pulling a round baler

I would say no problem, except that the vehicles behind you might not be able to see you tail/brake lights. The baler might have lights on the back or you could rig up a light bar and use tarp straps to secure it to the back of the baler. Does your truck have a trailer socket?
 
Probably about 30 mph. You don't have shocks or high speed tires, so you're going to bounce or sway much over that. The baler and truck will kind of tell you.....
 
Yes,should be fine.Chewck/grease wheel brgs and put in 5psi air over rated.Or install some good light truck or automotive tires.50mph should be fine. As was said,install some temporary lights on the baler.Be aware,the heavy baler will take a bit longer to stop....Pulled heavier longer distances with a 67 half tonFord over mountain passes.
 
It will be a lot more load than you think........ A lot more. I hauled a BR740 last summer with my Ranger and it's the first time I really questioned how much I was pulling. Mind you, that baler had a crop cutter that adds quite a chunk of weight... but the problem I had was the tounge weight. It absolutely flattens any half ton and puts a pretty fair squat into most 3/4 ton trucks. It's not the power it takes to pull it that's a problem or even so much the brakes to stop it. I regularly handle as much weight... just not that much weight on the hitch. If you have a saggy arse old truck with soft springs you may find it a LOT too much.

As far as lights go... a set of mag lights that you pick up at NAPA, etc should suffice for lighting if the baler doesn't already have lights.

Rod
 
They smooth out when you get above about 25. I have pulled quite a few big round balers, and always at highway speeds. I have always had atleast a 3/4 ton in front though.
 

You'd make the trip a lot faster over 150 miles by putting the baler on a trailer. Top speeds for an implement like that are around 25-35mph due to tires and bearings. That's a long trip. 25-30 miles is one thing, over 100...use a trailer.
 
I pulled a 851 with a 1/2 ton chevy almost 80 miles from dads place to mine thru the hills and valleys of southern Iowa knew it was back there but had no problems.
 
NAPA,Walmart,TSC,HF......Yes chains are a good idea.Dont know if required for farm equipment,but keeps the cops happy.
 
I appreciate all the advice guys. But what's going down is I bought it from a dealer in Oklahoma and I live in Arkansas. Well were meeting halfway so all in all baler will be pulled and 250 miles but they are packing the bearings. So is that a little to much and what about spares. Will any 6 lug old tire work. Dealer thinks it'll be fine. Got a good deal on it.
 
A 1/2 ton pickup will probably start out with it OK but will have a lot of trouble stopping it quickly from highway speeds. A 3/4 ton or larger truck would handle it better.

I'm guessing the empty baler weights between 3000 and 6000 pounds, has no brakes and also has a high center of gravity. With only two wheels under the baler and a high center of gravity, it will push down hard on the pickup's rear bumper during heavy braking. Width of the baler could also be a problem (wider than 108 inches?) as it may be considered a wide load. It probably will not be a legal trailer to pull at highway speeds, but it may be legal to pull it as a farm implement at slow speeds.

I would limit speeds to 20-25 MPH (Slow Moving Vehicle speeds), keep to the back roads during daylight hours, keep the SMV sign in place, add brake/tail/hazard-flasher lights to the back of the baler, and say out of overdrive gears to gain some engine braking. As others have said, your pickup taillights will be blocked by the baler.
 
6 lug implement or tractor tire will fit but a 6 lug Chev rim will not fit. Big thing with pulling something like that is making sure you leave extra room to stop so give your self 2 or 3 times longer then you would between the car in front of you. I once pulled a HN460 haybine 75 miles behind a Geo Tracker. I did not drive fast and left lot of room between me and the car in front of me and made it home with no problems
 
Can you borrow a similar baler from a neighbor or a local dealer to test how well your pickup pulls it? Try the local NH dealer you will be buying baler parts from. If they think you will be overloaded they will probably tell you so real fast and not let you borrow their baler.
 
Should work fine just get taillights and flip the smv sign. Have a spare tire and cordless impact.

Just pulled a 604M vermeer 350 miles. Was able to run 50 to 60 mph. Had the big floater tires and went just fine.
 
I pulled a New Holland 855 about 150 miles last spring, I used my Sierra 2500 HD, did not have any problems. My only concern with a 1500 would be the tongue weight pushing down your truck. Do you happen to have air bags on it? That may help bring the rear end back up, My baler took my truck down a good 3 or 4 inches when we lowered the jack.
 
I picked up magnetic leg lights at Harbor Freight, $30.00 i think, work good, but I let the magnets hold them on, but I also Zip tied them just in case....
 
I pulled a JD 530 which rolls a 5x6 about 60 miles at less than 25 mph with a Ram 150 with a 4.7 V8. Above that speed it wanted to shimmy side to side. Power wasn't the issue. Probably had to do with the tongue being about half the length of the truck's wheelbase. or there wasn't enough tongue weight for the weight of the baler. I know on conventional trailers, too light on the TW and you can be in for big problems.
 

I have pulled many JD rd balers with a 1/2 ton pickup. My last dealer pu had a SB 400 in it so it had plenty of power. If you have to pull it into a headwind you'll know baler is behind you because they catch wind.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top