Need help Vermeer 504 Super F vs. Claas Rollant 66

[KM WFTX]

Hello All,
I've learned a lot from just browsing and searching this forum and HayTalk, but I thought that I'd post a question about my baler search and see what the experts say.
My brother and I have been raising sudan on about 50 acres here in north Texas the last couple of years, and have been having it cut and baled on the halves. Last year, we made about 130 bales on our unfertilized field. We haven't been exactly 100% satisfied with the job done by the fellows we hired to baled the hay. Neither could get there when the hay was ready, and neither made good solid bales.
We've decided that we could probably just find a cheap used baler and bale it ourselves. (We already bought a JD 1209 MoCo). Our 4x5 bales last year sold well and were easy to Haul, so we're leaning toward that size baler.
After a lot of reading and searching, we've found two balers that we're interested in. The first is a Vermeer 504 Super F. The second is a Class Rollant 66. Both are about $2500, and seem to be in pretty good condition. Bearings and belts are good on the Vermeer, and it also has a new gearbox. Sprockets, bearings, and chains are good on the Claas.
Our tractor is a Ford 540 diesel, 52 HP. I was at first leaning a bit toward the Claas because it seems that they are easier to make good bales, and have fewer parts to wear out. But I've read that it needs quite a bit more HP to make good, solid bales. Maybe the Vermeer might work better with my tractor? I know about the difference between the Vermeer belt baler and the Claas fixed-chamber baler, so I'm a little concerned that the Claas might make softer bales. For moving and delivery, firmer bales would probably be better. The Claas has net or twine wrap, so I don't know if net wrap might sell better or be firmer than it might be otherwise. We have a Vermeer dealer in town, but the nearest Claas dealer is about 2 hours away...
So, any thoughts about pros/cons of each baler, and which one we might be happier with?
Thanks for your help.

P.S. I also posted this question on the HayTalk board, so forgive me if you see this twice...

 

[oj]

The Claas is a good baler, but being a soft core does need some power to make a tidy tight bale.

If you use the net wrap you"ll never want to go back to tying with twine again. Net wrap is so much faster to tie a bale with, and you get less loss too, net tends to shed water a lot better than twine, which might be a concern if you store bale outside.

I might be biased, but Claas machines tend to be bullet proof, i"ve certainly had good luck with my 2. Having said that, my second choice of baler last time out was a Vermeer...

 

[keh]

I had a Vermeer F. It's a pretty good baler, but it dosen't make full 4 x 5 bales. The pick teeth clerance needs to be adjusted by the book to get it to start bales reliably. After proper adustment, it starts bales fine. Your tractor should pull it just fine.

Not familiar with the Claas. Some of them seem to require a lot of maintenance, but I've never ran one. Usually those fixed chamber balers take a lot of power to finish making the last few inches of the bale.

KEH

K

 

[RodinNS]

I'll never say a bad word against a Claas baler. We've run one for close to 25 years (44S) which is smaller than the 66 you're looking at. They are a good baler... but you do not have the power to run the 44S let alone dream of running a 66. They also don't make as dense of a bale compared to a tightly wound belt baler but depending on the situation that may not be a big factor to you.
Should you decide you want to try it... things to check on the Claas include the rollers... as when they get dented from rock damage they weaken and eventually they will break. Hydraulics also have to be tight or the chamber will not hold pressure and will not make a tight bale.
You should also be aware that the standard for chain on those balers is 60H and 80H (at least on the 44S)... and TOP QUALITY chain. You want Diamond or Drives US made chain, not the China crap. You run china chain, it'll eat it for breakfast on the first day.
They're expensive to buy some parts for... but overall it's a fairly durable design so it shouldn't require a lot of parts, particularly in your situation.
Ours picked a lot of rock and sticks off of new land that we cleared and suffered a lot of abuse on top of making over 30000 bales at this point.

Rod

 

[KM WFTX]

Thanks y'all for your responses. You answered my biggest concern, that my tractor doesn't have enough power to run a Claas Rollant 66. I like the Vermeers from what I know of them.
Now, if will just rain here in North Texas so we can make a hay crop...

 

[Tom-TX]

Hey KM WFTX, are you near Weatherford TX. I am just South of Weatherford, near Tin Top. Tom