process. Now if the hay has taken a rain or is flat on the ground it will leave more hay in the field than the wheel rake. It works great taking a swath from the MoCo and flipping it for better drying but not as well as a tedder but that is another discussion. Using a V-Rake to do that is next to impossible but a single 4 or 5 wheel rake will do it.

Me and the gentleman that I do hay with are looking at switching over to Rolabars for his straw operation (15000 - 20000 bales a year) because the rolabars work better in thick heavy straw. For my Alfalfa I will use the Rolabar exclusively because it is for sale to a very finicky customer set that does not like to see any of the winter frozen stems in the bales of hay they are buying and if they see dust when they open a bale of alfalfa they will bring the hay back and there is no convincing them that the dust was dirt because that is not a good thing either. When I want to clean a field good after baling the first cutting the wheel rake comes out and is used because it leaves nothing.

If I have to own only one then it will be the rolabar but if you are baling grass hay for your own cows then the wheel rake will do you fine for less money. Remember the NH Rolabar (the Gold standard Caddie of rakes) has not changed designs since the mid 50's and they still hold a significant market share. A 40+ year old rake that will bring more at auction than a new 4 wheel rake sells for new must have something going for it.

Sorry about the long post but these are the observations I have made and you asked for information.

Aggie