Pallet forks to move round bales

[Silly question]

Hi guys, We have a small property so we have only baled small rectangles previously and I'm giving rounds a go this year for ease of handling (Kioti RX 7620). I have a set of pallet forks and considering I am only doing this as a trial this year I'm wondering whether I could get away with just using the pallet forks to move and stack the bales. I will have somewhere between 40 and 60 (4' x 5') bales, and will be moving them over some bumpy ground and up a hill to stack in a shed. I plan to get an old 3pl bale spear to carry one bale on the back for ballast, but hoping to get away with using the pallet forks on the front. Does anyone have any recommendations on this?

 

[Hay Dude]

Hi guys, We have a small property so we have only baled small rectangles previously and I'm giving rounds a go this year for ease of handling (Kioti RX 7620). I have a set of pallet forks and considering I am only doing this as a trial this year I'm wondering whether I could get away with just using the pallet forks to move and stack the bales. I will have somewhere between 40 and 60 (4' x 5') bales, and will be moving them over some bumpy ground and up a hill to stack in a shed. I plan to get an old 3pl bale spear to carry one bale on the back for ballast, but hoping to get away with using the pallet forks on the front. Does anyone have any recommendations on this?

Are they net wrapped? Or string? What size? 5’ wide?
If net, you can, but spread the forks pretty wide and be VERY careful. If they are narrow set, you’ll either tear through the net, or dig up dirt under them.

If it were me, I’d look for a cheap, used spear on FBM or CL and be done with it. Bale spears are about the least expensive FEL attachment. After a couple ripped-open round bales and the mess it makes, you’ll see why.

OR, If it’s only 40-60, why not just move all of them with your rear 3pt hitch spear?

 

[D&D]

Hi guys, We have a small property so we have only baled small rectangles previously and I'm giving rounds a go this year for ease of handling (Kioti RX 7620). I have a set of pallet forks and considering I am only doing this as a trial this year I'm wondering whether I could get away with just using the pallet forks to move and stack the bales. I will have somewhere between 40 and 60 (4' x 5') bales, and will be moving them over some bumpy ground and up a hill to stack in a shed. I plan to get an old 3pl bale spear to carry one bale on the back for ballast, but hoping to get away with using the pallet forks on the front. Does anyone have any recommendations on this?

Slow going but it can be done. I’ve had better luck using forks on the flat side. If the forks are removable, I made up a spare fork hangar with a spear cuz I was too cheap to buy the whole thing.

 

[jwmorris]

If you get wide and go under both sides .O. you can get them.

I kind of went the other direction on my last build and put hay spikes in place of the forks, to set round bails into my above ground feeders I have to poke into them higher.

But I can still use them for things I would otherwise pick forks for.

 

[5030]

Back when I stored my rounds in the Clearspan (I don't any more, they get picked up from the hayfield by my hay customer, I stacked them all on end, 3 high in the barn and always used my forks to stack them and nothing else. Takes a bit of a learning curve but once mastered, all is good. If I moved them, I always set the forks at the widest point (like Hay Dudette said). That way they cradle the bale and don't rip the net or displace the twine, if twined.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It takes some practice to get good at it, but I can pick up 4x5's without even stopping and move them to a trailer.

You do have to be careful not to break strings when going under the bales.

SR

 

[LouNY]

Forks will work, when picking them up in a field going in along the sides with the forks spread some what wide works very well.
If they are going to be stacked on end it is a bit more difficult unless you are on concrete. On dirt you will tend to get into the dirt and carry dirt along with your bale.
If you end up handling a lot of round bales the squeeze grapples for round bales are the best way to go.

 

[5030]

When I stored them in the barn, I always stacked them on plastic pallets, never on the ground. If you stack them on the ground (bottom bale), it will draw moisture from the ground and ruin the bottom bale. My Clearspan has a sand floor so pallets are / were a necessity.

Nice thing about stacking on end is, the bales stay round and not made oval from the weight of bales on top of them when stacked horizontally. Makes for a much nicer looking bale and customers appreciate that, plus, when stacking on end, they take up less floor space. I used to stack mine 3 high.

