D17 and big round baler

Back when I had cows, here, I baled with a D-12(III) pulled a Hesston 5530, did very well, everywhere, baling anything.  It needed one set of remotes, to open and close the rear door.  No monitor.  I'd say a 17 would pull a 540 or 550 Hesston, no problems!  Oh, and these Hesstons were re-badged by IH, and NI, and still in production, IIRR...

Oh we also need 3-4 remotes all but one double action. 

I have a Vermeer 504 silage I Baler that makes 4‘ wide x 5’ dia bales and use it on the 185’s mainly for the hydraulic PTO. I have ran it on the 175d without a struggle in dry hay. I think it requires 50hp min. It does not pull any load in dry hay until it is at full dia, meaning if there is a hp issue, you could simply cut off a little smaller. I prefer the monitor however, I also have a switch in case I would need to change tractors in hurry. This just means I have to watch it tie and turn the switch off and on. Most balers have the option for electric tie or hydraulic— I would stay away from the manual tie. If I only had a d17, I would use it, may not want to go down steep hills loaded would be my biggest issue. You need at a min ,is one dual outlet for pressure on the rear door. The other downside is the dust is close to you on the smaller tractors. I have baled anything that can be cut with this Baler.

Edited by allisbred - 18 Sep 2020 at 8:24am

There's matches for a 17, and older New Holland 846 would be perfect, not the prettiest bales but they work , 4 by 5 weigh around 1000 lbs a bale

   I have used a McKee 4 by 5 baler with hydraulic tie that required 2 sets of remotes on my Series 2 D17.A little under powered with the original engine but it got the job done .The tractor now has a combine engine and the extra power makes a difference.

We run a Case 8430/Hesston 540 with 175D, 4 x 4 bales, handles it no effort, groans a bit w/full bale on a grade. Only tractor we've ever used on it.

Hydraulics would be the major issue unless yours is a series 4 D17.  Earlier models had the low volume/single acting hydraulics - not good for something with lots of double acting cylinders on it.

Thanks everyone for the input. I have a Series 1 and was just dreaming. I think it sounds iffy at best.

Mike

The installation of a single spool two-way valve to the left side of the seat wouldn't cost more than $200 for the valve and hoses. If the tractor has fluid in the tires, a 4 x 4 baler sounds like it would be fine. I think 800 to 1,000 lb bales would be as big as I'd want to go.