slowzuki
Elite Member
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2003
- Messages
- 4,100
- Location
- New Brunswick, Canada
- Tractor
- Kubota L5030 HSTC, MF 5455, Kubota M120, Allis Chalmers 7010
In about 50,000-100,000 small square bales of hay hauled I can recall losing 3 on one trip due to very soft bales. Normally we haul unsecured on hay wagons to the farm which is a low speed affair but we do haul about 4-5000 a year on a flatbed trailer to customers, always secured.
Short of a van trailer there isn't a great way to haul bales that is 100% secure. If a load shifts or hit a rough bump you can break a string or what not. We tie over the load side to side on 34" centres down the middle of the top bales and we go around the entire load at 2 heights with 60 ft rachet straps. The load is stacked interlocked such that it could be hauled without straps too.
The truck is stacked such that it could haul no straps as well but we have ropes on the floor anchors in the front tied on before loading, these are tied together to form a ladder looking arrangement that goes over the load and down to the rear. A rachet strap goes around the entire load from headache rack to headache rack.
If hauling the trailer only 56 bales go on the truck. If no trailer usually 80 bales or so on the truck.
It takes 45 minutes for us to tie on the load with 2 people who are rushing. If I rejigged the over the top straps to be permanently tied on we could cut that to about 20 mins but it would still be some work. All the straps in the world don't help if they go in the wrong place.
Contemplating getting some custom lumber / steel tarps made with cinch pipes in the side so we could tarp and restrain the load in one step.
Short of a van trailer there isn't a great way to haul bales that is 100% secure. If a load shifts or hit a rough bump you can break a string or what not. We tie over the load side to side on 34" centres down the middle of the top bales and we go around the entire load at 2 heights with 60 ft rachet straps. The load is stacked interlocked such that it could be hauled without straps too.
The truck is stacked such that it could haul no straps as well but we have ropes on the floor anchors in the front tied on before loading, these are tied together to form a ladder looking arrangement that goes over the load and down to the rear. A rachet strap goes around the entire load from headache rack to headache rack.
If hauling the trailer only 56 bales go on the truck. If no trailer usually 80 bales or so on the truck.
It takes 45 minutes for us to tie on the load with 2 people who are rushing. If I rejigged the over the top straps to be permanently tied on we could cut that to about 20 mins but it would still be some work. All the straps in the world don't help if they go in the wrong place.
Contemplating getting some custom lumber / steel tarps made with cinch pipes in the side so we could tarp and restrain the load in one step.
