Self Propelled Rake Speeds Hay Harvest

1989 - Volume #13, Issue #4, Page #36

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Mike Corrales, Othello, Wash., "self-propelled" his Allen pull-type double V-rake by removing the cab and power steering system from a New Holland automatic bale wagon and mounting them on the front of the rake.
Corrales welded the cab to the front of the frame and installed a Pontiac 231 V-6 engine directly behind it.
"It's much easier to operate a self-propelled machine than a pull-type one," says Mike, a commercial hay producer in partnership with his father Angel and brother Steve. "The short turning radius means it handles corners better than any pull-type rake and we can bring two 16-ft. swaths together. The front tire, which pulls and steers the rig, replaces four tractor tires so there's less damage to alfalfa regrowth. The Pontiac engine is so fuel efficient that we were able to rake 250acres of hay on one 30-gal. tank of gas. We got the idea from the Allen Co., which at one time tried to build a self-propelled rake but gave up on the idea. We were expanding our operation and were at the point where we had to either make the conversion or buy another tractor. The Allen rake cost $15,000 and self-propelling it cost only another $5,000."
Corrales built the rig's drive wheel out of one of the four front-end columns from a 4-wheel lumber carrier used to straddle piles of lumber. They removed the wheel shaft from the carrier column and installed a home-built bracket in its place, mounting the hub and hydraulic motor on opposite sides of the bracket. The wheel mounts under the front of the cab. A gas tank and rectangular hydraulic reservoir also mount under the cab.
The rake is hydraulic driven by three separate hydraulic pumps which operate the steering, raking and propulsion. There are six controls: one starts and stops the hydraulic system, one lifts and lowers the rake baskets up and down, two extend each side of the rake, and two adjust the angle on each side of the rake.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Corrales, 680 Filbert Rd., Othello, Wash. 99344 (ph 509 269-4245).

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Self propelled rake speeds hay harvest HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Rakes (44) 13-4-36 Mike Corrales, Othello, Wash., "self-propelled" his Allen pull-type double V-rake by removing the cab and power steering system from a New Holland automatic bale wagon and mounting them on the front of the rake. Corrales welded the cab to the front of the frame and installed a Pontiac 231 V-6 engine directly behind it. "It's much easier to operate a self-propelled machine than a pull-type one," says Mike, a commercial hay producer in partnership with his father Angel and brother Steve. "The short turning radius means it handles corners better than any pull-type rake and we can bring two 16-ft. swaths together. The front tire, which pulls and steers the rig, replaces four tractor tires so there's less damage to alfalfa regrowth. The Pontiac engine is so fuel efficient that we were able to rake 250acres of hay on one 30-gal. tank of gas. We got the idea from the Allen Co., which at one time tried to build a self-propelled rake but gave up on the idea. We were expanding our operation and were at the point where we had to either make the conversion or buy another tractor. The Allen rake cost $15,000 and self-propelling it cost only another $5,000." Corrales built the rig's drive wheel out of one of the four front-end columns from a 4-wheel lumber carrier used to straddle piles of lumber. They removed the wheel shaft from the carrier column and installed a home-built bracket in its place, mounting the hub and hydraulic motor on opposite sides of the bracket. The wheel mounts under the front of the cab. A gas tank and rectangular hydraulic reservoir also mount under the cab. The rake is hydraulic driven by three separate hydraulic pumps which operate the steering, raking and propulsion. There are six controls: one starts and stops the hydraulic system, one lifts and lowers the rake baskets up and down, two extend each side of the rake, and two adjust the angle on each side of the rake. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Corrales, 680 Filbert Rd., Othello, Wash. 99344 (ph 509 269-4245).

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