Moving round bales without a bale spear

[MHarryE]

I got my 3 point spear for a very reasonable price. I spear a bale on the rear first for ballast, then pick up bales with my pallet forks in front. Pallet forks for the front bale are nice because they aren't limited to one task.yes, I do sometimes get dirt with the forks when I scoot them below the bale.

 

[SSdoxie]

If I would have had pallet forks before getting the spear I wouldn't have the spear. Only advantage I've found the the spear is lighter weight and is easier to stack and pull back off the top row.

 

[Gary Fowler]

After examining all the photos again, I must have missed the one earlier on the hooks on the bucket. Good job of getting them around the bale. LOTs of work but effective and by having the bucket tilted up, you stay fairly close to the tractor. I dont think those loose wrapped bales will weigh more than 800 pounds when green (freshly baled) and certainly not 1000 pounds when dried out for a few month. A 5x5 bale has to be tightly baled to weigh 1000 pounds.
A bush hog is likely the best at using its weight effectively to counteract FEL forces. It gives you plenty of counter weight for task with the FEL but it does make the tractor train fairly long so it isnt very maneuverable in tight spots. Even a light weight 6 foot bush hog is going to weigh about 800 and being hung far back from the tractor gives you much more counterbalance than the same 800# on the lift arms between the pins like a ballast box is. I dont think you can beat a back hoe for counterweight, but at $7K purchase price or more, it is expensive counter weight.
Regarding 3 PH bale spears, they can be found really cheap (around $100) on Craigslist but the real drawback to them is not only can you not stack with them, but you cant unload a trailer with them either. They are only good for moving them around from ground level. So until you can get enough saved to put on a QA attachment on your tractor so you can swap attachments and purchase some hay spears or pallet forks, I think you have the best idea already for moving them. Now if you could just get those straps under each bale when they are being loaded on your trailer, then you would be good to go when you got home to unload. You wouldnt necessarily need but one of those straps in the center if is was cinched down tight as those straps look like the 10,000 pound rating ones that I have, way overkill for a <1000 lift. A 2500# rating would be more than enough. It might swing around a bit though with only one strap which could be trouble , but you could add a tag line (rope on one or both ends that is tied off to the FEL) to keep it from swinging.

 

[k0ua]

After owning several tractors without SSQA and now One that I installed SSQA on, and now my new Kioti that came with it.. I would never be without it again. I also have 2 buckets and a set of pallet forks.. If I had to move any hay I would sure have a hay spear.. There are more SSQA things in my future for sure.. Pin On is not very user friendly. SSQA is.

James K0UA

 

[Mousefield]

Very timely thread. We are going to look at haylage round bales on Wednesday. Farmer says they are 1,100 pounds. I got 2 round bales of hay last year that were around 800 pounds. Put a chain around it and lifted it with the front bucket, the whole bale was in front of the bucket. Good idea to have it hang under the bucket so you can lift more. I have my backhoe on so makes for good ballast when lifting that type of weight.

 

[Jerry/MT]

You could just park the trailer near where you want to place the bales, after loading the bales on the ratchet straps and attaching them to the back of the trailer. Take the other end of the straps over the bales and attach that to the rear of the tractor and drive slowly forward. That will pull the bales down the ramp. No lifting involved!

 

[rockinmywaypa]

anybody suspending these bales under the loader on straps should remember that they are going to swing like a pendulum, both forward-backward and side to side. If you drive on a slope with the loader high and the bale swings it can pull you over onto your side very easily and with short warning.

 

[joshuabardwell]

anybody suspending these bales under the loader on straps should remember that they are going to swing like a pendulum, both forward-backward and side to side. If you drive on a slope with the loader high and the bale swings it can pull you over onto your side very easily and with short warning.

Indeed. That was one of my biggest concerns. The path I drove was almost totally level, but there is a section that has a bit of a dip, and even that had me very nervous and crawling along at the slowest pace.

 

[joshuabardwell]

You could just park the trailer near where you want to place the bales, after loading the bales on the ratchet straps and attaching them to the back of the trailer. Take the other end of the straps over the bales and attach that to the rear of the tractor and drive slowly forward. That will pull the bales down the ramp. No lifting involved!

That's very clever. I hadn't thought of it. I will keep it in mind for the future.

 

[joshuabardwell]

If I would have had pallet forks before getting the spear I wouldn't have the spear. Only advantage I've found the the spear is lighter weight and is easier to stack and pull back off the top row.

I read a story on here about a guy who was lifting round bales with pallet forks. Only problem is, if you try to stack with them, it only takes one mistake with the "curl" control to turn the bale back onto yourself. Whereas with a spear through the bale, it is properly secured. He lucked out and didn't hurt himself, but he said he'd never do it again. Then again, he was stacking three high, so maybe if you didn't push the envelope so much, it'd be okay.