V Rake opinions/reviews - input needed!

CW_Farm · Jun 7, 2013

Okay guys - I need some insight on v rakes, kinda quick. Here's the situation: I currently run a NH 256 bar rake, but the local dealership has an H&S 8-wheel v rake. I have some friends who us v rakes and absolutely love them. I also know some guys that have used them and don't care too much for them. I do mixed grass hay, no silage or heavy crops such as alfalfa or clover. Most of the fields I have are big enough that turning the rake won't present too much of a problem, so that is the least of my concerns. I've got the v rake for the weekend to demo it, but with this forecast, I don't know if i'll have the chance to get a good test run with it.
What i'm after is, how many out there use a v rake, what type of crop do you have and what are your good AND bad experiences with them? I would love to gain the time-saving that a v rake would offer, but if the hay is thick or not quite dry enough, I don't want to be wishing I had kept my 256.

Any and ALL input would be very appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

DT86 · Jun 8, 2013

We use a 20 year old, no name 8 wheel V rake on our mixed grass hay. It works very well except in super heavy or green hay, but it sounds like you already knew that. For me this is especially true if you try to rake cross ways the direction you mowed.

It will skip a little hay on the inside of turns, so I just rake in a way that I don't have any sharp corners. The hay that is left unturned in the middle of the windrow is hard for the baler to pick up, some now have a small center wheel to flip this middle section up out of the grass. I simply make a windrow, turn at the end and come back with the tire just to the side of the windrow. That way the rake flips the windrow over and I get 50% more hay in each windrow since it now contains 1.5 passes worth of hay.

To clarify on the no turns part ...
When at all possible we will rake 3-4 rounds and wait on the baler to finish, then come back and rake the rest of the field straight up and back. When I rake and roll hay by myself I will rake the center of the field up and back and THEN rake the outside last.

Tx Jim · Jun 8, 2013

I own a H&S Hi-cap bi-fold 14 wheel rake that has raked untold 1000's of acres that I bought new in 2002. I owned a Vermeer R23 before I bought the H&S. I have yet to find a crop it won't rake. I have raked hay with my rake that was making 8(eight) 4X5.5 rd bales per acre.I rake 3 nine ft cuts unless the field makes over 4 rd bales per acre. The secret to getting the undisturbed hay picked up by baler teeth is travel the with baler the opposite direction that the crop stems are laying. I cut CW with a disc cutter that lays hay flat and I bale CCW. I personally don't like nor would own a "fold in the air" similar to a Butterfly rake. The frame on most of these type rakes obstructs the flow of the hay especially if hay gets very thick. Plus there's not good way to adjust amount of hay to be raked and windrow width. I can adjust windrow width with a crank on the rear and raking width with the touch of a hyd cylinder control lever

CW_Farm · Jun 10, 2013

Well, after trying it this weekend I decided to pass on the v rake and stick with my bar rake for the time being. The biggest reason was that the hay I tried it out on wasn't the thickest stuff that I bale, and the hay kept balling up between the tires and the wheel units. I was impressed with how well it did the raking though, so i'll definitely be doing some more research on different brands of rakes and hopefully get one in the near future. Thanks for the input guys!