hay spear for an industrial 3400 ford tractor?

rking

Member
I just bought a tractor with a front end loader and am interested in buying a hay spear for the front end loader. It is a universal attachment. 38 inches across. 2 pens on each side-12 inches between the 2 pens.

I have never had or used a hay spear and I see some are advertised to attach to the bucket so it doesn't have to be removed? Does anyone have experience with these spears? It would save me from having to detach the bucket.

Thanks for any help. Hay is coming next week so I need to be speedy with my purchase...
 
My cousin has one thst attaches to the bucket. They
work, but I wouldn't recommend one. They put a lot
of stress on the bucket, besides moving the weight
farther forward. You need more counterweight with
the bale farther forward. Unpinning the bucket and
pinning a set of forks in its place is not as quick, but
is a better option, in my opinion.
 
I would suggest an adapter plate that matches the 3400 ford loader. According to this manufacturer, they have quite a few adapter plates, one may fit your existing loader.

Problem with the bucket is, you can't see as well, the additional weight, its definitely better to not have it on if at all possible, sure it'll work with it on, but the same for pallet forks, just restricts the sight line and is significant extra weight, that is not needed.

Personally when handling round or large square bales, I want to be able to see and not have any excess weight on the front if at all possible. I like to carry 2 at a time, that abut each other as you pick them up, can't see whats going on with a bucket on, and if you have a loose or damaged bale, you may want to see whats going on, pick it differently, maybe not spear it, I've handled thousands of them in the past helping a long time farmer friend, its nice to be able to see.
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W R Long Inc
 

Thanks-I am a little concerned about the weight of the bale being too much for this tractor anyway. The man I bought it from said to put shredder on back for counter weight.
 

Very impressive; that is a hay operation! I am just trying to unload about 20 round bales off either an 18 wheeler or flat bed trailer.

Thanks for the information
 
Go with the two-prong spears. Not only are they good for moving hay, but great for moving piles of brush and general use as a forklift, as long as you are careful in their use. Even better, get a MDS shur-lock bracket so you can quickly switch between the bucket and the forks. It's one of those things that you hate to spend the money for, but once you do, you wonder how did without it. Before I got it, it took about 10 or 15 minutes to swap the bucket and forks, with lots of pushing and prying trying to get the holes lined up. Now, it only takes a couple of minutes.
 
That or get a 3 pt spear as well, carry potentially 3 bales, well, best to find out what each weighs. The ones in the photos I can't say how much those weighed, they were baled the year before the farmer I helped got his new JD round baler. In the following years we did thousands of 4x5 bales with netwrap, those bales averaged 700lbs each, and were seemingly more dense than the bales in these photos as I recall.
 
If the budget allows, I'd vote for a 3-point fork as well. My loader tractor is a 4600 with loaded 16.9x30's. It can handle 4'x6' bales without any extra ballast, but I still normally put a bale on the 3-point forks anyway.
 
I was thinking about one on the back as I used to gather all the bales up in the fields and stage them for loading. The more I could carry the better in most ground, minus any soft areas or fields. In the following years I was doing this, I ended up in the truck at times, watching painfully as someone else was doing the gathering...... one bale at a time. One day I staged a few truck loads and left 2 on the front as a hint LOL ! When I pulled in, he was loading 2 at a time, finally !
 
Not sure how big of bales you are dealing with, but I have moved 100's of the neighbors 1000 lb bales with a 3400 with pallet forks, front and rear. Pick one up on the 3 point, THEN get one with the loader.

It would easily handle the bale on the front WITHOUT any added weight on the rear forks, BUT that tractor had fluid in the rear tires, and that helped a lot, but it was still a little light in the rear, and liked to spin out if you only had a bale on the front.

Other than that, it was a kick a-- bale handler! LOVED the foot throttle, lots of gears, easy shifting, great power steering, etc, etc. Just a good machine for the job....

Bryce
 
(quoted from post at 04:51:03 07/20/15) Not sure how big of bales you are dealing with, but I have moved 100's of the neighbors 1000 lb bales with a 3400 with pallet forks, front and rear. Pick one up on the 3 point, THEN get one with the loader.

It would easily handle the bale on the front WITHOUT any added weight on the rear forks, BUT that tractor had fluid in the rear tires, and that helped a lot, but it was still a little light in the rear, and liked to spin out if you only had a bale on the front.

Other than that, it was a kick a-- bale handler! LOVED the foot throttle, lots of gears, easy shifting, great power steering, etc, etc. Just a good machine for the job....

Bryce

I did get hay spear for the front end loader which I still am in the process of connecting. The man I bought it from put water in the rear tires. It is good to know that this 3400 tractor is capable of handling a bale on the front as well as the back. I have been wondering if it was capable of such a heavy load. The bales are large but don't know the weight. I have a hay buck for the back of a tractor which I have been using with my 3600 to move hay bales. My problem has developed in the past few years during the drought where I have had hay trucked in on an 18 wheeler and we had no good way to unload them. In the past, I have had my own hay baled or my next door neighbor has supplied it.

I have driven this tractor only a few times and am impressed by the power steering. Surprised to see the 4 different rear gears...
 

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