9LZ-6.0 Finger Wheel Hay Rake | 12-Wheel Ground-Driven V-Rake

High-Velocity Forage Consolidation With 6 m Working Width

The 9LZ-6.0 Finger Wheel Hay Rake is a ground-driven 12-wheel V-rake built for mid-size US dairies, alfalfa growers, and commercial hay contractors who want a 20 ft sweep behind a 35 HP tractor. No PTO shaft, no gearbox, no hydraulic pump on the implement itself — the 12 rotating discs simply turn as the tractor pulls them forward, and 720 spring steel fingers comb cut grass into a clean central windrow ready for the baler. Forage loss stays under 2 percent even on dense first-cutting alfalfa.

Comprehensive Product Overview — The Definitive Agricultural V-Rake

A V-rake solves one of the oldest problems in hay-making — how to consolidate cut material scattered across a wide field into a clean, baler-ready windrow without tearing leaves, mixing in soil, or demanding a 75 HP tractor on the front. The 9LZ-6.0 answers that problem with 12 steel wheels arranged in a symmetrical V pattern, each wheel carrying 60 spring fingers on a replaceable rim. As the tractor pulls the frame forward at 7 to 10 km/h (4.3 to 6.2 mph), the 720 fingers rotate through the crop, lift each stem laterally, and cascade material toward the central axis of the V. What comes out the back is a concentrated windrow 800 to 1400 mm (roughly 30 to 55 inches) wide, exactly sized for trailed round balers.

Because the wheels are ground-driven rather than PTO-powered, there is no gearbox to fail, no shaft to lubricate, no shear pin to replace. The design has essentially no moving parts beyond the wheel hubs themselves, which sit on sealed tapered roller bearings rated for 2,500 hours between service intervals. Commercial US dairies and premium alfalfa producers who have switched from rotary PTO rakes to 9LZ-6.0 finger-wheel rakes consistently report better leaf retention on alfalfa, cleaner windrows on mixed-grass pasture, and lower fuel burn per acre thanks to the absence of PTO drag.

  

The implement is a natural complement to reciprocating mowers and small round balers across the 35 to 70 HP tractor range. Pair it with a matching round baler the next morning and one operator handles the complete post-cutting workflow — rake in the morning, bale in the afternoon, store before sundown. That sequential discipline is what separates commercial hay producers who hit protein targets on every bale from growers who lose 10 to 15 percent of their tonnage to weather delays each season.

Rigorous Engineering Specifications

Every value below comes from factory validation against North American operating conditions on alfalfa, mixed grass, and rice straw. Working dimensions are given in the deployed V configuration; transport dimensions reflect the folded road posture.

At 14.8 acres per hour on the upper end, a full afternoon of raking covers 80 to 100 acres — enough to consolidate a full day's mowing into baler-ready rows in one session. The 2,645 lb structural mass sits on flotation tires that keep ground pressure low even on wet spring pastures.

Universal OEM Tractor Compatibility Blueprint

Because the 9LZ-6.0 does not need a PTO connection, compatibility comes down to a single requirement — a 35 HP or larger tractor with a standard drawbar and one hydraulic remote circuit. Below are the US and Canadian market tractors most commonly paired with this rake.

Utility Tractor Range (35 to 75 HP)

• 🚜 John Deere — 5045E / 5055E / 5075E / 5090E — the default workhorse on US family dairies
• 🚜 Kubota — L3301 / L4060 / M5-091 — widely deployed across the Midwest
• 🚜 Case IH — Farmall 55C / 65C / 75C utility tractors
• 🚜 New Holland — Workmaster 55 / 65 / 75 — popular with contract operators
• 🚜 Massey Ferguson — MF 2605H / MF 4707 / MF 4710
• 🚜 Kioti — DK4520 / DK5310 / RX7320 — growing presence on Southeast US small farms

Brand reference disclaimer: Tractor models listed above are named solely to help farm operators match this finger wheel hay rake to tractors already in their fleet. Listing these manufacturers does not imply affiliation, endorsement, sponsorship, or trademark claim. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Drivetrain and Fleet Compatibility Summary

Ground-Driven Kinematics — No PTO Needed

Every one of the 12 wheels turns because the tractor pulls the frame forward, not because a driveline delivers torque. That single design choice eliminates the PTO shaft, the U-joint wear points, the shear bolt protection, and the gearbox oil changes that commercial dairies schedule on rotary rakes. Fuel consumption at the drawbar is also lower because the tractor engine is not fighting the drag of a PTO-driven rotor. Over 500 acres per season, the fuel savings alone typically reach 15 to 20 gallons of diesel.

Unmatched 720-Tine Density

12 wheels times 60 fingers per wheel delivers a sweep-density of 120 fingers per meter of rake width. At that density, nothing visible gets left behind — even the short alfalfa leaves that detach during drying end up in the windrow rather than on the ground. Commercial lab-tested bales on farms that switched from 8-wheel rakes to the 12-wheel 9LZ-6.0 show leaf-and-fines retention gains of roughly 4 to 7 percent.

