Moving round bales with B Series Tractors

[texasjohn]

I move numerous round bales a year... have used smaller tractors and now my current 50ish hp tractor. For many reasons, I'd hate to use anything smaller than what I now have... it will stack 2 high, BUT ONLY IF FOOTING IS SOLID, LEVEL. The FEL MUST be counterbalanced by a lot of weight on the 3ph...either another bale loaded first, or box blade. That's with 500 lbs of liquid in each rear tire. Anything smaller than my current tractor, now that I have experience with my current setup, is very iffy, risky, not sufficiently safe, IMHO.

You are talking snow, winter, poor footing, less than ideal conditions... this calls for a mighty certain, well powered, properly balanced 4wd tractor to handle significant weight on slopes, potholes, ice....I really can't recommend anything less than 50 hp for the job.

Just wondering, what size tractor now gets the job done when it it snows deep??

 

[Ken45101]

I have used a B21 (TLB) to double stack round bales. Some of the bales it could not lift more than a few feet, obviously beyond it's capabilities. I only did this from the trailer to inside the barn, a short FLAT distance. I only lifted them inside the barn. IIRC, they were 4x5 bales.

Actually, I was able to get the heavier bales stacked, when the loader ran out of lift, a bit of forward jogging helped. As I said, obviously beyond the limits of the tractor. I believe the specs on the B21 loader are 800# lift capacity.

I only tried this one year, never since :laughing:

Fresh hay (just cut) will weigh more than fully cured bales.

Ken

 

[powerpace]

Expect pictures in a couple of weeks. I'm going to the Horse Expo in Albany, OR., on the 19th, 20th and 21st. If my time is good pictures may be sooner. Also I will be receiving more round bales in two weeks.

 

[Verticaltrx]

4'x4' round bales I wouldn't hessitate to move with that tractor. They weigh 600-800lbs generally. I have moved them with my B3200 on the 3pt and if I had a spear on the loader I'm sure it would have handled it no problem. Once you get to a 4x5 bale or larger I would be looking for a bigger tractor.