Moving large square bales, with no machinery. Let’s do this.

[sandman2234]

So, did you hear back from the 2 bale buyer?
All of this discussion and spending your money is fine, but if we aren't going to get to the end result, then what is the point? I mean, if we aren't going to get to see a video of you and your son pushing a bale off of PVC pipes from the back of your flatbed, then why are we even considering furthering this discussion?
David from jax

 

[Hay Dude]

So, did you hear back from the 2 bale buyer?

No. She rejected my $100 delivery charge. I thought that was cheap! lol

All of this discussion and spending your money is fine, but if we aren't going to get to the end result, then what is the point? I mean, if we aren't going to get to see a video of you and your son pushing a bale off of PVC pipes from the back of your flatbed, then why are we even considering furthering this discussion?
David from jax

I don’t know.
I guess you can look at another thread?
Or, I guess most all threads come to a reasonable conclusion???

Moving right along, I have gotten 2 more calls for my bigger 1,700LB bales since the last customer. That’s to be expected this time of year as most horse hay buyers wait until they have no hay left, a blizzard or a week long ice storm to buy hay.

Both of these potential buyers have no way of unloading on their end. I’ve never experienced so many calls where the buyer has no capability to unload bales….
One guy wanted to unload 1,700LB bales with an old 40 HP case tractor. I advised him it probably wouldn’t be able to that without injury or equipment damage (probably to my trailer)

I have been delivering hay for decades and everyone had a way of unloading at their farm.

 

[dodge man]

You’d think those people would want small squares.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I was too slow with my camera and basically missed this photo opportunity. I saw a bunch of tractors pulling heavy trailers when I was in Ireland. It seems the majority of "tractoring" is contract work there, and less people have their own equipment. So lots of things are done like you are talking about. Including just a bale or 2 here and there for the cows and sheep - up to full on farming. They almost exclusively bailed silage in round bales, I did not see 1 single bale of hay the whole time.

Have you stumbled into a niche market that may be worth your while to procure a comparatively inexpensive trailer to haul a couple of bales behind your tractor?

 

[sd455dan]

What you don't realize is how frighteningly stupid some people are. I have to deal with them on a weekly basis. They will promise to buy hay, then you never hear from them again.

Yeah, and horses can be stupid as well. Some given open large bale(s) Unlimited feed will eat themselves to death or if the hay being outdoors and not out of the rain gets wet and molds and they eat it ( mycotoxins) produced can kill them quick .

Hope she knows what she is doing other than already making your delivery difficult.

 

[Hay Dude]

I was too slow with my camera and basically missed this photo opportunity. I saw a bunch of tractors pulling heavy trailers when I was in Ireland. It seems the majority of "tractoring" is contract work there, and less people have their own equipment. So lots of things are done like you are talking about. Including just a bale or 2 here and there for the cows and sheep - up to full on farming.

Europe uses “road speed” tractors for lots of work, where we would use trucks. Towns & villages are much closer together there. Tractors are used for snowplowing, delivering lumber, stone, etc.

They almost exclusively bailed silage in round bales, I did not see 1 single bale of hay the whole time.

That’s because in some European countries (like Ireland), there’s not enough dry sunny weather, so wrapped baleage is very common.

Have you stumbled into a niche market that may be worth your while to procure a comparatively inexpensive trailer to haul a couple of bales behind your tractor?

View attachment 4469289

I already have that. Here’s (3) 4x4x5 1,000lb bales on my small trailer.

In this case, it was ~ a 10 mile trip on pretty high speed roads for only (2) 4x4x5 1,000LB bales. The requested delivery charge was $100. I would wear my Ag tires down probably over $100 alone using the Challenger to pull the trailer there and back, so the tractor was not practical for this delivery.

Next option is the same trailer behind my Ram. No problem with that except customer has no way to unload them. Neither do I.

It’s all a moot point since she thinks $100 is too much for 3 hours of my time, fuel, wear on equipment, etc.

 

[airbiscuit]

Make a mount for this on your flatbed

 

[Hay Dude]

You’d think those people would want small squares.

At $10 a pop, a 40lb small square looks expensive compared to my 1,000LB bale for $120.

25 times as much hay for 12 times the cost (1/2 the cost). Just have to buy a hay hut. They pay for themselves in less than a year, even if you only have 2 horses.

 

[airbiscuit]

Or put a roller on the back of the bed, and run a winch cable under and back

 

[Hay Dude]

Make a mount for this on your flatbed

Or put a roller on the back of the bed, and run a winch cable under and back

Both of those might work, but they put a lot of hardware on my truck I really don’t want just to satisfy a few customers, who are unprepared to buy or feed large bales anyway.