Rock And Rollabar | My Turn Raking Hay

[@kalemartin2437]

I’m 14 and I’m still happy as hell riding a tractor all summer for dad and grandpa and all the neighbours

[@applejack120]

Well it looked like it smelled good, I always found you keep the discharge of the rake slightly higher then you fluff up better, less roping. Thanks for the nice video Old Boy, I'm 72 got a couple of years on you. looks like your branching out.

[@14Marathons]

Great video Travis. I really enjoyed it and the dialogue.. Thanks..

[@MY-bw2nb]

You are absolutely right about the smell of the hay . If you find it smells really good to you the livestock also like the smell also shows by how fast they devour it

[@brianhrobsky9200]

I raked many acres with a rake just like yours. Yes, freshly raked hay takes me back to my younger days as well. The first tractor i raked with was a Farmall M. Im definitely thankful for those memories.

[@renaekatsma3666]

This was my childhood also. I raked with a John Deere 2510 and a John Deere rake just like that one. My uncle only let me do this a few times alone and only if he could keep an eye on me. It was the best thing that happened to me the first time he sent me on my own. Thanks for this video and the reminder of my childhood. Keep them coming Travis!

[@Blazer02LS]

All those modern machines... The last time I did a full season of hay we used a sickle bar to cut it, then a crusher, then a tedder and finally a rake like this. Finally the old Super 77 baler with a V4 Wisconsin on it with a flat deck wagon behind it. All of these were pulled with a Ferguson 35 (sickle, crusher, baler), a Ferguson TO20 (sickle and rake) and a vintage F-20 that pulled the decks around. That was LONG ago though.

[@ronlarson2561]

Looks like you are loving raking hay with the 4020. Growing up I always told my dad that I loved the smell of fresh cut hay. My dad said that it smelled better when it was made and put away. Again another great video and THANK YOU for your time of making them.

[@canvids1]

As a young lad growing up my first tractor was a small 4 cylinder Case and My first job once I got used to the tractor was a side rake like yours raking hay. Good Video Travis I enjoy listening to you talk while watching the video. Thanks for the video.

[@MatthewHoag77]

Raking is the quintessential simple summer task. The Relena Rake will see a lot of easy summer hours over the next several decades. I never went much further than that in my tractor-driving "training". Good to see this footage after all the post-auction maintenance and preparations you did.

[@BWYinYang]

The New Holland rake is already paid itself, perfect for small area and water ways.

[@jasonstockbridge1489]

Looking great Travis. Hay quality likes very good and promising. I never know equipment if it works and does the job and is easy to maintain that saves your bottom line. In a nut shell. Thanks again Travis

[@PAHerefords]

We do all of our raking with our 256... makes it nice that you can use any tractor to run them. Gotta love old school!

[@Quarton]

This was one of my Favorite Jobs when I was 9 or 10 years old! Raking hay is easy, and fun.

[@erickatsma5776]

Very cool to see the roller bar rake in action,brings back great memories of raking hay,thanks for the update Travis

[@waterskiingfool]

Glad the new rake is working good

[@nickwest3157]

On our roll bar rakes. We set them where we like them (height wise). Them it’s always 10 cranks to where you want to be. Going down the road crank each handle 10 times. Get to the field down 10 cranks. Always worked well for us

[@tucobenedicto109]

I am happy your hay looks good and is dry. I smelled that hay when i was a kid. Leo (Rip) and justing his son Justin mowed, with a hesston, and raked with the new holland rake like yours. They square baled with a hesston and two carts. Lots of hand work. Then years later they got a red round baler not sure of make. In upstate NY on a unique farm, Love the stories of grandpa, and your father saving your ears. "Nothing like a Farm" Quoted from field of dreams.

[@ericrisch9616]

I used to to rake with an open station 2944 and a rotary rake. I got a little excited when I started taking about it. Good memories

[@thomascox1551]

I'm 14 my first time driving a tractor on my own was in a 2007 John Deere 6330 premium with a 3.5m slasher on the back in the summer slashing where the cattle had just grazed for the day on our dairy farm. Time flies thats 6 years ago time really flies. My dad wouldn't trust me with kuhn rotary rake that thing copped a beating.