Synchronized Hydraulic Actuation

The only hydraulic function on the machine is the fold-and-lift cylinder system that switches between working position (V-shape, 6 m wide) and transport position (folded, under 3 m wide). Both cylinders run off a single tractor remote — the operator never has to coordinate multiple levers or leave the cab to pin the frame. The switch from field mode to road mode takes roughly 90 seconds.

Distinctive Engineering Features and Field Advantages

Deep Engineering Dive — Structure and Mechanics

The main V-frame is fabricated from Q345 tubular steel with reinforcement plates welded at every pivot joint. Each of the 12 wheel arms mounts on a spring-loaded hinge that lets the wheel float independently — flexing up when it hits a rise and returning to working position when the terrain drops away. This individual flotation is why the rake tracks uneven pasture cleanly rather than scraping soil into the windrow on the high spots and leaving missed grass in the low spots.

Each wheel is a precision-stamped steel rim holding 60 curved spring fingers. The fingers themselves are drawn from φ6.5 mm 65Mn high-carbon spring steel, heat-treated to Rockwell C 48-52 hardness, and the curvature is set to cascade crop sideways rather than tossing it forward. Over a full 500 to 800 hour commercial season, operators typically report fewer than 3 percent of the 720 fingers needing replacement — mostly from rock strikes rather than fatigue failure.

The hub bearings are sealed double-row tapered roller units rated for 2,500 service hours. A magnetic plug on the lower hub cover catches metal fragments for early-warning inspection. Transport wheels are 10.0/75-15.3 flotation tires, rated for road transport up to 11 mph. The hydraulic cylinders that fold and unfold the frame are rated to 16 MPa working pressure and ship with steel-braided hose assemblies JIC-fitted at both ends.

Specialized Field Applications

🌿 High-Value Alfalfa Hay Rake

Alfalfa carries most of its protein and feed value in the leaves, which shatter easily once stems drop below 45 percent moisture. The gentle lateral lift of the 9LZ-6.0 keeps leaf loss to a minimum — commercial lab-tested bales from farms that switched from rotary to finger-wheel rakes typically show 0.8 to 1.3 percentage points higher crude protein content. For growers shipping to premium dairy buyers or export markets, that difference translates directly into higher per-bale revenue.

🏞️ Broadacre Grass Farm Rake for Prairie Operations

On the wide flat pastures of the US Great Plains, Canadian Prairies, and rolling grass country of Montana and the Dakotas, long uninterrupted passes let the 9LZ-6.0 work at its full 10 km/h design speed. At 14.8 acres per hour, a contract operator clears 500 acres of native grass hay inside 40 working hours. The straightforward mechanical design — no PTO, no gearbox, minimal hydraulic complexity — translates directly into lower service cost over a long commercial season.

🌾 Heavy Biomass and Straw Collection

After combine harvest, rice straw, corn stover, and small-grain straw scatter across fields in uneven mats. Before biomass plants, bedding markets, or mushroom-substrate buyers will collect the bales, the material has to be consolidated into windrows at consistent moisture. The 9LZ-6.0 handles mat-flattened straw that trips rotary rakes, because its finger-wheel action lifts rather than compresses. Arkansas and Louisiana rice-straw operations have been early adopters for exactly this reason. Operators running farms above 500 acres often step up to the larger 9LZD-9.0 17-wheel V-rake for the same workflow at greater scale.

Competitive Advantage Matrix — V-Rake vs PTO Rotary Rake

Comparison note: The table compares general category behavior — specific rotary rake models from branded manufacturers may perform differently based on configuration, tine design, and rotor speed. This comparison is intended to help farm operators understand the general trade-offs between finger-wheel V-rakes and PTO-driven rotary rakes, not to claim equivalence or superiority to any specific branded product.

Kinematic Working Principle and Field Operation Flow

A well-executed raking pass takes about two minutes from leaving the field edge to reaching the first windrow. The sequence below is the protocol our field engineers teach during commissioning.

1. Hydraulic frame deployment — Pull up to the field edge, engage parking brake, and actuate the tractor remote to unfold the V-frame from transport to 6 m working position. The two dual-action cylinders unfold the wings symmetrically, bringing all 12 wheels into contact with the ground simultaneously.
2. Ground-driven auto-actuation — As forward motion begins at 7 to 10 km/h, every wheel starts rotating from ground friction alone. No PTO engagement is required and no startup lag — the rake is working at full capacity from the first second of forward travel.
3. Cascading crop sweeping — Each wheel lifts crop laterally and passes it toward its inboard neighbor, which passes it further inboard, creating a cascading flow that builds the central windrow progressively across the 6 m sweep. Dense first-cut alfalfa and light late-season grass both flow smoothly through this cascade.
4. Precision windrow extrusion — At the rear of the V, a final pair of wheels presses the consolidated material into a concentrated windrow 31 to 55 inches wide and 6 to 10 inches tall. The shape is optimized for trailed round balers, letting the baler pickup work at full design speed without starving for material or choking on over-dense slugs.

