bought a bale basket, need a wagon hitch

I just bought an ez trail bale basket, but my NH 275
baler doesn't have a wagon hitch. I 'm sure I could
make one out of baling wire and 2x4's (kidding!).
Does anyone have any pictures of one I could fab up?
Thanks!

I can get a photo this eve, but I can tell you this for what its worth- my 275 was purchase with a chute and then I installed a belt thrower. I found out that now my belt thrower would hit the bale wagon if I made any type of ?sharp? turn, so I had to go to a salvage yard and find a longer hitch tube. This may not be an issue with a bale basket. If you are a decent fabricator you should be able to do this. Have a pro do it if you are not. Hate to see a good baler incur expensive damage because a homemade wagon hitch broke on a hill and the wagon smashed it up.

Be advised that the EZ Trail Bale Basket requires a hitch centered on the rear of the bale chamber and one that allows the chute of the Bale Basket to be not more than 10" (IIRC) from the end of the baler chambers outfeed. EZ Trail makes an adapter for the offset NH tongue, but as long as you attach your ho'made tongue to the balers axle you should be okay if it's end is centered. You are going to have to run an angle in the tongue someplace because the needles are in the way of centering it. And also be advised that when the Bale Basket is loaded, it's HEAVY. Those are big, fat tires on it, but you still have a lot of weight on them. So when you build, build with that in mind.

The Bale Basket is a great implement. You'll love it.

I bought mine from ez trail. Ordered it one day had it the next. Doesn't seem like the price was too bad.

Not sure if these will upload or not but I just posted the pictures of mine to the "parts and pieces" gallery. It attaches to the bale chamber and the hitch bar is 25" long and the brackets hold it 9.5" below the chamber.

Hitch pin needs to be centered, 5-1/2" to the rear of the bale chamber. A quick hitch would be a big asset with the baskets if you're unhooking them. If you're just dragging to the barn and dumping with the baler; not a big deal.
I find it difficult to remove the pin on my accumulator if the chute is full of bales as there isn't room there unless the pin is put in from below.... but I also have a deflector plate over the hitch to direct the bales into the accumulator chute. Your basket may be different...

Rod

(quoted from post at 15:08:27 08/30/16) Hitch pin needs to be centered, 5-1/2" to the rear of the bale chamber. A quick hitch would be a big asset with the baskets if you're unhooking them. If you're just dragging to the barn and dumping with the baler; not a big deal.
I find it difficult to remove the pin on my accumulator if the chute is full of bales as there isn't room there unless the pin is put in from below.... but I also have a deflector plate over the hitch to direct the bales into the accumulator chute. Your basket may be different...

Rod

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The EZ Trail has a telescoping tongue. You just lift a lever and it gives you a foot or so to play with. Makes things much easier.

I drilled an extra hole in my hitch pin so I could put it in from the bottom. Again, lots easier than trying to pull it from the top.

(quoted from post at 12:31:46 08/30/16) Not sure if these will upload or not but I just posted the pictures of mine to the "parts and pieces" gallery. It attaches to the bale chamber and the hitch bar is 25" long and the brackets hold it 9.5" below the chamber.

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That looks very, very light to haul the filled bale basket.

That looks very, very light to haul the filled bale basket.

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It came with the basket. It has 6 holes for bolting it to the baler. I tied it on with 4 7/16 bolts. I never had any problems with it. The basket I had was a little higher than the EZ trails and would hold around 130 bales and it stood up to that. Weighs about 35 pounds or so. I think the straps are 3/16 or 1/4 inch flat stock. Wouldn't want it any lighter though....

(quoted from post at 13:01:16 08/31/16)

That looks very, very light to haul the filled bale basket.

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It came with the basket. It has 6 holes for bolting it to the baler. I tied it on with 4 7/16 bolts. I never had any problems with it. The basket I had was a little higher than the EZ trails and would hold around 130 bales and it stood up to that. Weighs about 35 pounds or so. I think the straps are 3/16 or 1/4 inch flat stock. Wouldn't want it any lighter though....

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Okay, if it works for you that's good. I'd still rather tie it to the main frame and axle.

Got one in the shed but don't have pictures.Ours is a Forage King with the quick hitch.It looks similar to the other picture except it has the jaws that clamp onto the pin like some forage harvesters do.I don't think you want to be unhooking the basket often without the quick hitch because there is tremendous pressure on the hitch pin.We learned the hard way that the hitch needs to be able to rotate on uneven ground.We broke the jaws twice pulling the baler and basket up from the field over rutted tractor paths.We eventually smartened up and cut slots in the receiver so it could rotate a bit.Hope this helps.