[@cleobean8723]

Nothing wrong with the side-bar rakes. Actually are better to produce higher quality hay than other types (dirt contamination). The spring teeth on the NH side style are rather robust in my experience, e.g., they last a long time and don't break off easily. The roping of hay is not really a deal breaker either. Generally, if you're not double/triple wind-rowing, you won't have a problem. I find the side style do better in thinner hay than other styles. I got rid of our front wheels; didn't get much benefit, just made it nearly impossible to back up. Add some discharge flaps; makes a huge difference. These rakes do max out on forward speed; about 6mph, maybe 7 on smoooooth fields... Good stuff

[@jasonhoffmann7317]

Brings back a lot of memories. I raked hundreds of acres when I was kid. Just like you, it was one of the first tasks I learned how to do "on my own". Just make sure you dont turn too short to the right. I learned that lesson on day 1. lol

[@farmertyler8087]

I grew up on open stations and never even thought anything of it

[@lukestrawwalker]

Most of the guys that gripe about rolabar rakes don't *really* know how to set one up or use them... I've seen enough rakes at sales that have been used as "tillage implements" by yahoos running them "down in the dirt" trying to get every last blade of grass off a field to know that it's true. The slot at the front of the rake frame where you can adjust the front basket pivot point up and down makes a HUGE difference in the job it does. If you loosen that pivot bolt and raise it ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP OF THE SLOT, the rake will LIFT the hay and push it sideways, with less rolling motion, making a looser, fluffier windrow. If you loosen the bolt and slide it all the way to the BOTTOM of the slot, it rolls the hay more FORWARD and to the side as it rakes, creating much more of a ROLLING action and rolling up a tighter "roped" windrow. Now WHY would you EVER want to roll up a tighter, roped windrow, you ask?? Well, in light crop conditions or short hay, especially in areas that are very WINDY, rolling a tighter windrow will be more RESISTANT to being blown apart and scattered by the wind. In TALLER, THICKER hay, OF COURSE you DO NOT want a "roped" windrow, so you need to adjust the basket front pivot ALL the way up so you minimize the twist to the windrow and get that taller, fluffier windrow that aids air drying and air circulation through the hay. Personally, 99 times out of a hundred I run the rake with the basket front pivot ALL THE WAY UP IN THE SLOT and it does a really nice job. All the way down or even "in the middle" is just for those *FEW* "special situations" where it calls for it. The rake also rakes cleaner and pulls easier (does a better job overall) when adjusted to the top of the slot. As for "rake depth" or tine height... in very short-stubble hay cut really close to the ground, and short or light hay, the tines should *JUST BARELY TOUCH* the ground AT THE LOWEST when setting the rake up to go. In "regular" cuts of hay, the tines should actually be anywhere from just off the ground to about maybe an inch off the ground (from the tips of the teeth) and in HEAVY hay, the tines can be run at "stubble height" or *just* below stubble height... the heavier the hay the less a rolabar rake (and pretty much ANY rake for that matter) will lose or "miss". There's never ANY circumstances where a rolabar rake should be run with the teeth scratching into the dirt on EVERY TURN across the entire width... it's not going to get hardly any more hay into the windrow, and it WILL tear up the rake, ultimately. Rakes are NOT tillage tools... Setting the teeth to *barely* skim the ground, or even a half inch to an inch above the ground, you'll look back occasionally and see scratch marks in the soil or stubble where the rake teeth hit the ground hard enough to dig a little... tire goes thru a low spot or basket goes over a high spot, or the rake hits a varmint hole or clod and bounces hard and bounces the basket down into the ground... This is natural and happens all the time, and usually does NO harm to the rake-- BUT *prolonged CONSTANT* contact between the tines and the ground where they're ALWAYS digging in the soil with every turn, THAT will damage or destroy a rake over time. Now, WHEEL rakes tend to be operated a little lower-- in really thin, light hay, you DO set them so the tines hit the soil SOME so they actually are GROUND DRIVEN by *ground contact*, but in taller stubble and thicker hay, they can be set higher with the tines just off the ground and the HAY (and stubble) will drive the wheels as it's pulled across the field. Regardless of rake type, *ALL* rakes WILL miss SOME hay, to some degree, PARTICULARLY in light or thin hay and particularly in short hay. A rotary rake operated REAL SLOW will probably get the MOST hay in such conditions, but they're also the most expensive rakes to buy and own (maintenance and repairs) and cost several times what a wheel or even rolabar rake costs... It just amazes me that guys will literally tear up a several thousand dollar piece of equipment (a new hay rake) by running it *down in the dirt* to scrape up *maybe* enough hay on a 50 acre field to make another bale or half-bale... it's crazy! I mean, even a BALER doesn't get everything... hay falls off the pickup or gets missed or not picked up because the tires go over a high spot and the pickup is over a low spot, or other things of that sort... hay rakes *of whatever design* do the same thing... NO rake will pick up "every blade of hay on the field" no matter how low it's run... When I set a rake, I pull over the swath, lower it down til it's level or the lead end (RH side for a LH delivery rake) is just a *smidge* lower than the delivery end, and give the basket a spin by hand... if it sweeps the hay clean off the ground that the basket is lowered over, it's probably good to go. If it doesn't, lower a crank or two more, and try again. If the teeth are hitting the ground lightly, that's okay, so long as the rake will spin a full turn to turn-and-a-half with a good spin on the basket... if the rake turns less than a turn, or the teeth hits, stops the basket, and spins it BACKWARDS a bit til the bar in front of its teeth hits the ground and stops it, then the rake is running TOO LOW and needs to be picked up a turn or so... Of course sometimes you'll happen to park with a wheel in a low spot or on a high spot, or with the basket bars over a low spot, and when you shift the rake in gear and jump on the tractor, you'll notice it's not doing a good job-- either too high and leaving hay, or too low and scratching the soil. I stop from full speed and hit the tractor brakes quickly, and watch the basket spin down-- if it spins several turns and comes to a gradual stop, it's not too low... if it stops very quickly or teeth hit the ground and spins it backwards til the bar in front of it hits the ground, sometimes spinning it back FORWARDS again, it's WAY too low! Give it a quick adjustment and pull forward another 50-100 feet and see what it does, what job it's doing. Yeah it takes a little time, but it's well worth it in prolonging the life and minimizing breakdowns of the rake and equipment, and once you have it "dialed in" you're pretty well ready to go for the rest of the field and can just jump on and go and cover some acres... Later! OL J R :)

