3pt Hay Rake Advice

farmallboy15 · Jul 26, 2020

So I have just a handful of hay acres. Most of which are irregularly shaped. I’m in the market to purchase a 3pt rake since I dread borrowing equipment.

I have been seeing a lot of 3pt roll a bar style rakes for sale cheap locally. I think the 3pt mount would make it a lot easier to get nice windrows in my irregular fields. Does any one have any experience with these? Some pictures of one’s I am looking at are below. Who made these and can you still get parts? I assume tines and belts can be had fairly easily...

farmallboy15 · Jul 26, 2020

Photos didn’t attach

Bill VA · Jul 26, 2020

I have a John Deere 350 - 3pt rake and it does a nice job.

grandpa Love · Jul 26, 2020

I was using a ford 3 point rake. It did fine. Bought a New Holland 56 draw bar pull behind. I love it! Rakes nice and can pull it with a Farmall cub if you want.

caterpillar guy · Jul 26, 2020

3 point rakes will not make as nice of a corner as you might think, since they counter swing from the rear of the tractor. Pull rakes will come around the corner with smoother curves to the windrow. We have a wheel rake that goes on the 3 pt and it does just what I am explaining bad enough I lift it and back into the corner for the first couple of rounds. Now I did make a modification so I can rake 2 single windrows and let them set evenly and separately. thus can rake about 20 acres in about an hour with it and not racing around the field.

Keith Molden · Jul 26, 2020

I have a John Deere 350 3 point rake for sale. I'm in S.E. Ohio. I went to a V rake. I also have a New Holland 256 pull type rake for sale, My email is open Keith

farmallboy15 · Jul 26, 2020

PM sent

Janicholson · Jul 26, 2020

The smaller the field, and the more irregular, the more effort it takes to make balor drivers happy. The advantage of a three point is the ability to lift and backup allowing contouring windrows nicely, but taking time to do it. A trailing rake is far easier to keep smooth at headlands or corners but does not back up. Jim

RayP(MI) · Jul 26, 2020

Had a NI 3pointer. Did a great job on a Farmall 200, with 3pt adapters. And yes, I learned to make wide sweeping corners. Easy to do since rake followed rear of tractor. Only problem was if I let rake drop too far into a depression in the ground, PTO shaft would slide out with damaging consequences. Made nice fluffy windrows that dried quickly.

Now limping around with a 5 wheel pull type rake that doesn't do near as satisfactory job. Windrows aren't as fluffy, and dry slower.

550Doug · Jul 26, 2020

I use a New Holland 256 pull type and attach it to a drawbar on the 3pth arms. I can lift the 3pth up and then reverse easily.

paul · Jul 26, 2020

Three point rakes suck for corners. Really, really suck. When you turn one way it will make a bigger circle and leave hay lay in an odd cul du sac shape, and turn the other way and the rake will be scraping crossways and not really raking, leaves a wide mess of unrated hay.

So you will be much more maneuverable with a 3pt one, but your baler driver will be very unhappy on irregular fields trying to follow the horrible corners they make.

I’d rather spend another 15 minutes with a normal pull type NH rollabar rake On an odd field and get nice corners, and then baling is so much more fun and easy.

Paul

Robert (ID) · Jul 26, 2020

Both of those rakes are early ferguson.. They have cast spiders.. watch those for cracks. I've seen many of them break. Usually because someone has had it on too big of a tractor and ran it way above speed... I still have one that was bought new and run it with a ford NAA. 3rd gear and just above an idle works fine for us. The next series newer had a stamped steel spider,still cracked but easier to repair then the cast ones.. they could be marked ferguson, massey ferguson, massey harris... all the same basic rake.. most parts are basic and can be found.

olgentdc · Jul 26, 2020

i use a 3 pt wheel rake with 5 wheels , I learn more every yr i use it , and i have been using one for 30 yrs .Those trained up and roller bar rakes will cut the wheel rake to bits in disgust and frustration , But YOU CAN LEARN The foriegn language of wheel rakes . I have found the best way to get long with these rakes is to go around the entire field pulling the hay out from under the trees and into the sunlite , this allows the hay to air , Then go to the middle of the field and find the last swath mowen , rake that together in a double windroww, Th, en go around the middle of the field pulling the hay toward thecenter windrow while circling the field , you will make far less trips that way and will rake the field in half the time Than if you started outside and kept pushing the hay outwards .. The idea works very well in thick hay single windrows . and .. IT does not require a lot of thought to double up the windrows for light hay

ford1956tractor · Jul 26, 2020

I used the Ferguson you have pictured for years and loved it. NH 57 is equally as good. 5 bars vs. 4 bars has a big influence on rake job you do.

larry@stinescorner · Jul 26, 2020

where are you located?

farmallboy15 · Jul 26, 2020

I’m in south central Ohio

Mike(NEOhio) · Jul 26, 2020

I have a Ford 503 and hate it. It does OK if once you learn what to do with it. I usually use it behind a 2000. Hard to make nice smooth corners that are easy to bale around and they don't dry good. It you turn sharp it drags they hay around and leaves it in a large pile when you straighten out. Trick it to start into the turn gradually and at the midpoint gradually return to straight. I'll often carry a fork and get off and even out the windrow corners. In a straight section the slightels twitch on the steering wheel will leave a kink in the windrow.

db4600 · Jul 26, 2020

I haven’t used one in many years, In fact I haven’t used a hay rake for many years except for my old CASE long sweep last summer. Growing up on a central Mn dairy farm the only rake we had was a JD 3pt. PTO rake. My take was it gave us more flexibility to turn the crop at an acceptable rate and adjust the ground speed depending on heavy meadow hay or light stand alfalfa. I can’t say that we ever noticed the glitch with corners, but maybe Pa trained that out of me and I didn’t catch it.

wels · Jul 26, 2020

I use a 6 bar Ferguson rake like the ones you have pictured, it works well and was cheap.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 26, 2020

You're wising up,just need to get an Oliver tractor to be full bore 1st class(LOL)

Traditional Farmer · Jul 26, 2020

I've owned and used two 3 pt rakes an AC and a NH never could figure out why I bought the 2nd one since I hated the first one so much.2nd one was no better.

showcrop · Jul 26, 2020

What Caterpillar guy and Paul said. 3pt is fine for straight but for irregular fields they will make your windrows impossible to follow. I used a three point MF for two years. You can have it for nothing.

Texasmark1 · Jul 28, 2020

3 pt 4 basket useless........parallel bar, priceless. If you are a BTO, drag type, V setups of baskets appear to be "the thing"......good for large rectangular fields....no where to be found on my place....just he opposite....at least I'm not trying to hay at a 45* angle like some folks.

farmallboy15 · Jul 29, 2020

Update: Keith set me up with a nice NH 256 rake. I guess the Ford 3000 will get tedder duty and the Farmall H will get rake duty like I originally planned! Here's a picture of our place that I get the pleasure to toy with old equipment on.

showcrop · Jul 29, 2020

Very picturesque!

3pt Hay Rake Advice

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