What Size Net Wrap Fits My Old Baler? Gehl, New Idea, Hesston, M&W and More

By the XES Netting team — bale net-wrap manufacturer · Updated September 2, 2026 · ~10 min read

Every net wrap fitment chart on the internet starts with the same six brands: John Deere, New Holland, Vermeer, Case IH, Krone, Claas. That's fine if you run one. It's useless if the baler in your shed says Gehl, New Idea, Hesston, M&W, Vicon, Welger or Challenger on the side. Plenty of good balers were built by companies that got bought, renamed or left the baler business entirely — and the machines are still out there making bales every summer.

The good news is that working out what size net wrap fits your old baler is simpler than the missing chart makes it feel. Round balers were only ever built around a handful of chamber widths, and a tape measure settles it in three minutes. This guide covers the two widths that matter, a measuring method that works on any machine, verified sizes for the common discontinued brands, and why the model number on the decal is the last thing you should trust.

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There are really only two widths

Round baler chambers were standardised early and have barely moved since. Whatever badge is on your machine, it is almost certainly one of these:

Chamber family	Inside chamber measures	Standard net	Edge-to-edge net
4-foot	~47–48" (1.20 m)	48"	51"
5-foot	~60–61" (1.53 m)	64"	67"

That's the whole decision. Net wrap is a commodity dimension, not a brand-proprietary part — a 48-inch roll that fits a John Deere 458 fits a Gehl 2480, because both roll a four-foot bale. The reason your brand is missing from the charts is that the chart author only bothered with machines still being sold new, not that your baler needs something exotic.

One grower on HayTalk ran straight into the information vacuum on an M&W:

"Anyone use this baler? The net wrapping has been a nightmare. Can't figure it out and there's not much information available. Any help appreciated"

— Newb farmer · HayTalk thread 88042

"Not much information available" is the recurring theme across the orphan brands. It's a documentation problem, not an engineering one.

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The three-minute measuring method

This works on any round baler ever built, including machines with no decals left and no manual in the toolbox. It beats every chart, including ours, because it measures the actual machine in front of you.

1. Make the machine safe first. Park on level ground, disengage the PTO, shut the engine off and take the key out before you open the tailgate or put a hand near the chamber. An unsupported tailgate can drop.
2. Measure the inside width of the bale chamber. Put the tape between the two chamber side walls — the surfaces the bale actually rides against — not across the outside of the frame or the tyres. Write the number down.
3. Sanity-check it against a finished bale. Stand one of your own bales on its end and measure across the flat face. It should be within an inch or so of the chamber measurement.
4. Assign it to a family. Around 47–48 inches means a four-foot chamber and 48-inch net. Around 60–61 inches means a five-foot chamber and 64-inch net. There is very little middle ground — the main exception is some European machines, such as certain Welger models covered below.
5. Measure any roll you already have. Measure the netting on the roll, not the plastic core — the core always runs longer than the net. This is where most "the net doesn't fit" complaints actually come from.

Once you know the number, our net wrap calculator will tell you how many rolls a season takes, and the baler size checker lets you confirm the answer against our brand-by-brand data.

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Net wrap sizes for discontinued balers

These are the widths we hold verified data for. Use them as a strong starting point, then confirm with the tape — sub-model and regional variations are real on machines this old.

Gehl

Gehl's round baler split is unusually tidy. The 14xx and 24xx/25xx/26xx machines are four-foot; the 18xx and 27xx/28xx machines are five-foot.

