Car hauler for round bales

[Ken45101]

One of the problems with bigger trailers or stacking on top is that you need a FEL mounted spear to load and unload. I have a deck over gooseneck but I doubt that a 3pt spear could lift high enough to put bales on it.

It seems that finding quality hay is a hassle every year. Fortunately I found a good source of square bales the last few years but it is a 50 mile drive each way. But like I said, driving is the easy part of the load/unloading/stacking process.

 

[wvpolekat]

One of the problems with bigger trailers or stacking on top is that you need a FEL mounted spear to load and unload.

With a hay hook and rope, you can roll round bales off pretty easy if you have the room.

 

[L_Nicholson]

I sure appreciate the ideas and the pics. I agree, finding quality hay is hard to do. I am surrounded by cattle folks and I have both cows and goats and you can't feed goats cattle hay without pouring the feed to them.

I'm lucky in that my neighbor grows really good quality alfalfa and orchard grass hay. He sells me square bale quality in rounds for $35/bale. Typically I'm only hauling about a mile but I've got some hills so it can get tricky if stacked. I usually haul 3 per load but I've doubled my goat herd and will be using lots more hay in the future.

I usually have my cattle hay delivered. Most of it is stacked on a goose neck and delivered for about $15/bale.

 

[patrick_g]

My car hauler is 18'3" on deck and has a half dovetail rear end. It has stake pockets all around it and a pipe across the front. I put a board across the back to keep bales from rolling off (vertical boards in pockets horizontal board between them.)

I put 3 bales lying on their sides on both sides (six bales) and then I put 4 more (2 on each side) on top of the bottom layer. In theory you could put 1 more bale on each side but that would be too far over the trailer's weight rating in my case and I'd need a tractor with higher reach capability. I haven't bent my fenders yet with hay bales but they are well constructed out of diamond plate.

Before I started using the board in back and placing the bales on their side I used to stand the bales upright, 2 bales high and haul 6 at a time (not on highway with this arrangement just in field to hay barn.) With the horizontal arrangement described above I am good to go on the highway.
My round bales run about a thousand lbs each. I don't haul great distances or at high speed but could do so safely if I strapped down the load.

Pat

 

[Soundguy]

I usually have my cattle hay delivered. Most of it is stacked on a goose neck and delivered for about $15/bale.

must be nice to find 15$ delivered round bales. best i have found is 25$ you go and haul it yourself.

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

i did that once with my car hauler.. ie.. stacked then on side, and could do 6 ont he bottom / 2 ont he top if needed.. but then i couldn't roll em off where needed by driving thru the paddocks ..er.. having my wife drive thru as I roleld them off the trailer. had to tractor them everywhere and it took forever. much prefer them to be in 'rolling' position for easy distribution. but whatever works..

My car hauler is 18'3" on deck and has a half dovetail rear end. It has stake pockets all around it and a pipe across the front. I put a board across the back to keep bales from rolling off (vertical boards in pockets horizontal board between them.)

I put 3 bales lying on their sides on both sides (six bales) and then I put 4 more (2 on each side) on top of the bottom layer. In theory you could put 1 more bale on each side but that would be too far over the trailer's weight rating in my case and I'd need a tractor with higher reach capability. I haven't bent my fenders yet with hay bales but they are well constructed out of diamond plate.

Before I started using the board in back and placing the bales on their side I used to stand the bales upright, 2 bales high and haul 6 at a time (not on highway with this arrangement just in field to hay barn.) With the horizontal arrangement described above I am good to go on the highway.
My round bales run about a thousand lbs each. I don't haul great distances or at high speed but could do so safely if I strapped down the load.

Pat

 

[L_Nicholson]

must be nice to find 15$ delivered round bales. best i have found is 25$ you go and haul it yourself.

soundguy

Big difference between Southern Indiana and Central Florida. I used to live down in Rockledge... worked in Melbourne for CEG. Saw you are in Civil Engineering. I worked as a contract designer/cadd until the market went belly flop.... I'm missing FL! We haven't seen the ground for what seems to be a month.

Most of the cattle guys around here get those bales as big as they can. 5x6 and 6x6. I have to request 5x5's and they charge me the same price as the bigger ones. My tractor will only lift a 5x5 and it struggles with those.

 

[Soundguy]

same here.. I am limited to getting 1000# max bales.. and that is the extent of my loader capability.

soundguy

 

[Duffster]

must be nice to find 15$ delivered round bales. best i have found is 25$ you go and haul it yourself.

soundguy

For $15 I would chop it back out on the ground for fertilizer.

 

[Robb71]

You guys paying $15-25 ought to see what hay brings in N Texas.
$35-40 is about the cheapest you'll find for a 4x5 cow hay and if you want horse quality rounds it's $60 plus not to mention 90% of hay advertised as horse quality isn't.