800 LB round bales with pallet forks- how?

[Dirtslinger2]

I just had my first experience trying to lift 2 round bales, separately. Please understand I now have a whopping 3 hours on the tractor (Kubota 50 HP)

I tried spearing them in all spots imaginable but the forks wouldn't poke through, just pushed the bales along the ground, or rolled em. Hay was tight.

Going directly under them worked in the end- but the strings snapped and I only ended picking up 2/3 of the bale. And it was VERY loose while driving, well of course without strings. Actually- one of them I actually had to roll onto the forks by hand, just couldn't get them on with tractor.

How do you generally lift them?

Thanks for any tips!!

[Arbo]

Keep the forks wide enough that you can drive in from the side, and as you pick it up, the forks will bite and pick....sorta like this...


_O_

[DrRick]

I can pick them up easy just by getting under them with the forks. Haven't had any trouble with the netting or the twine breaking.
rick

[MarkV]

May be time to invest in a bale spear.

MarkV

[Egon]

Getting the forks underneath the bale may take a little practice. It's not magic. Just get the bale in a position so it can't roll and shove the forks underneath.

A word of caution when handling bales: As the design of your forks is not know make sure the bale cannot roll back into your lap when the loader is raised and the bucket is curled back.

[pitt_md]

Getting the forks underneath the bale may take a little practice. It's not magic. Just get the bale in a position so it can't roll and shove the forks underneath.

A word of caution when handling bales: As the design of your forks is not know make sure the bale cannot roll back into your lap when the loader is raised and the bucket is curled back.

Glad someone pointed out the inherent danger in using pallet forks for this job.

[deereguy]

I have seen a guy use a spear to load/unload round bales off a truck then place the on the flat side, then use the pallets forks to "stack" them 3 high in a barn, then just used the pallet forks to move them back on a truck/trailer when he needed them. Seemed like a clever idea to utilize space.

[RWolf]

Definitely heed the word of caution as round bales have been known to kill. With that said I routinely move the larger 5x5 bales (about 1500lbs depending on supplier) and have made a spear that mounts on my FEL. Works pretty well but will be investing in a proper bale spear in the near future. But the advise on spacing of your forks is right on money and only curl just enough to keep bale from falling off the front.

Good luck.

[tessiers]

I have moved hundreds of bales with spear and pallet fork. If using the pallet fork, definatly on end is the only way to fly. I strongly reccomend a spear for safety sake if nothing else.

[LBrown59]

Definitely heed the word of caution as round bales have been known to kill. With that said I routinely move the larger 5x5 bales (about 1500lbs depending on supplier) and have made a spear that mounts on my FEL. Works pretty well but will be investing in a proper bale spear in the near future. But the advise on spacing of your forks is right on money and only curl just enough to keep bale from falling off the front.

Good luck.

Some years back a local farmer was killed when a round bail rolled over him and crushed him.
Two years later his son was crushed to death when a round bail ran over him.
Talk about freeky.