Models	Chamber	Net wrap
1470, 1475, 2480, 2580, 2680	4-foot	48"
1870, 1875, 2780, 2880	5-foot	64"

New Idea

Models	Chamber	Net wrap
4844, 4854, 6464	4-foot	48"
6345, 6364, 6454	4-foot	48" or 51"
484, 486, 4665, 4845, 4855, 4865	5-foot	64"
6365, 6465	5-foot	64" or 67"

Hesston and Massey Ferguson

Hesston round balers pair up model-for-model: a four-foot machine and its five-foot sibling differ by a single digit. The 5446, 5545, 5546, 555T, 845, 846, 846A, 945 and 946 are four-foot machines running 48-inch net. The 5456, 5556, 560, 565A, 565T, 814, 855, 856, 856A, 955, 956, 9565 and 2856A are five-foot machines running 64-inch. Note how close some pairs sit — an 845 takes 48-inch and an 855 takes 64-inch. Most of the four-foot models also accept 51-inch, and most of the five-foot models accept 67-inch, if you want edge-to-edge coverage.

M&W

The M&W 1500, 4497 and 4590 are four-foot machines running 48-inch net. The 1800, 5506, 5596, 5600 and 5690 are five-foot machines running 64-inch.

Brands we recommend measuring first

These are the badges our size checker doesn't yet carry model-by-model. The widths below come from our internal compatibility reference and are reliable at the brand level, but sub-model variation is real enough that you should confirm with a tape before ordering a pallet.

Brand	Typical series	Net wrap
McHale	F5400, F5500, V6, V8	48"
Vicon	RV, RF series	48"
Welger	RP series	48", 49" or 51" — varies by sub-model
Deutz-Fahr	GP2.30N, GP2.50N	48"

Welger is the one to be careful with. The RP series was built around chamber widths of 1.23 m, 1.25 m and 1.30 m depending on sub-model — which maps to 48, 49 and 51 inches. Measure that one rather than guessing.

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Why the model number lies

Operators reasonably assume the digits encode bale size, and on some brands they loosely do. But there's no industry standard, and the exceptions will cost you a pallet of the wrong net.

New Idea is the clearest example. Across the 48xx series the final digit really does track chamber width — the 4844 and 4854 are four-foot machines, while the 4845, 4855 and 4865 are five-foot. So far so logical. Then the 63xx series breaks it: the 6345 ends in a 5 but is a four-foot machine taking 48-inch net. One digit, two different answers, same brand.

The same trap exists on current machines. Kubota's BV5200 sounds like a five-footer and isn't — it's a four-foot chamber, and the 200 is the maximum bale diameter in centimetres. We've written that one up separately in what size net wrap fits a Kubota baler.

There's also a persistent myth that four-foot bales are a modern invention. A grower shopping for an 1980s machine on HayTalk was told exactly that:

"I have been shopping around for an old baler and was talking with a guy that indicated 5ft wide was the standard for a long time and only the newer balers will be 4ft wide. I would rather have 4ft wide for our smaller property but I don't want to pay for one 10yrs newer just to get that. Can anyone clarify and recommend any older 80s balers that work well?"

— fastline · HayTalk thread 18913

The replies corrected it quickly — four-foot machines were widely available in the early 1980s, including John Deere 410s and mid-1990s New Holland 640s. If you want a four-foot baler on a smaller tractor, you do not have to buy a newer machine to get one, and you'll be buying 48-inch net either way.

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What to do when charts disagree

Search a discontinued model and you will find fitment charts that contradict each other. We ran into it ourselves while writing this: a widely circulated overseas net wrap guide lists the New Idea 4865 as a 48-inch machine, while our own verified data — cross-checked against two independent sources — has it as a five-foot chamber taking 64-inch net.

We're confident in 64 inches for the 4865 — it's a five-foot machine in the same family as the 4845 and 4855, and our figure is cross-checked against two independent sources. But the honest lesson is the one we'd give about any chart:

• Treat every chart as a starting hypothesis, including this page. Charts get built from dealer listings and brochures that themselves contain errors, and those errors get copied.
• The tape measure is the tiebreaker. Three minutes at the chamber outranks any published table.
• Buy one roll before you buy a pallet when you're working from a chart alone on an unlisted machine. The cost of a single test roll is trivial next to a season's worth of the wrong width.
• Prefer sources that publish their reasoning. A chart that tells you why a model is four-foot is more useful than one that just asserts a number.