 

[5030]

The inherent issue with a 'squeeze' is, you still have to 'upend' the bale to grab it, why I never bought one. I find the SSQA pallet forks to be easier (once you master the technique that is). Besides, I have more than enough 'implements' around now.

 

[LouNY]

The inherent issue with a 'squeeze' is, you still have to 'upend' the bale to grab it, why I never bought one. I find the SSQA pallet forks to be easier (once you master the technique that is). Besides, I have more than enough 'implements' around now.

No you don't, a bale laying on it's side you just drive up to it curl your squeeze down and set it down over the bale, squeeze, lift and curl now it's ready to be set on end.

 

[Sportsman762]

Are they net wrapped? Or string? What size? 5’ wide?
If net, you can, but spread the forks pretty wide and be VERY careful. If they are narrow set, you’ll either tear through the net, or dig up dirt under them.

I used forks for moving 5x6 twine bales and they worked good enough. Hay Dude lays out the points well. Used a rough terrain forklift a few times when the skidsteer or backhoe was at another farm. Bale Spear is much easier and does not require any skill. A Squeeze Grapple like @LouNY recomends is nice in that it does not hurt bales at all, however they are much slower. With a spear I could grab a bale without stopping making hay moving much faster. Also Squeeze Grapple are much more $$ than a spear. Normally I see them when folks are doing haylage bales that are individually wrapped. The Squeeze Grapple is the only way to move the individually wrapped haylage bales without damage.

 

[Cycledude]

Forks will work, when picking them up in a field going in along the sides with the forks spread some what wide works very well.
If they are going to be stacked on end it is a bit more difficult unless you are on concrete. On dirt you will tend to get into the dirt and carry dirt along with your bale.
If you end up handling a lot of round bales the squeeze grapples for round bales are the best way to go.
View attachment 837758

I have never handled any round bales but after you mentioned the Squeeze Grapple I watched some YouTube videos about them and wow they seem to work VERY WELL

 

[Hay Dude]

They do, but for the OP, he can get a simple single bale spear used for $300.
He’s only moving 40-60 bales and they aren’t haylage (at least I don’t think he said they were)

 

[Needville]

I have a bale spear and still probably use pallet forks to move mine about 70% of the time. It seems I always have the wrong attachment on and am too lazy to take the time to switch them. Just spread them wide and go under the bale. Don't try to pierce the bale like a spear, which I initially thought I could do.

I cut the net wrap and partially unwrap it then flip it on its end with the forks to pull the wrap the rest of the way off.

 

[Hay Dude]

Youll do fine with the forks, but may rip some net here & there. No biggie if it’s going straight into the feeder.

 

[Silly question]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the comments and suggestions. I was thinking that I might be able to insert the forks into the bales to move them, however, I can definitely see why this would not work well. And with the bales mostly being to sell, and a bit of distance, hills, and rough ground between the paddock and the shed, I will see if I can pick up the loader bale spears and sell them after if I don't see myself using rounds in the future. Thanks again everyone

 

[jyoutz]

I’m planning to make a bracket that bolts to the rack on my pallet forks that has a single bale spear in the center. That way the forks support the bottom of the bale and the spear keeps it from sliding off. You can buy a single spear on Amazon fairly cheap and fabricate a bolt on bracket that can be removed when you want to use the forks for other purposes.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I’m planning to make a bracket that bolts to the rack on my pallet forks that has a single bale spear in the center. That way the forks support the bottom of the bale and the spear keeps it from sliding off. You can buy a single spear on Amazon fairly cheap and fabricate a bolt on bracket that can be removed when you want to use the forks for other purposes.

I've never needed anything like that on my pallet forks, I don't even see why it's needed at all.

SR

 

[jyoutz]

I've never needed anything like that on my pallet forks, I don't even see why it's needed at all.

SR

Not to say it will happen to everyone, but there have been more than one person stacking round bales with pallet forks and have the bale fall backwards, causing injuries and damaging the machine. The spear prevents this.

 

[LouNY]

If planning to stack like oil cans a bale spear likely will not work. You would need to push the spear into the side of the bale or curl way down to stack which would reduce the height available to stack.