moving round bales

[phunter]

i have john deere 4410 compact utility with front bucket. i am hoping to use this tractor to move round bales to unload off trailer and to put in storage building. would the spears that attaches to the front bucket using a bracketwork well or is it best to remove the front bucket and attach a a bracket where the bucket is. I want the best product and I am looking for practical advice. thanks in advance.

 

[RjCorazza]

Round bale weights vary, and larger bales may exceed your loader capability. In any case, I would think removing the 300 lb bucket and using an ssqa spear would maximize your lifting ability.

 

[ddbackhoe]

What size round bales? The 430 loader is only rated for ~1250 lbs and the bucket weighs ~200. Dont forget to add counterweight. I would use a dedicated spear but prefer a bale grabber.

 

[Hay Dude]

Detaching the bucket and installing a spear not only decreases the weight on your loader, but it brings the bale closer to the tractor, which increases your loader lift capacity.
Loader lift capacity is higher at the pins of the loader than at the cutting edge of the bucket.
Don’t forget to put some counterweight on the back of the tractor, too.

 

[Farmer495]

If you have quick attach (i.e skid steer) get the proper spear attachment. Life if much easier, less weight on the front, bale is closer to loader, you can see the tip of the spear much easier.

 

[Egon]

Will you have the reach to unload from a trailer?

 

[Hay Dude]

Seen bucket lip, bottom panel get messed up if spear is overloaded, too.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've been buying round bales for awhile now, and I've found that everyone selling round bales, lies about what they weigh. A guy on YouTube took one 4x5 round bale to the TXDOT Scale and had his trailer weighed with the bale, and without the bale. Actual weight of a tightly rolled bale was just over 700 pounds. Say 750 for easy math.

I agree with everyone else that you are better off removing the bucket and getting a proper hay spear. I have two tractors with hay spears. Both are the double spear designs. They work great, but I've never used any other type.

I also have a 3 point spear for my smaller 37 hp tractor without a loader. I use it when the other tractors are broke down and I'm desperate to get a bale out. I can pick up the bale and bring it into the pasture, but I can't get it into the cradle, so I just unwrap it and leave it on the ground. It goes twice as fast without being in the hay cradle.

 

[Eagle1]

I've even used a BX with bucket to "roll" 4x5s into the truck so I could get it to the cattle. You do what you gotta do.

 

[Ernie-32]

These round bails come in different sizes and also depend on type of grass that was mowed. But for a general guidance the average 1M³ bail weighs 250 kG. See photos (FR)

for reference, the trailer's interior size is 1M9 x 1M1
I used to push them off of the trailer by tilting it and then straight on a pallet, which my tractor could pickup with a palletfork on the rear of it.

 

[5030]

I've been buying round bales for awhile now, and I've found that everyone selling round bales, lies about what they weigh. A guy on YouTube took one 4x5 round bale to the TXDOT Scale and had his trailer weighed with the bale, and without the bale. Actual weight of a tightly rolled bale was just over 700 pounds. Say 750 for easy math.

Not everyone lies. It all depends on what the bale tension is set at, the overall diameter and the RM of the bale and if the bale is soft centered or hard centered. It also depends on what kind of hay is baled as well.

 

[Hay Dude]

These round bails come in different sizes and also depend on type of grass that was mowed. But for a general guidance the average 1M³ bail weighs 250 kG. See photos (FR)
View attachment 784719 View attachment 784720
View attachment 784721
for reference, the trailer's interior size is 1M9 x 1M1
I used to push them off of the trailer by tilting it and then straight on a pallet, which my tractor could pickup with a palletfork on the rear of it.

I always wanted a scale to shut the horse people up.

Now I want a loader mounted scale so I can tell how much the square bales weigh when loading my trailer.

 

[5030]

I always wanted a scale to shut the horse people up.

Now I want a loader mounted scale so I can tell how much the square bales weigh when loading my trailer.

Go buy one, you got money... Global Industrial sells them every day.

 

[Xfaxman]

or is it best to remove the front bucket and attach a a bracket where the bucket is.

Does it have the John Deere Quick Attach that looks like this?

 

[coobie]

Go buy one, you got money... Global Industrial sells them every day.

H,MMM all this time I thought "YOU" were the richest farmer in southern Michigan..LMAO

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I always wanted a scale to shut the horse people up.

Now I want a loader mounted scale so I can tell how much the square bales weigh when loading my trailer.

I had a seldom used state scale about a mile from my house and would check weigh my load before I got home. The bales were supposed to be between 700-750#, but I checked and they were average 690#. I figured it was better to maintain good relations than quibble about a few pounds per bale.

 

[LHF2019]

I've been buying round bales for awhile now, and I've found that everyone selling round bales, lies about what they weigh.

While I agree about the weights, saying everybody lies is pretty harsh.

These are some weights I took years ago. JD459 S.S.

Over mature 1st cutting grass 4x5 measuring in at 59 inches 846 and 802

Over mature 1st cutting grass 4x4 measuring in at 48 inches 450 and 47 inches 482

Add approx. 150 lbs for early 1st cutting as a guess.

Here I called out a craiglister who wanted to claim his 4x4 dry hay bales weighed 750 lbs. I looked up his baler and sure enough 750 was the spec.

Me

Curious how you base your weights as a true 4x4 bale range from 500-600 lbs pending moisture and crop maturity. A true 4x5 range in the 850 lbs area.

Based on pictures of your hay and how it looks:

Either those are not 4x4, are wet and moldy, or you are falsely advertising your crops.

His response

Bales baled out of a 2016 case ih rb 444 baker 4x4 that makes 750 lb bales. How many acres do you farm? The hay has been in storage in the barn since July. So why would you message me if you only wanted to criticize my hay?

Me and no response back

You didn't answer my question. You can't base weights from the owners manual, those are estimates on the high end. I'm not criticizing, as a hay maker and supplier myself I can tell you 1st cutting "dry 4x4" do not weigh in at 750 lbs and will call anybody out that will claim it.

As for my acres we cover approx. 450.



As for the OP. Get a bale spear that attaches to the loader. Ones that go on the bucket will eventually bend your bucket.

 

[Hay Dude]

I had a seldom used state scale about a mile from my house and would check weigh my load before I got home. The bales were supposed to be between 700-750#, but I checked and they were average 690#. I figured it was better to maintain good relations than quibble about a few pounds per bale.

Sometimes better on the light side than heavy. Although higher density makes bales weigh more, so does moisture. A hay buyer doesn’t want to pay for water, they want to pay for hay- DRY hay.

 

[Ernie-32]

Here's another fun photo of an improvisation I made to pickup lost hay bails from the hill side that had 'escaped' into the steep sides of our terrain, before I bought a grabber.
But this was on my excavator, it wouldn't help on a tractor's frontloader.
Important lesson learned however is that the attachements are normally conic and have to take a lot of side torque. Especially if they are not 100% lined-up parallel, driving them into a hay bail puts enormeous pressure on the mount points, side ways.
Moving them around on a pallet fork with our little Iseki is great, cause it can enter the whole way back into the stables, in our situation. Unloading a truck or stacking them, is impossible of course.

 

[ddbackhoe]

A little something I was reminded of yesterday. If you’re buying, take a tape measure along. A 4x5 or 5x5 may not be as round as its supposed to be. One of the local hay guys was bragging about getting more bales to sell because he only does 44” and no one notices.