[@SimonKL11]

Great to see the rake doing some work👍

[@Pinziee]

Thx 4 the video and the voice over. Looking forward to the next one;-) Greetings from Belgium !

[@jaycow3154]

Your right about keeping those teeth on the rake they break off and find your rear tractor tire eventually at least that has been our luck

[@daveblodgett9371]

My dad said exactly what you did Travis as to why he didn't like those bar rakes. The rope effect. He always liked the rotary rakes that lift n move the hay, downfall of those is they dig in the dirt n can knock the leafes off; obviously not a big issue when you in grass. And looks like your running 4th gear bout 1500rpm but hard to tell without sound

[@Adam_Poirier]

We have that same rake. There was always bailing twine wrapped around the Cranks my entire life and I have fond memories of getting yelled at when I was a kid for breaking multiple teeth off😂

[@paleface21321321]

I really appreciate your hard work and your videos. Like you said previously you explain so much of what is going on behind the scenes and are true to yourself in your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@johnmorgan4017]

Nice old rake! I grew up riding on a make shift seat in the v of a new holland rake. I was the on off lever guy. Lol Until I was old enough to run it anyway.

[@stanleyjones4180]

enjoyed the video travis thanks hope you get all your hay in before it rains

[@ChrisTessmer]

Great looking hay, I can smell it from here. My 1st cut this year was real nice quality too, huge difference from the mess of last year.

[@brittblanton8342]

Thanks for the video Travis brings back some good memories when I used my N H 256 to rake hay I always had to use a rubber strap to hold the handles if not they would turn, the hay looks great 👍

[@matt56849]

Where you show how it can “rope” the hay, there is an adjustment for that in the upper right of the screen, you raise it in the slot to make a fluffier windrow and lower it to make a tighter windrow.

[@brittblanton8342]

Yes that’s absolutely right my 256 N H was like that

[@patkelly7999]

That is a nifty little rake Travis, nice, the smell of fresh hay I think can take us all back to a certain time:):)

[@ianhaggart1438]

That was and is a nice set up. Would also make a nice screen saver shot. It's good seeing the older equipment paying for its keep doing what it was built for. Hope you get good hay out of it. We are away to start silage baling next week so all go here. All the best to you and family from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@clinthochrein888]

Seeing this brings back a lot of memories

[@noelhohberger1188]

I swear there is a billion of those rakes. Spent hours running one

[@williamwimer2074]

I've set my handles and tied to stop turning for many years now.

[@tractorsold1]

After we got a haybine, the only time we used the bar rake was to roll the windrow over to dry on the bottom. And that was only to make small squares, most of the hay was chopped. The 40 hp tractor was more than enough.

[@jasonmitchell7849]

Side delivery rakes are time consuming. It takes forever to get one wind row made. V rakes are lot faster and you ought to get one. You'll be glad you did.

