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East of Broken Bow | I've driven both, and the SP is actually easier to drive on the road than a pull type. You can see exactly where the ends of the head is without looking back, and the machine can swivel like a skid steer to move the head even farther out of the way (there is a fine line between getting the head farther out of the way and swinging the tail in the way, but from my experience the SP is easier to get out of the way).
In the field the SP will always be faster. Nice square fields, or better yet long narrow ones and the difference won't be that much. Odd shaped fields or lots of obstacles to go around and the SP will be notably faster. I would say that in some fields I have run the swing tongue took 10% longer to cut, in other fields it took almost twice as long.
If you have soft or slick fields, a SP windrower will spin out and/or get stuck in areas that a swing tongue will have no problem with, other than maybe sliding a bit sideways in the slicker areas. Have commented that the SP would spin out on a big cow pie where the pull type will get through what the tractor will get through (note I don't cut hay in mud or standing water, but have had to cross ditches to get to the field and the SP spins out WAY easy in waterway crossings).
The SP will be another engine and drive train to upkeep, but on the flipside it will replace the use of 2 tractors and 2 pull types, so I consider that a wash.
With 2 windrowers, pretty much one will always be going, with one SP, if something breaks, you get nothing done until it is fixed. Also with 2 machines, you can cut a field of thick hay at the same time you cut a field of thin hay, and usually the thick hay takes another day to dry making it easier to coordinate baling. If you have one machine and do the same, you will have a day of no baling in between fields, and if you cut the thick hay first, they will both be ready to bale at the same time (how it works here anyway).
The real advantage of the SP is not just speed but convenience. If you were to have one of each, everyone would race to use the SP one, they are that much nicer to drive. | |
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2 Mocos or 1 self propelled
