Vermeer r2300 rake repair

[ZG6E]

I have been wanting to upgrade to a driven rake from my wheel rake and I got a deal last fall on this vermeer rake that had been rode hard and put away dirty. Both basket frames were broken and poorly repaired and the slots that the baskets mounted it were wallered out from lack of grease and bushing wear.  I cut the bad chunks of frame out and replaced them. I also put a smaller piece of pipe inside the repaired area to stengthen the repair. Then I used a hole saw to cut out the damaged mounting point and had a neighbor mill new slots in some circles I cut, then welded them in place.  It took a bit of time to do these repairs but I'm happy with the results. I figure I saved $5,000-$10,000 over buying a better, but still used rake.

[AKwelder]

Looks good, and challenging 

[Sledgehammer]

Looks good

[2+2love]

I have the same rake for 10 + years. I love it very high capacity. I have only replaced the teeth one time. Grease is your best friend. Folding it in and out for small fields gets old. I also use it in straw and only fold out one side and it works well that way too. I think you will be very happy.

[ZG6E]

26 minutes ago, 2+2love said:

I have the same rake for 10 + years. I love it very high capacity. I have only replaced the teeth one time. Grease is your best friend. Folding it in and out for small fields gets old. I also use it in straw and only fold out one side and it works well that way too. I think you will be very happy.

This one is hydraulic fold. You must have an r23? My neighbor has the JD version of that.

[Gearclash]

The R2300 is hydraulic fold, the R23 and R23A were manual.  Very good rakes.  I like them better than a high capacity wheel rake for pretty much everything except corn stalks and high volume oat hay.  The key to making these rakes work well is to play with the tilt of the basket with that threaded rod on the back of the basket, and to play with your ground speed.  Seems like 6-8 mph is the sweet spot.