Vermeer 504C belts crossing over

I just acquired an old Vermeer 504C round baler, and I'm having trouble with the belts. It made a small bale, but the belts crossed over each other. I'm wondering if they need to be tighter or looser?

Thanks for any insight.

Is this your first round baler? You need a large windrow and fast ground speed. I bought a new round baler in 1979. There was only one other one in the neighborhood at the time. I tore the lacing out of a belt and flipped several before I ever made a bale with it. The other guy who had one watched me when I got home from having the belt relaced. He told me what I just told you. I tried some heavier hay and went like 60 until I got the hang of it.

When you go to start a bale you have to go from side to side real fast especially if the windrows aren't big or the belts will cross. I have seen people go into a windrow sideways to start a bale so the baler gets an even amount all the way across. After the bale is started you have to keep an eye on it and keep the bale level by going from side to side all the time your baling. We used the Massey version of the 504C from 1979 to 1997. It's a closed throat baler with narrow belts so whatever you do,make sure the hay is dry and if you see a green spot in the hay,go around it or you will get to experience taking your knife and cutting the hay off of the starting roller. You can add the wider belts to the 504C if you modify the belt guides. It's been done to a lot of those balers. We never did ours that way. Also if any of the belts are looser than the others it can cause them to cross.

Possible it isn't tracking right - the rollers are not parrallel, you
screw on some cross members to fix that.

More likely you are not feeding it right to start the bale. Need
to hit the windrow at an angle almost and get hay all the way
across the pickup very soon to get the full width of the bale
started right away. As the other fella says.

Paul

As others have said you need a decent windrow to get a bale started.
This is not always an option.
What I do to start a bale in light material without messing up the belts is;
Travel into the windrow with the right side of the pick-up lined up with the row, as soon as the pick-up meets the hay quickly crank the steering wheel a half turn to the right then a half turn to the left, this will shift the baler over so the left side of the pick-up is now taking in material.
Ignore the middle of the pick-up just keep feeding hay into the corners switching sides every 10 seconds or so, the middle will take care of itself.

(quoted from post at 06:10:54 09/28/14) Is this your first round baler? You need a large windrow and fast ground speed. I bought a new round baler in 1979. There was only one other one in the neighborhood at the time. I tore the lacing out of a belt and flipped several before I ever made a bale with it. The other guy who had one watched me when I got home from having the belt relaced. He told me what I just told you. I tried some heavier hay and went like 60 until I got the hang of it.

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60 mph? Or I guess 60 bph (bales per hour)? Thanks! I'm going to try this today!

Thanks! This is great advice! I'm going to give it a try today and see if I can get it to work.

Thank you! I'll try again today.

(quoted from post at 05:18:33 09/28/14) I just acquired an old Vermeer 504C round baler, and I'm having trouble with the belts. It made a small bale, but the belts crossed over each other. I'm wondering if they need to be tighter or looser?

Thanks for any insight.

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ou should have left the thing were it was but i guess it is to late for that.
The next best advice is to swap the narrow 4" belts with 10" wide belts and make sure the rubber on the top feed roller is all there.
get a manual from Vermeer (they are free)

On second thought it might be a better idea to take the contraption straight to the scrap yard and buy a real baler.

From a experienced (25 years) Vermeer 605 C and D user :wink:

I had the Massey version of this,a 450. I had trouble at first ,too.But I did have a manual with it and made adjustments.On each side of the baler are 2 chains that go under a pulley. You have to put a bolt in a certain link and it takes tension off the belts.And then ,like others said, start with a large windrow and weave side to side and get hay all across the width of the belts, and go a little faster ground speed,then slow down as bale gets bigger.Keep engine at pto speed!Weave back and forth to keep hay going in as even as posible.The most IMPORTANT THING: THE HAY MUST BE DRY.That baler will not work in damp hay! Good luck.Mark

(quoted from post at 18:33:42 10/02/14) I had the Massey version of this,a 450. I had trouble at first ,too.But I did have a manual with it and made adjustments.On each side of the baler are 2 chains that go under a pulley. You have to put a bolt in a certain link and it takes tension off the belts.And then ,like others said, start with a large windrow and weave side to side and get hay all across the width of the belts, and go a little faster ground speed,then slow down as bale gets bigger.Keep engine at pto speed!Weave back and forth to keep hay going in as even as posible.The most IMPORTANT THING: THE HAY MUST BE DRY.That baler will not work in damp hay! Good luck.Mark

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Thank you, this is very helpful! I made four bales but a belt broke. It was having a lot of trouble with the pick up and I think the belt might be the problem because it's a make a belt. I bought a new one to replace it and am going to see if it works today.

To elaborate,I've sold the baler several years ago,but it was ok for my own use.The bolts in the chain I was refering to,made the belts too loose to turn when the the gate was closed and locked.The pickup would be turning,and the bottom rollers,and as hay was drawn in,the belts would begin to turn and form the bale.By the belts not turning for a moment, it allowed you to get hay all the way across and start a bale little more even.Also ,do as Determined said too.
With this baler you have to watch the hay feed very careful; you look back more than forward.Mark