Tractor for moving and stacking big round hay bales

[jgrreed]

Using a JD 4120 with forks, I dont have a dedicated spear, I can remove one fork and use the other as a spear to stack 2 high.

Just make sure you always use it as a spear and not as forks, or you'll soon end up with 1200 lbs in your lap.

-Jer.

 

[deereguy]

I have seen a guy using a skid loader (1700# cap) spearing hundreds of round bales, laying them on their sides, then pallet forking them on their sides into place using 48" forks, he placed 2 of them on top of each other then placed those 2 on top of a third, so they were stacked 3 high on their sides. Thses were 4'x5' Claas net wrapped bales.

 

[schmism]

round these parts there are quite of a few people that stack them this (for some reason i cant get the spaces right in that... prymid style)

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under a qunza hut (half round building) so its often to see them stacked 3 or 4 high.

 

[jgrreed]

I have seen a guy using a skid loader (1700# cap) spearing hundreds of round bales, laying them on their sides, then pallet forking them on their sides into place using 48" forks, he placed 2 of them on top of each other then placed those 2 on top of a third, so they were stacked 3 high on their sides. Thses were 4'x5' Claas net wrapped bales.

He likely also has a fully enclosed cab that'll prevent him from being squished like a bug if that bale comes back on him.

-Jer.

 

[deereguy]

You are correct- he has the enclosed cab. The way he stacked them fully utilized the straight wall and was able get 400+ bales in a 60'x100' barn, with room for some equipment, etc. He is a VERY experienced construction equipment operator.

 

[jgrreed]

You are correct- he has the enclosed cab. The way he stacked them fully utilized the straight wall and was able get 400+ bales in a 60'x100' barn, with room for some equipment, etc. He is a VERY experienced construction equipment operator.

Wow, that's good use of space!!!

-Jer.

 

[slowzuki]

I use pallet forks for handling round bales. It sure is nice when I use a tractor with a spear.

If you have soft core bales it might work better but even with one fork removed spearing a bale is sometimes a pain in the rear. After the bales have sat 6 months it works a lot better.

 

[ctown75]

we used to stack em 2 high with an AC 5040, probably don't weigh 6k with the loader and ballast. Not sure i'd go more than that with our setup- but you've got a ton or more on the ground than we did. As long as the loader will put em up high enough I'd say go for it.

 

[tessiers]

I am a little old school and I realize it is not recomended by the tractor dealers but I stack my round bales 2 high with a JD 790 with a bale spear. I also unload 2 high off of my trailer which is a little stretch because of height. I used to use pallet forks and I would have to stand them on end (flat side down) to keep from breaking all of the strings, but it still worked. Spear is much faster and I like the small tractor in the barn.