Tractor for moving and stacking big round hay bales

[richardbro]

I'm looking for a tractor for moving and stacking big round hay bales (4x5).
Would something like a Massey 165 be heavy enough to handle and stack 2 to 3 high using bale spears?

 

[Soundguy]

Farmwithjunk will likely chime in with good usefull info.. but i think that stacking 3 high will be problematic.. the laoder will make more differenc ein the equation than the tractor is likely to, at least once you are into a good sized tractor.. the 165 is decently string for totin a rounder..

soundguy

 

[RWolf]

I use my JD5103 with the 512 loader and don't have any problems stacking 2 high. I can lift to stack 3 high but wouldn't unless the bales are very tight. At 2 high with loose or semi-loose bales I see a lot of leaning. I'm stacking 5x5's.

 

[Egon]

If you have a lot of bales to handle the Massey 165 may be a Little undersized for quick comfortable operations.

 

[jgrreed]

My 4720 (58hp) can barely eek out stacking 3 high. I only did it once to try it, and it's pretty tenuous, not worth the risk IMO. Everything has to be perfect - level ground, proper ballast, tight bale speared at the bottom, etc. My bales aren't exactly tight, so that might have helped.

-Jer.

 

[blueriver]

Size the equipment for the job ... or the job for the equipment. In your case with those bales make sure you have the FEL and the rear ballast that will handle the job.

 

[flusher]

I'm looking for a tractor for moving and stacking big round hay bales (4x5).
Would something like a Massey 165 be heavy enough to handle and stack 2 to 3 high using bale spears?

Figure your round bale weighs 1000-1200 lb.
A MF-165 can weigh from 5000 to 7700 lb. So it's plenty heavy.
You'll need a ballast weight on the 3pt, 1000 -1500 lb, well within the lift capacity of the 3pt.
Don't know about lift capacity for a typical FEL that would fit the 165. You'll have to research that to be sure you can lift a bale 8-9 ft high for the 3-bale stack.

My MF-135 diesel is not a good choice for FEL work because of it's relatively weak front axle. I'd check out the 165 to be sure it doesn't have this type of problem.

 

[Slippy]

I am doing the same thing. I have been using a Mahindra 6000. I have a bale spear on the back and when stacking I put a bale back there. I have not stacked three high but I load the bales on flat bed trailers two high where the top bale is much higher than stacking 3 high. I handles the job with no problem. Frankly, I don't even put a bale on the back most of the time any more because I have learned how the tractor will respond.

I can tell you that I am ready to move to a power shuttle instead of a manual reverser. I am also going to a cab. I just sold the balance of my hay and loading the trailers this weekend where high temp will be about 25. If you have not tried one, check out the power shuttles. The tractors that I have looked at are the MF 5455 & 5456. Also looking at the TYM 903. These are 75-85 pto hp and weigh in at around 8000lbs. If you do much hay stacking and unstacking, I would without a doubt look at a tractor with this feature. These are 4 cyl. engines. If you want a little smaller size tractor check out the MF 3645, 3cyl. It weighs in at about 7000 lbs. These weights are without loader, so on each one add about 1000lbs. I just drove one of those. Power shuttle works great, but it seems a little small for moving large round bales on hilly ground. If you are flat, probably would work ok. Has 91hp rated engine, but cc are on the light side, which means the tractor will do the job but work harder. New Holland, JD, Kubota and others all make similar type tractors. I would also go with ag tires and make sure you get a tractor that has a good wide base. Of course, these tractors start to get in the $, but in my opinion, if you do this a lot, worth it. Also consider what other uses you will be using it, and the other tractors you may have.

 

[8934]

Using a JD 4120 with forks, I dont have a dedicated spear, I can remove one fork and use the other as a spear to stack 2 high.

 

[Slippy]

Thats an idea. Does it tear up the hay? I recently saw a video where the guy was using some kind of a grapple that had numerous spines on the bottom and claw at top. He would spear two bales at same time w/o using the claw. He stacked them 4 high.

 

[jgrreed]

Using a JD 4120 with forks, I dont have a dedicated spear, I can remove one fork and use the other as a spear to stack 2 high.

Just make sure you always use it as a spear and not as forks, or you'll soon end up with 1200 lbs in your lap.

-Jer.

 

[deereguy]

I have seen a guy using a skid loader (1700# cap) spearing hundreds of round bales, laying them on their sides, then pallet forking them on their sides into place using 48" forks, he placed 2 of them on top of each other then placed those 2 on top of a third, so they were stacked 3 high on their sides. Thses were 4'x5' Claas net wrapped bales.

 

[schmism]

round these parts there are quite of a few people that stack them this (for some reason i cant get the spaces right in that... prymid style)

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under a qunza hut (half round building) so its often to see them stacked 3 or 4 high.

 

[jgrreed]

I have seen a guy using a skid loader (1700# cap) spearing hundreds of round bales, laying them on their sides, then pallet forking them on their sides into place using 48" forks, he placed 2 of them on top of each other then placed those 2 on top of a third, so they were stacked 3 high on their sides. Thses were 4'x5' Claas net wrapped bales.

He likely also has a fully enclosed cab that'll prevent him from being squished like a bug if that bale comes back on him.

-Jer.

 

[deereguy]

You are correct- he has the enclosed cab. The way he stacked them fully utilized the straight wall and was able get 400+ bales in a 60'x100' barn, with room for some equipment, etc. He is a VERY experienced construction equipment operator.

 

[jgrreed]

You are correct- he has the enclosed cab. The way he stacked them fully utilized the straight wall and was able get 400+ bales in a 60'x100' barn, with room for some equipment, etc. He is a VERY experienced construction equipment operator.

Wow, that's good use of space!!!

-Jer.

 

[slowzuki]

I use pallet forks for handling round bales. It sure is nice when I use a tractor with a spear.

If you have soft core bales it might work better but even with one fork removed spearing a bale is sometimes a pain in the rear. After the bales have sat 6 months it works a lot better.

 

[ctown75]

we used to stack em 2 high with an AC 5040, probably don't weigh 6k with the loader and ballast. Not sure i'd go more than that with our setup- but you've got a ton or more on the ground than we did. As long as the loader will put em up high enough I'd say go for it.

 

[tessiers]

I am a little old school and I realize it is not recomended by the tractor dealers but I stack my round bales 2 high with a JD 790 with a bale spear. I also unload 2 high off of my trailer which is a little stretch because of height. I used to use pallet forks and I would have to stand them on end (flat side down) to keep from breaking all of the strings, but it still worked. Spear is much faster and I like the small tractor in the barn.