Global Engineering Field Notes and Verified Case Studies

B2B Client FAQ

Q: Does the 9LZ-6.0 ship internationally in SKD (semi knocked down) form?

A: Yes. Container-optimized SKD crating cuts freight volume by roughly 40 percent versus fully-assembled shipping. Each crate includes bolt-together assembly instructions, torque specifications, and a pre-filled parts inventory. Two workers complete assembly in under 6 hours with standard hand tools.

Q: Is a PTO connection needed?

A: No. The 9LZ-6.0 is fully ground-driven. The tractor only needs a standard drawbar pin hitch and one double-action hydraulic remote circuit for the fold-unfold cylinders. This is the single largest operational simplification compared to rotary rakes.

Q: What is the wheel hub maintenance schedule?

A: Grease each of the 12 wheel hubs every 100 operating hours. Sealed bearings rarely need full replacement before 2,500 service hours — typically four to six seasons of heavy commercial use. A magnetic drain plug on each hub catches metal fragments for early-warning inspection.

Q: How do I switch between transport and work mode?

A: From the tractor seat, engage the hydraulic remote. The frame folds from 6 m wide (working) down to under 3 m wide (transport) in roughly 90 seconds. No manual pinning is needed for the primary fold — a secondary transport safety lock engages automatically when the frame reaches folded position.

Q: Can I adjust the windrow width?

A: Yes. The two rear wheels carry adjustable brackets that widen or narrow the output windrow across the 800 to 1400 mm range. Matching windrow width to the pickup width of your trailed 9YG-1.0 round baler is the single biggest factor in reducing baling bottlenecks.

Q: Does it work on wet crop?

A: Yes, though finger wheel rakes work best on crop between 15 and 40 percent moisture. Wetter silage-grade material (above 50 percent moisture) lifts more cleanly with a rotary rake. For mixed workflows, pair this rake with a hydraulic folding tedder for earlier drying-down passes.

Q: Is 35 HP really enough for commercial work?

A: Yes. Because no PTO torque is required, a 35 HP tractor pulls the 2,645 lb frame forward without strain. Operators running 50 to 60 HP report quieter engine loading and slightly higher comfort margin on slopes, but the throughput rate does not increase proportionally with higher horsepower.

Q: Are spare parts and matching drivetrain components available in North America?

A: Yes. Our Dallas, Texas parts depot ships wheel hubs, fingers, hydraulic seals, and matching agricultural gearbox units for adjacent fleet implements with 3-day delivery across the continental US and Canada, and 5 to 7 days to Mexican distributors.

Critical Operational Calibration and Engineering Precautions

• ⚠️ Hydraulic system bleeding: Before first use, cycle the fold cylinders six to eight full strokes with the tractor at low idle. Trapped air in the cylinder chambers can cause asymmetric wing deployment, stressing the frame geometry and wearing out the hinge bearings prematurely.
• 🔧 Spring tine height calibration: Set each wheel's mounting arm so the fingers hover 20 to 25 mm above the soil surface. Fingers that scrape the dirt will snap prematurely and contaminate the windrow with soil — a major quality issue for silage fermentation and for export hay grading.
• 📌 Headland cornering dynamics: The 6 m working frame requires wide, smooth U-turns at field edges. Tight pivots with the wings deployed twist the frame and stress the outer wheel arms. Plan a headland strip of at least 4 m (13 ft) around the field perimeter.

ROI Analysis and Complete Your Mechanized Fleet

For a 300-acre commercial hay operation, the 9LZ-6.0 typically pays back its capital cost within 14 to 20 months. Fuel savings from eliminating PTO drag contribute roughly 40 percent of that payback, labor hour reductions contribute 35 percent, and reduced forage loss (protein preserved, leaves retained) contributes the remaining 25 percent. Contract operators billing by the acre often see faster payback because the wider sweep lets them take on more accounts.

The 9LZ-6.0 fits inside the broader forage fleet America Ever-Power Silage Baler Equipment INC. supplies across North America. Upstream of the rake, a mower or mower-conditioner lays the swath; a tedder accelerates dry-down when weather cooperates. Downstream of the rake, a trailed round baler produces the finished bale. Every implement in that chain is sized and specified to share tractor horsepower and driveline standards with the others, which is how a two-person farm crew runs the complete harvest workflow without hiring extra operators.

• 🌾 Upstream mowing — reciprocating sickle bar mowers and mower-rake combos in our trailed lawn mower category
• 🌀 Parallel tedding — hydraulic folding finger wheel tedders for faster swath dry-down
• 📦 Downstream baling — high-density round balers with liquid-cooled drivelines for commercial 1,500-bale seasons
• 🔪 Alternative raking capacity — 9LZD-9.0 17-wheel 9 m V-rake for farms beyond 500 acres
• 🛠️ Spare parts depot — wheel hubs, fingers, hydraulic seals shipped from Dallas, Texas with 3-day delivery to the continental US