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Can you add net wrap to a twine-only baler?

This is the second question every owner of an older machine asks, and the forum consensus is consistent and worth heeding. Net wrap is not a bolt-on accessory — it's a system of monitor, wiring, sensors, feed rolls, a brake and a cutting knife, all of which have to work together.

"You would probably be better off trading for a baler with netwrap then adding it. There are no aftermarket netwrap add ons for any balers that I'm aware of. There is quite a bit to a netwrap system to add it to a baler that makes it prohibitive. Monitor, wiring, sensors and the netwrap system itself. About the only way it would be practical is to take it off of a baler that the rest of the baler was shot."

— swmnhay · HayTalk thread 26438

In practice, buying a used machine that already has a factory net system is almost always cheaper than converting a twine-only one. That does narrow the field on older brands — twine-only examples dominate the used market for these badges — but net-equipped Gehl, M&W, Hesston and New Idea balers do turn up. Parts availability is the other thing to check before you commit, and it's often better than people assume. One grower weighing up a Gehl put it simply:

"Wife won't let me spend a lot and I have found the Gehls to be priced very well. But I know no one that has used one...JD, NH, Case IH country where I am at. But I did find a place down the road to get parts."

— downtownjr · HayTalk thread 14074

That's the orphan-brand trade in one paragraph: a cheaper machine, a thinner local knowledge base, and parts that are usually findable if you look. Our guide on how to buy a used round baler covers what else to inspect, and round baler belts: when to replace them covers the wear item that most often decides whether an old machine is a bargain.

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Frequently asked questions

What size net wrap does a Gehl round baler take?

It depends on the chamber. The Gehl 1470, 1475, 2480, 2580 and 2680 are four-foot balers taking 48-inch net wrap. The Gehl 1870, 1875, 2780 and 2880 are five-foot balers taking 64-inch. If you're unsure which you have, measure the inside width of the bale chamber and match it to those two families.

Is net wrap universal across baler brands?

Effectively yes, by width. Net wrap is sold in standard widths — 48, 51, 64 and 67 inches — and any roll of the right width will run in any baler with a matching chamber, regardless of brand. There is no brand-proprietary netting. What varies between machines is roll diameter capacity and the threading path, not the net itself.

How do I find the net wrap size for a baler with no manual?

Measure it. With the machine shut down and the key out, run a tape across the inside of the bale chamber between the side walls. About 47 to 48 inches means a four-foot chamber and 48-inch net wrap; about 60 to 61 inches means a five-foot chamber and 64-inch net wrap. Confirm against a finished bale face.

Can I put net wrap on an old twine-only round baler?

Usually not economically. A net system needs a monitor, wiring, sensors, feed rolls, a brake and a knife assembly working together, and there is no general aftermarket retrofit kit. Experienced operators consistently recommend buying a used baler that already has a factory net system instead, or salvaging one from an otherwise scrap machine.

What size net wrap fits a Welger RP baler?

It varies by sub-model. Welger RP balers were built with chamber widths of roughly 1.23, 1.25 and 1.30 metres, which correspond to 48, 49 and 51-inch net wrap. Because the range spans three widths, measure the inside of your chamber before ordering rather than relying on the RP designation alone.

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An orphaned badge doesn't mean an orphaned baler. Once you've measured the chamber, working out what size net wrap fits your old baler is the same two-way decision every operator makes: four-foot chambers take 48-inch net, five-foot chambers take 64-inch, and the wider 51 and 67-inch options exist when you want the net carried further around the bale shoulders.

Measure yours, then pick your width: 48-inch and 51-inch for four-foot machines, 64-inch and 67-inch for five-foot. If your model still isn't listed anywhere, send us the chamber measurement and we'll tell you what fits.

Featured photo: John Deere 6930P, Lely Welger RP 435, round hay bales by milo bostock, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.