silage wagon

caseman

just wondering if anybody here using a silage wagon thinking of buying one currently using tarrup double chop any advice would be appreciated

Agri contractor

caseman wrote: »

just wondering if anybody here using a silage wagon thinking of buying one currently using tarrup double chop any advice would be appreciated

Sold the self propelled in 07. We have 3 wagons now and delighted with them. Very little maintenance and great output.

Pacoa

What kind of tractor have ya? From what i've heard it's better to have something fairly big to stop the wagon bossing the tractor around.

Agri contractor

Pacoa wrote: »

What kind of tractor have ya? From what i've heard it's better to have something fairly big to stop the wagon bossing the tractor around.

Depends on the size of the wagon. We had strautmann vetesse 2 wagons and 130hp would be enough, but now we have strautmann giga's and need 200hp + to get the output. It is all down to the ground you work on and the output you need every day.

jeff greene

Need more details, whats the budget? HP available etc. I think they are a good job and would like one but my land is too fragmented and spread out to suit.

st1979

I have 1 for the last 3 years a strauttmann vitesse 3. Its 17 years old and there is very little difference between it and the latest vitesse. They don't take a huge amount of power to drive them but to pull them is where the power is needed plus the more power you have the more weight you can pack in.
First year i had 130hp on it and it was ok. The last 2 years i had 200 hp and it was a pleasure not to be bossed by the wagon. I have a neighbour who has a vitesse 2 and pulls it with 120hp on the flat and does fine with it.
I always try to lift 20' of grass at a time and 30 in real light 3rd cut. Last year in second cut which was about an 8 ton crop (big fields) and a mile draw down bumpy farm track we done 47 acres in 16hr day. Grass was about 27% dm and full it had 11 tons of grass in it.
If your buying try and get steering axle as its very handy most have large tyres and they need them as all up mine weighs about 17 ton loaded. Pits need a bit of extra rolling. I am very happy with the system as i get a neighbour that is a great driver but has little work due to recession to drive the wagon and i am on the pit and milking. I mow everything first then get contractor to swarth then hook wagon up.

dasheriff

st1979 wrote: »

I have 1 for the last 3 years a strauttmann vitesse 3. Its 17 years old and there is very little difference between it and the latest vitesse. They don't take a huge amount of power to drive them but to pull them is where the power is needed plus the more power you have the more weight you can pack in.
First year i had 130hp on it and it was ok. The last 2 years i had 200 hp and it was a pleasure not to be bossed by the wagon. I have a neighbour who has a vitesse 2 and pulls it with 120hp on the flat and does fine with it.
I always try to lift 20' of grass at a time and 30 in real light 3rd cut. Last year in second cut which was about an 8 ton crop (big fields) and a mile draw down bumpy farm track we done 47 acres in 16hr day. Grass was about 27% dm and full it had 11 tons of grass in it.
If your buying try and get steering axle as its very handy most have large tyres and they need them as all up mine weighs about 17 ton loaded. Pits need a bit of extra rolling. I am very happy with the system as i get a neighbour that is a great driver but has little work due to recession to drive the wagon and i am on the pit and milking. I mow everything first then get contractor to swarth then hook wagon up.

Sounds like a good system alright im interested in going down the same route, What do you put it up with??

st1979

Have put up with a dx 110 and 9' push off rake (not mine didn't like it much but done the job) the last 2 years used my case 5140 with front loader and 7'6 rake on the loader. Which i like as you can climb up very steep pits which is handy at the end. And then for 3rd cut last october i put my 21 ton track digger on the pit. Have tried the digger before and didn't like it but that was because we started the pit with the tractor and so had a long wedge of a pit. This time i started the pit with the digger and made a ledge and went full height then made another ledge. but then my digger hasn't great tracks so don't want to do lots of driving up and down the pit lots.
Found the digger compacted the grass very well and reckon it had plenty of spare capacity. the case is able to cope adequately.
Best thing with the wagon is the better wilted the faster you cover ground and it encourages you to cut earlier for higher quality.
Worst thing is very hilly land output drops as the wagon tractor and full load is 23 ton.

Muckit

Anyone ever put up silage with a buckrake on a tractor front linkage? Seems very popular in UK. Would it be a good job?

Also see them make the pit with a wedge on both sides. Drive the wagon up one side and down the other.

moy83

I never used the front linkage but i saw a yoke at the cork machinery show that you can put on the front . It was like a massive roller with teeth that tossed it all the way up the pit in front of you . Qaure looking job but i suppose it would be easier than flipping a buckrake all day . Anyone else see it or use one ?

Dupont

a man who works with us has a brute of a wagon. he says it will hold an acre of grass.they used to run it on a 200+ hp massey but he said when you were lifting and went to walk the floor back it would stall it,they bought a case that is 270 hp to put on it

st1979

I heard about the same thing happening with a very big pottinger wagon that when the floor moved it took a lot out of the tractor. I find the complete opposite because you are driving along with half load or more and the tractor is trying to push the grass up against the rest of the load and when you are really packing it in hard the tractor comes under pressure and as soon as i engage the floor the pressure comes off as its easier to push the grass in. In fact the easiest thing to do is to forget to turn off the floor and then you end up with the load at the back of the wagon.
My floor is manual but most modern ones can be auto but anyone i know use the manual way.

