Round Bale Hay Trailer

I have switched from small square bales to 4 X 5 round bales. Can no longer throw the small bales and most of the help has all left the nest. All part of the "aging" process I guess. I only have one loader for moving and stacking the bales and usually am working alone. Main stackyard is on the farm and close to the fields - less than quarter mile away. Only time travel on the county road would be necessary is if I sell excess hay to the neighbor a mile up the road. My fields are mostly flat with a few small swales. Road between the fields and stackyard crosses down through a small creek drainage and back out again. Looking at options for efficent moving of the bales from field to the stackyard. Will probably be 400 bales or less a year. Don't need the high production or cost of a self loading round bale hauler. Was considering a smaller bumper pull self-unloading hay trailer (don't have a hitch for goose neck trailer). Nobody around here uses these types of hay trailers. Any of you have any experience with them? How stable are they on shallow slopes or crossing a small drainage? When you unload them, how well do the bales line up or do they roll all over? If loaded from the rear of the trailer with a bale spear, can you push 6 or 8 bales clear to the front of the trailer without pushing the trailer along? If pulling up a slope on rough ground, will the bales slide back (or off!) the back of the trailer? If pulling the trailer with a 3/4 ton pickup or tractor, will it be a rodeo without trailer brakes? Your experiences? Makes of such hay trailers you are familiar with?

I normally use 4 wheeled, flat wagons or 'hayracks' as they are referred to in some places, 20 feet long. That holds 2 rolls wide, 4 rolls long on the bottom tier and 3 rolls in the middle on top. Makes a nice load of 11. In the field I pull 2 wagons typically. On the road, I strictly use a gooseneck or wagons. Dont own a bumper pull trailer other than wagons. I do put a world of hay on bumper pull trailers for people.

I should mention that I have used hay wagons or flatbed trailers to haul the round bales from the field also. Since my loader is not on the tractor but on a backhoe, this presents a problem of unloading the wagons or trailers at the stackyard unless I go back to the field and bring the loader over to the stackyard. The process would be simpler if the loader was on the same tractor that I use to haul the bales to the stackyard.

Sounds like you need something with a hoist so you can just dump them and stack them later. The first few years that I baled round bales back in the late 70s,early 80s,I used a bumper pull and took them off with a 3pt spear. Trouble was,I'd get too low in the bale,it would roll a little,then snag the twine and break it. I finally had to break down and buy a second old loader tractor for unloading. I've upgraded a long way since. Better loaders and a 5th wheel trailer behind a dually. If the bales are tight though,Ive always just thought a wagon with a hoist would work.

I dunno; I'd like to have one of those new fancy movers too, but the price of 'em is just plain out of my reach. So, I do the second best and use this old Lehmann stack mover.

Since this is dryland out here, I have to cover a heck of a lot of real estate and this old mover really works slick.

Allan

I have a 6 bale goosneck self unloader made by T & B welding and trailers, Lockwood Missouri, a friend has a different brand but almost identical to mine that he bought in Oklahoma. I pull it with a 3/4 ton 4-wd -- no problems, 6 5x6 bales. I load with a 60 h.p. tractor and have never had any problems shoving them ahead, most of these type trailers have a large O.D. pipe down the center like a
''backbone'' that the bales slide on and move freely with no hang-ups. The first few times I dumped it I thought the Goose was going to twist out but it always sprang right back into place with no warping, I would wonder about that twisting on a bumper pull hitch though -- I think I would want to see it dump before buying -- bales will pretty well stay in a line if on level ground -- I can dump 8 loads in a 32 x 60 open front hay shed before I have to bring a tractor in to stack. Its not perfect and only 6 at a time but I mostly work by myself and don't have to strap the bales down, it fills the bill in those respects. If your kind of tight,like me,it galls that the trailer has only one use but I found it worth it.

That was my problem too. For me, the solution was to add a skidloader with a hay spear so I could load and unload at two points. What I didnt realize was how useful the skid loader would be. It cost 6000.00 but instead of spending half that for a single purpose piece of equipment I added what has become the most versitile machine on the farm.

If my stackyard was just 1/4 mule from the fields I would walk back and forth to get the loader tractor. The exercise would get some of my 70 year old kinks out. If you have problems that don't allow this solution, ignore the post.

I've looked at this problem before coming up with 2 loader tractors. It seems that some trailers are low enough to load and unload with a hay fork on a 3ph. I gave thought to making a low trailer using 2 truck wheels mounted offset front to back so that a wheel would not take up bale space. Trailers with offset wheels are made for use in orchards where they are filling large boxes(estimate 4 x 4feet) and loading them on the trailers with forks.

KEH

I just started doing round bales this year - Daughter and Son-In-Law gave me their round baler and a skid steer when they moved to ND from ME. Skidsteer has QD forks and works well unloading and stacking in sheds.

