New Holland Bale Wagon

[gargoyleridge]

I'm looking at a New Holland bale wagon and I'm hoping for some input:

My concern is my driveway. It's blacktop but fairly steep. I will have to haul a loaded balewagon up my drive to the hay barn. I think that I would at the very least, need to buy a smaller balewagon rather than a 100+ bale model. My tractor is a Kubota M6040. It's 4wd with bucket and loader, but I'm concerned that it won't be able to pull the loaded weight of the bale wagon. Has anyone pulled a bale wagon up any sort of an incline? When they are loaded, how is the balance front to back?

The tractor meets the HP requirement of the bale wagon, but I wonder if the front end is heavy enough. If it's not enough to drag 10k pounds up the drive, would it be possible unhitch a loaded balewagon and connect it to my 1 ton dually, for the trips to the barn?

It would be a pain in the neck, but I'm wondering. I have been watching the balewagon videos online and these look like a great answer to my labor problem.

We just had our first haying and I realized right off that waiting for workers to show and worrying that they won't show is not a good idea. I don't really like the accumulators that I have seen online.

We will be baling 2000-3000 bales at a time and I need a good solid solution for picking them up and stacking in our barn.

Your input is most appreciated

 

[lfc]

I have a 1033 that I've only used a couple times (backup for my SP). I can tell you they are very hitch-heavy, to the point where the manual recommends reinforcing the tractor drawbar. I'm pretty sure they also warn in the manual not to unhook a full wagon from the tractor.

I think with the loader on the front you won't have any issues with front end weight, but I'd look at your drawbar & supports if you plan to use it a lot.

Remember also with the older models you cannot unload a partial load, so approaching the driveway with a smaller load isn't going to work.