Agri contractor

We use the manual floor on our wagons. You can fill them up allot better and if the the field is high you can spread the load better.

dasheriff

st1979 wrote: »

Have put up with a dx 110 and 9' push off rake (not mine didn't like it much but done the job) the last 2 years used my case 5140 with front loader and 7'6 rake on the loader. Which i like as you can climb up very steep pits which is handy at the end. And then for 3rd cut last october i put my 21 ton track digger on the pit. Have tried the digger before and didn't like it but that was because we started the pit with the tractor and so had a long wedge of a pit. This time i started the pit with the digger and made a ledge and went full height then made another ledge. but then my digger hasn't great tracks so don't want to do lots of driving up and down the pit lots.
Found the digger compacted the grass very well and reckon it had plenty of spare capacity. the case is able to cope adequately.
Best thing with the wagon is the better wilted the faster you cover ground and it encourages you to cut earlier for higher quality.
Worst thing is very hilly land output drops as the wagon tractor and full load is 23 ton.

Sounds good st does she handle the 7'6" rake no bother ya?.Its something like this i have been looking at. http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/machinery/1950292 Is this onto what you have or is it an older one?.

st1979

The very same. From the same man as well noel gleeson he imports them from holland. That one looks a bit cleaner than mine but maybe a wee bit smaller but its a good bit cheaper mine was 13000 3 yrs ago but mine has rear steer axle. Noel seems to underestimate the output or maybe his days are shorter than mine as he reckon i would get 25-30 acres /day with mine.
7'6 rake seems fine with my tractor but the case seems fairly heavy in the back end as i never use a rear weight. Friend of mine made a 9' for the front of his tractor but its a mf 6480 which suits it but to big for mine as i use it for clearing dung from sheds and then 7'6 can be a bit too much.
I have land that is 2.5 miles away on back roads which i use to bale and wrap cause contractors didn't like to draw it. Now i use the wagon and reckon i am way quicker than i was drawing home the bales and now i don't need to pay a baler and wrapper and plastic. So i can't see anything handy about the bales apart from being easy to sell and if you need a few before you want to open up the pit.

keep going

So i can't see anything handy about the bales apart from being easy to sell and if you need a few before you want to open up the pit.[/QUOTE]
i developing a bit of a phobia about them myself.im going to do the mowing and buckrake my self and just hire in wagon.two questions, what size rake would you put on 80hp 4wd front loader to do the job and what would you expect to pay for wagon i was thinking 50 to60eu

st1979

If its on the back i reckon up to 8' wide. On the front loader a bit smaller maybe 7'. But then i am only guessing. Clutchless Shuttle is the handiest feature for pushing up. My loader could lift more grass its just i am worried of twisting the loader with a wide rake on the front and in fairness i don't show her much mercy.
On charges for the wagon i really reckon it should be per hour as there is such a variation in crops lenght of draw and if its swathed.
I done a little bit for a neighbour last summer that was paddocks that got a little forward that he normally baled an wrapped so he mowed them 2 days in advance then got it winrowed in to 24'. I picked it up and charged him €20 an acre which i know sounds way too cheap but i averaged 5 acres an hour so 100/hr and he was only 5 mins down the road and he pushed in with his loader.
And if you were charged per hour it would encourage you to go for lighter crops nearer to home and swath them.

caseman

jeff greene wrote: »

Need more details, whats the budget? HP available etc. I think they are a good job and would like one but my land is too fragmented and spread out to suit.

i have 130hp case thinking of older krone or pottinger 4k to 6k just wondering anybody know of any major mechanical problems and how they work with wet grass

caseman

jeff greene wrote: »

Need more details, whats the budget? HP available etc. I think they are a good job and would like one but my land is too fragmented and spread out to suit.

i have 130hp case thinking of older krone or pottinger 4k to 6k just wondering anybody know of any major mechanical problems and how they work with wet grass

st1979

Spend the couple of grand extra and go for the strautmann that was on donedeal as it would be the very same set up as a brand new one. An old krone or pottinger at that money will be the old type of pick up that has rakes lifting the grass into the body from the knives whereas the more modern type has just a big rotor that pushes the grass through the knives and squezes the grass in meaning in the same volume you have a lot more grass plus its also simpler so less to go wrong.
130hp will work that wagon fine and it has flotations.
Those older krones were the reason people gave out about wagon silage. Long chop and low acres per day. But in fairness very easy to drive we had an old krone 2700 hsl and dad drove it with a mf65 and could do 12-15 acres on a good day.

caseman

st1979 wrote: »

Spend the couple of grand extra and go for the strautmann that was on donedeal as it would be the very same set up as a brand new one. An old krone or pottinger at that money will be the old type of pick up that has rakes lifting the grass into the body from the knives whereas the more modern type has just a big rotor that pushes the grass through the knives and squezes the grass in meaning in the same volume you have a lot more grass plus its also simpler so less to go wrong.
130hp will work that wagon fine and it has flotations.
Those older krones were the reason people gave out about wagon silage. Long chop and low acres per day. But in fairness very easy to drive we had an old krone 2700 hsl and dad drove it with a mf65 and could do 12-15 acres on a good day.

thanks alot for the info think i better go and look at some to see the different setups would the strautmann be alot heavier than the krone or pottinger some of my silage ground is wetish

st1979

I wouldn't worry about the weight its the tyres you need to worry about. Mine cost about 500 each think they are 500/55/20. All my land is heavy marl and it can travel where a tractor can. I see an old strauttmann 260 on donedeal for 4800 in kildare i think. might be worth a look. They are relatively simple machines. Most important part is pick up.