Some of the fields I hay are river bottom land here in southern NH, but about 8 miles from the farm. I can load 6 bales on the flatbed farm truck, but found that I need to put the truck"s rear wheels into a ditch to clear the bed with a 3pt hitch spear. Truck has fixed 4ft slatted sides and a metal floor. Worked good in fields on one side of the river. But other side didn"t have a ditch so had to switch to the bumper pull deck-over beaver tail. I can fit 8 on, but have to tie down. Ramps on back, when in vertical position, hold last bales from rolling off. Two front bales go on in vertical position. Kind of a pain!!

Some posters mentioned using hay wagons or flat beds. How do you secure bales on these without tying down?

Allan, have you taken the chains off of that stack mover? If not, I guess you would have to load the bales from the side using a grapple? If the chains have been removed, can you push the bales on from the rear? When unloading, if the chains have been removed, as you tilt the deck and drive forward do the bales slide off the deck okay? Putting up hay in stacks was common around here years ago and there are some of those stack movers abandoned rusting away in equipment yards. Perty clever idea.

Kyhayman-now your talking! All I needed was an ever so slight of a justification to get a skidsteer! Been thinking about how handy one would be instead of using the backhoe to clean corrals and runs in tight places, and also moving the round bales to feed. What did you find for your $6000? Now lets see--what do I have around here that I can sell off?

The bed is hydraulically tilted and/or reversable so it can load or unload without ever leaving the tractor seat.

However, since the bales have to be rounded up anyway, I find it simpler to just take the loader to the field and load 'em right on the mover. I then bring in 10 or 12 loads and at the end of the day, bring the loader back in to stack 'em.

Allan

Securing bales without tying them down???? I used 24 ft. cotton trailers with the sideboards removed. They held 4 bales each and I pulled 2...... hooked together; I had a couple of (letter) L shaped brackets on each end of the trailers; one end slid into the channel iron frame under the trailer and was held in place with one bolt. Never tied them down and never lost a bale.....on local roads; when I had to go further, I put them on a gooseneck and tied 'em on. This was 5 x 6 bales........

with the short distances youre talking about i'd just use a 16' low boy and pull it with your loader tractor...you can stack 3 bottom and 2 on top.
i got a 3 point hitch setup on my tractor so i dont even have to get off tractor to hook up trailer except to lock hitch onto trailer ball.
FWIW i've never lost a bale stacked like that at slow speed...takes a pretty good slope or jolt to knock one loose.

Ive got a New Holland 85 Bale Handler.It pulls behind a tractor.Loads hauls and unloads all from the seat.It'll haul 5 of your bales.I love it and it wasnt expensive

Consider yourself pushed . Its one of those gotta have things, seriously. Case in point, my loader tractor used to get right at 300 hrs a year. First year with the skidloader it got 100, and the skid loader got 160. Net effect is I did the same work in 40 less hours.

As to the how, I decided after using my neighbors skidloader that I needed one. But, Im frugal (ex wife called me tight, current g.f. calls me cheap, lol). I watched Ebay and knew what the ones that were selling were worth. Was at a farm delivering hay and the guy there told me that they had sold the place. Made a mistake when someone asked them to price it, lol. They offered it to me for 6000 and threw in a hay spear off a loader tractor. I wrote the check on the spot. It was an 1845C Case with 3200 hours. That doesnt help you in your search other than to put the word out that you are looking for one. I've sold two this past year that I bought to speculate on. Got one right now that I need to find an engine for. Both the ones I bought were burned. One bad, one not. It seems that in todays economy there are a bunch of them that are mysteriously spontaneously combusting. I missed getting another lightly toasted one because I was too cheap, lol. It was a really nice Deere, and the fire was all high on the engine, melted the air cleaner but hadnt even melted the oil cooler.

I've been buying them for 600-1500, putting around 1500-800 in them and doubling my money when I sell them. The one with the engine may not though, its a Gehl with a Yanmar engine and I cant find a match that doesnt have the same two holes in the block .

Check all the rental places, see where they sell there old ones, also see where the insurance companies are selling their salvage. Thats been the source of my resales. Also, look for government surplus sales (large cities are the best) I got a B-114 NH backhoe for mine for 1750, it was 20 years old and had a leaking cylinder but it had never been put on a skid loader, rod was rusted on the dipper.

Years ago here everyone had cotton trailers so all those chassis were still around later when they went to putting cotton in modules. We got rid of the wood beds, extended the trailer chassis and put two long 6" light wall pipes on top. If you can find old steel sprinklers being junked out pipe from those works good. We put racks on the front and back to keep bales from rolling off because we load them from the side with a spear. Make pipes long enough for 4 to 6 round bales depending on heavy the chassis is. Can usually stack two high on our trailers and also welded hitches on back and put sliding tongue hitches on them and can pull two or three wagons in from field at once that way. The larger pipe on top is way better to use than old wood high line poles and makes a stronger trailer too. You can even feed right off those trailers too so we keep them loaded and ready before it snows.

