What tractor to buy to move large round bales??

[Hay Dude]

The weight of the tires ride on the ground. The weight of the front of the tractor rides on the wheel bearings.
When picking up on the 3pt you need weight on the front. Then loading a bale on the front, you have weight on the back.
My older 2WD tractor has 4 50lb weights on the front to keep the front on the ground even when mowing.
Weight can be your friend on a tractor,

Of course it can, but loading front tires is hard on bearings. Too much weight not good, either.

Best front weight set up is a rack of weights. You can add them of subtract them when rear mounted attachments are used/removed.
With a loader, front weights are not needed.

 

[Farmer495]

A full-size backhoe is cheap muscle and wouldn’t break a sweat taking 2 bales at once. Without much need for more tractor task I’d definitely look into that option if I was the OP.

Be very handy for many other things too on a large piece of land. I've seen 2wd backhoes go reasonably cheap and the transmission, loader and hyd are often way better than a farm tractor and loader.

 

[Hay Dude]

Even 4wd backhoes are going cheap. The mini/midi excavator has pretty much relegated the backhoe to a much more limited customer base.
Great time to buy a backhoe

 

[RickB]

The weight of the tires ride on the ground. The weight of the front of the tractor rides on the wheel bearings.
When picking up on the 3pt you need weight on the front. Then loading a bale on the front, you have weight on the back.
My older 2WD tractor has 4 50lb weights on the front to keep the front on the ground even when mowing.
Weight can be your friend on a tractor,

This discussion centers around unloading round bales from a trailer which requires the use of a FEL. Extra front ballast on a FEL equipped tractor is generally viewed as unnecessary by most and counterproductive by some.

 

[Xfaxman]

I figured this would be the best place to ask. I need a tractor that can unloaded and move large round bales off a trailer. I buy most of my hay and cannot find anyone that will deliever hay because I cannot unload it efficiently. I hate to have to buy a another tractor but that is what i have to do. I have a 90 acre farm and will use the tractor for other things but I figure that anything that unload a large round bale can do anything else I need to do. I would like to get the least complex tractor I can(No DEF/emmissions stuff) but not scrimp on performance. What would you get? Age and price are not a factor, I want a solid machine that will get the job done 4x4 would be nice but not a deal breaker.

The Bobcat compact telehandlers do not have DEF/emissions stuff.

None of the tractors suggested will do everything or go everywhere that my V417 can go and do.

Most guys think it is a big machine. Here are pictures to show it's size, relative to a stock 2016 Ram 2500:

And no extra ballast is required .

 

[Farmer495]

This discussion centers around unloading round bales from a trailer which requires the use of a FEL. Extra front ballast on a FEL equipped tractor is generally viewed as unnecessary by most and counterproductive by some.

Agreed, I want as little weight as possible on the front end of a 2wd loader tractor. Loader and load takes care of that. Rear wheels and 3pt....load em up!

 

[LouNY]

The Bobcat compact telehandlers do not have DEF/emissions stuff.

None of the tractors suggested will do everything or go everywhere that my V417 can go and do.

Most guys think it is a big machine. Here are pictures to show it's size, relative to a stock 2016 Ram 2500:

View attachment 682979 View attachment 682981

View attachment 682982 View attachment 682983

And no extra ballast is required View attachment 682984.

The emissions on the engine will depend entirely on the year of the machine, the 2015 or newer will be tier 4 at least.
And the ground clearance could be an issue, as well as the drives if it gets taken out in a feed lot in the winter.

 

[Hay Dude]

The Bobcat compact telehandlers do not have DEF/emissions stuff.

None of the tractors suggested will do everything or go everywhere that my V417 can go and do.

Most guys think it is a big machine. Here are pictures to show it's size, relative to a stock 2016 Ram 2500:

View attachment 682979 View attachment 682981

View attachment 682982 View attachment 682983

And no extra ballast is required View attachment 682984.

No doubt a great choice of machine, but there is things it can’t do. It has no PTO and 3 point hitch and although you can do lots with the boom, the OP has not described the “other” chores he stated he needed the tractor for. If they are chores that favor the telehandler, that would be better. However,if he needs a PTO and 3point hitch, that favors a tractor. The backhoe would be a great choice if the OP needs to dig deep into the ground and unload bales or move a lot of aggregates around.

 

[Hay Dude]

The Bobcat compact telehandlers do not have DEF/emissions stuff.

None of the tractors suggested will do everything or go everywhere that my V417 can go and do.

Most guys think it is a big machine. Here are pictures to show it's size, relative to a stock 2016 Ram 2500:

View attachment 682979 View attachment 682981

View attachment 682982 View attachment 682983

And no extra ballast is required View attachment 682984.

No doubt a great choice of machine (you have me thinking about one, too) but there are things it can’t do. It has no PTO and 3 point hitch and although you can do lots with the boom, the OP has not described the “other” chores he stated he needed the tractor for. If they are chores that favor the telehandler, that would be better. However,if he needs a PTO and 3point hitch, that favors a tractor. The backhoe would be a great choice if the OP needs to dig deep into the ground and unload bales or move a lot of aggregates around.

Knowing the OPs other chores would help find the perfect machine

Xfaxman, you have great videos and pictures and your emoticons are fun!

 

[Xfaxman]

The emissions on the engine will depend entirely on the year of the machine, the 2015 or newer will be tier 4 at least.

They are tier 4, but do not use a DPF and no regen.

And the ground clearance could be an issue, as well as the drives if it gets taken out in a feed lot in the winter.

Ground clearance is not a major problem, since the boom will push or pull the machine out of any motion impaired situation.

I don't know what you mean by "drives" in the winter. It has Spicer axles.