Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks - LH/RH rolabar or V wheel rake?

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LH/RH rolabar or V wheel rake?

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Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=205994
Printed Date: 09 May 2025 at 2:48pm
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Topic: LH/RH rolabar or V wheel rake?

Posted By: structures
Subject: LH/RH rolabar or V wheel rake?
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2025 at 5:49am

Any opinions on which is better? I've never used a wheel rake just a NH 56 rolabar.

I'm cutting around 40 acres for hay. I have an old 14' swather that makes my windrows. I've been using a NH 56 rolabar rake to combine 2 rows into 1. Every so often I see a LH and RH rolabar come up for sale and I was thinking that would be nice to speed up raking. I can rake pretty fast with the rolabar. The old used LH and RH rolabars are kind of expensive compared to a wheel rake.

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Robert
http://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82702&KW=structures&title=structures-1964-allis-d15-series-ii" rel="nofollow - 1964 D15 Series II

Replies:

Posted By: klinemar
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2025 at 7:05am

Wheel rakes are fast,cover wider swath if you get a v rake. The downside to wheel rakes is they gather dirt and small stones in with the hay as they follow the ground with more pressure. If you adjust them to less ground pressure then they leave hay. They also have a tendency to rope the window which can leave hay that didn't get dry. I traded my New Holland Rollabar Rake for a Rotary Rake. I know they are more money,but they do a fantastic job of raking. And you can rake early with less leaf loss because a Rotary Rake stands the window up so air can get through to dry the hay.

Posted By: jvin248
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2025 at 8:22am

I grew up with the old roll bar rakes and whenever I see those rotary rakes run it looks like all the leaves get beat off the stems so you have stem bales. Watch the feed value disappear.

The wheel rakes are fragile. YouTube channel onelonelyfarmer did a couple of episodes on his wheel rake woes and was considering building his own to be more durable.

Get a demo unit for any proposed rake to run the same field conditions as your old rake and really compare hay quality side by side.

You might rake more acres in a day but if your bale-yield per acre drops plus nutrition drops then you are behind the game.