Combo rake tedder experiences? Please chip in

Give me input on experiences, I know they are less reliable, but a rotary rake and dedicated tedder are a second trip to the yard more unhooking of 3pt equipment. If I was doing dedicated pieces I would want trailed for ease of hookup.

I've been getting a list of models together to get peoples brains ticking:

-NH 254/255 lots of comments about these on ytmag, 254 bushings, too many acres on some units, costly to run over lots of ground.
-Heston 3750/NI 4264 - I like the ability to centre or outside rake with these sister models
-PZ Haybob (and copies) -eats lots of teeth in rocky ground, narrow raking width.
-Vicon- silly fiberglass windrow discs on back, cheap, nobody seems to want them.
-Simack - Sim-who? seems to be a copy of the NH
-Vermeer TR-90 - can't find any used ones
-Kuhn GR combo models - much less popular than other kuhn products...
-Fransguard - their combo looks almost like a rebadged kuhn with an even higher price

Any models I'm missing? Not interested in the families of Deutz ones, have a deutz tedder already.

I do know there are a lot of old Haybob's in my area. For the most part they all seem to keep ticking along. They're just slow. If you're not covering much area though, they're probably one of the most reliable low cost options out there.
I can't really speak to any of the others on your list, so I'll leave it at that.

Rod

If you have 2 grand, I've got a 254 that will be in good condition, ready to go to the field..... For that price, I'd even throw in all the spare parts I've accumulated over the years. Be ready in a couple weeks..... Careful I don't take your hand off with an offer like that. Hope you find something that works for you. That said, I would inspect any NH tedder/rake very very carefully. Look mostly at the arm hangers and the roll pins that support them, along with the latches that hold them in place. That's a critical wear area, and once they get loose there, everything else goes to hell pretty quick. Use extreme caution involving the purchase of one of those machines. Good luck.

Rod

After your experience with combo one what dirrection are you heading? Separate equipment?

If I go separate I would really have to weld up a three point adapter for the skidsteer q/a plate on my front end loader so I could get both pieces to the fields without towing a wagon.

Yes, I'm going with separate gear. We bought a Kuhn 43XX? Masterdrive rake last year. Can't remember the exact model number, but it's about 14' working width, fully mounted. I'm fairly happy with it so far. It's well built and works fast. I don't really like the way it makes a row in some ways, as it tends to put more hay in one side than the other, which can be a pain with a round baler. It's also a lot like a hoover vacuum. It gathers up every stick, stone and pebble on the field, and there doesn't seem to be any way to prevent that. It either takes everything, or if it's set higher, it misses hay... However, I'm just so glad to be able to go and rake a field quickly and without incident.
I'm still using the 254 as a conventional tedder, which it works fairly well at, although it's not very quick. I would rather go to a 4 basket tedder, simply to cover more ground quicker. I like to cover 20-30 acres a day, and the tedder is slow, and way to slow to do both that and rake in the same day....
I was only half kidding about selling the 254, but would if you're interested. If so, shoot me an e-mail. We'll talk. I'm in Cape Breton, but if you're not in a panic, it can be moved. Take care.

Rod

We are square baling and can't handle more than about 10-15 acres a day, usually around 6 unless we get and acculator or something.

We cover about 3 acres an hour mowing, raking, and sadly tedding too as our 4 basket deutz only has 2/4 baskets still running. I'm punching out about 4 acres an hour baling.

My email is f518t (take out this part and put in an at symbol)
hotmail.com I should worry about the spam proofing as I get 50 spam a day already but whatever.