A cheap old school bus with a towbar hitch infront. Chop the sides and roof off just aft of the drivers seat.
It's a self propelled farm vehicle that needs no plates with a SMV sign if kept under 25mph. Or tow it behind the tractor when making solo trips from field to barn.

years ago i use to haul rond bales and didn't have a way to unload them when i delivered them. i came up with a flat deck trailer. i would tie a rope to the side i wanted to unload on and then toss the rope across the trailer and run it through a hoop on the other side. using a 3pt hitch i loaded the hay and set it down on the rope. i threw the ropes back across and tied them to the same side i first tied the rope to. when i got where i was going i undid the rope, remove it from the hoop and threw it back across the trailer again. any car or truck tied to that rope would let you simply roll the bale off the side. this works good as long as the strings aren't rotten off. if your unloading them just out on a open place and letting the cows get to them it want make any difference. can't get much cheaper that that. just always remember to remove the rope from the hoop. no i never did forget. right.

Forgot about traction. hay is "light" and the vehicle is mostly "offroad".
I've seen the cover get yanked off the differential. And the pinion side gears get welded to the carrier. The outfit ran for years hauling firewood through places where it used to get stuck.

go to the post aove on loaders pick the link and pick hay haulers. should solve your problems. as far as crossing the low place is concerened the length of the trailer and the slope of the ground on each side of the low spot will determine where the trailer will hang up when crossing there or not.

Cut down a mobile home frame to your desired length, add some additional cross bracing (I made mine out of the stuff that I cut off) and brace up the front end where the hitch is. Convert it to a drawpin type hitch and use a 3point drawbar to raise the front to unload. Done up a few for other people and I have used mine like that for years. Works GREAT!! and its cheap! Try to beat that. Just my 2 cents.

kippster, i have done several trailers that way myself. i cut the front end off, remove a section back toward the wheels that will making the front part of the trailer the length i want it to be, then using the pieces i've cut out i put the front part with bracing intact and the section with the axles still on it together. using some of the rear end that has to be cut off i eccentially double up the frame. if there is enough of the frame left you can put a piece across the rear end and some middle bracing too. adding a few 2x 6's turned down flat and bolted to the frame right over some bracing makes a place to screw 2 x 6's to for a flat bed to haul anything on. by fastneing down just a few 2 x 5 6's to the frame keeps you fron having to drill so many holes in the steel fram. finding a three axle frame is especailly nice if your going to be in soft ground with it. i baled some hay for a guy once and he didn't have anything that would stand up in the soft ground and we used my bailer to stack the hay on and haul it out to the trucks. yeah, i've been there and done that when it comes to hay including killing 6 rattle snakes in a three acre field once.

On a flatbed gooseneck I put 4 long, 2 wide, then stack 3 centered in the pockets on top. If Im around the farm I just drop one flat on the dovetail and let the ramps hold the whole load on. On the road I use a single strap around the last two bales on the trailer. That keeps them from scooting. One thing I have learned is they have to be tucked in tight. A single strap running front to rear holds those on and there is really nowhere they can go. If Im really doing a long haul and go 2 wide on top then I strap side to side. It takes more straps but miles are money. Mostly I do that on the semi trailer.

For using farm wagons I load the same way. To keep the front behaving you can strap the front, or nail a 3x4 from side board to side board to keep them in place. In all honest, I dont do either one, and have never lost a roll off the front if I stacked them on tight and put the rolls on top.

We use the 8 & 10 wheel dolly style bale wagon pull behind a 4 wd 3/4 & ton trucks. We are located in the mountains so you must be very careful not to jack-knife going down a hill when you are off the asphalt. We literally move thousands of bale a year around with these bale wagons. You need only a rear 3 point pale spear to load and unload the bales.

I have a self unloading trailer from Go Bob Pipe. IT is called a Red Rhino ( you can google it). I have the 36 foot gooseneck that unloads from the side. The bales line up pretty good if you take your time lining up the trailer. I had a bunch that I didn't have to restack. A 3/4 ton truck should handle the 4 bale bumper hitch model if you pay attention. I guess a 1/2 ton would too. The trailer brakes are a must. The one I bought was a little pricey, but I'm glad I got it. It make hay hauling fast and safe They have a lighter built one called the Orange Ox. It looks like a good trailer too. I don't think you'll be sorry if you buy one. I feel alot safer with this than hauling them on the highway stacked on a gooseneck flatbed. Good luck.
Fud

I checked out the Red Rhino trailers on the web site. They look perty good.
Have you ever had a problem with a bale getting hung up and not unloading? If a bale was soft, loose, out of round, or poorly shaped, do you think this could happen? I guess if it did, it wouldn"t be too hard to push it off. Another question--With a bumper pull trailer, if it was only loaded half-way, such as at the end of clearing a field or to move a few bales from the stackyard to another location, with all the weight on the rear half of the trailer, would the negative tongue weight cause any problems unloading or otherwise?

One of my 5 bale trailers can haul 9 stacked 2 high. 6" pipe for the rails on extended chassis, sliding hitch tongue, rear hitch also to hook 2 or 3 trailers together.

Bale spear I built from 4x18 rectangular tubing with 3" hex for spear about 48" or longer, pointed pipe welded on end with stainless rod. Heavy plate welded around hex on back side of tubing. Short lower ones about 18" long. Heavy angle and shaft pins for loader quick hitch. Later cut a hole in the lower gusset iron for pin and slide on a pipe jib crane used for lifting heavy parts and engines never bent it yet.