[@TheRestOfTheStory]

28 ft rhino back home

[@Mezz1982]

I learned to rake with a rake alot like this one, the two we have doesn't have the front wheel dolly. First time I pulled it used a D17 Alice Chalmers. It was probably the safest tracker on the farm because it had brakes and power steering. We also used CA's with tricycle front ends and a WD that run off propane. I hated the CA's, the brakes sucked, was ruff riding and I almost turned them over more them more than once. Also turn to sharp a few times and end with with the rake up on the tractor with me. Always loved the WD even though no power steering. The way it sounded with the straight pipe when the governors opened up, still makes we smile. And we kept baler twine or tie wire on the rake at all time, because the handles wouldn't stay in place.

[@Massey2675]

I do love watching a rolerbar world

[@jefmiller9057]

We had a New Holland rake like yours. It worked ok but you are right it roped the hay and sometimes it would roll it completely over and the wet side would end up back on the bottom. What worked well for us was a 2 wheel rake that hooked onto the 3- point of our Ford Jubilee. We could run the Ford in road gear and it would flip it over just perfect, if you drove in the right spot. The rake was made by DARF. I see they are still on the web but it doesn't look like they make the two wheel version.

[@bigwheelsturning]

Alfalfa is not worth the cost to put it in the ground. Always problems getting a good cover without heavy irrigation and the right soils. Instead of planting more corn, make the waterways wider. Better for the farm and less soil loss. I guess my grandpa didn't like me, as I had to use the M and 300 without a cab all day long.

[@ReverseProof]

Good video, Travis!

[@FoolOfATuque]

We make grass hay. I will cut it Saturday morning and bale it Sunday afternoon. If you make lopsided bales your friends make fun of you as well. Lol!

[@georgeungemach6834]

And pull it out of the barn monday because it is hot

[@FoolOfATuque]

@@georgeungemach6834 not here in South Texas where it is 95 degrees with a steady wind.

[@rivervalleyfarm482]

Never had an issue with material not drying in a wind row from a rolla bar rake. To those who worry about drying hay in a wind row try flipping a wind row with a v rake.

[@deereboy23]

First tractor I drove was a 4230 at 5 yrs old (still have) first tractor I drove alone was a 3020 ( mom gave grandpa helll over letting me at about 12 yrs old) first tractor I ever did work on (raking with NH roll bar rake) was a JD 60 (still have)

[@deereboy23]

Ps as I learned from my dad if you don’t want the handles to move just never.....ever.....grease or lube them. Also pray that they are exactly where you want them in that case.

[@richardwilkens4577]

Those handles always moved on every NH I used

[@stevewalker9449]

We always had to tie our together

[@billylindauer3636]

We cultivate corn because we are organic. Takes forever. 4 rows at a time.

[@georgeungemach6834]

Count the turns when you wine the rake up when you are done remembering how many you did you have a base line for next time you rake

[@lukestrawwalker]

What I do is when I have it set, and have to screw the cranks up to go to the next field, instead of just cranking them up all the way, I just crank them up a set number of turns, usually either 20 or 25 will do... lifts the basket up enough to clear everything when I'm going in/out of the field and down the road, but a simple number to crank it back down again that same number at the next field and be pretty much ready to go... Later! OL J R :)

[@matt56849]

Our handles always move if you don’t tie them somehow.

[@ethanringelberg9771]

Matthew Rohmiller to much grease on them then ours don’t also speed may cause that

[@mattphillips4260]

when you guys going to show the kuhn hay tools off they brought to yall

[@mattphillips4260]

@John Haas all i have is you tube i dont have the others you talk of have tried some of them and could not get the hang of them so i shut them down and deleted them

[@TheRestOfTheStory]

I won't show them much if at all. Its Ryan's deal.

[@witty1764]

Hey Travis just wondering if you would ever consider demoing or investing in an auto bale collector like the ones that Andersons build.

[@TheRestOfTheStory]

I'd need. Boatload of acres to justify that

[@larrybg9293]

Omg not the bailer

[@mickoostingh5777]

you tube says you have 2.14 million subscribers

[@scottch699]

Travis, my daughter was just born on Friday. Where can I submit her job application to you?

[@caj8968]

Why didnt you use the Kuhn windrower?

[@TheRestOfTheStory]

We ran both

[@ftfarmerfix9778]

I have that rake but it is really old and dose not have the front wheels

[@dougvaldivia3395]

perhaps in your younger years the mindset was work with what you have and do your best...now there are so many options that "pay for themselves" right?

[@paulreed6340]

Oh yeah by the way the baler blew up. Wtf!?

[@TheRestOfTheStory]

Well, it did.

[@jace7.3king]

Y are u guys using a bar rake when u have the rhino??

[@mikelatham146]

👍👍👍