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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled?

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Bill

12-12-2003 18:14:23




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Looking at my IH 45 baler brochure I noticed that in the back they list some "special equipment". One of these is a bale sled. The text reads, "For accumulating bales in small stacks for easy pickup from the field. Sled hitches directly to the baler. When 15 or 20 bales are stacked on the sled, they are skedded off by means of a crowbar."

Anyone ever seen one of these or used one? Did other manufacturers offer them? Did they work? Did one stack the bales on them or did they fall of the baler into a pile onto them?

Thanks in advance,
Bill

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IA hayseed

12-13-2003 21:18:55




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
We used to use a skid. It was basically a standard size hayrack with grader blades on the bottom of the skids which were 4x6's with the front of the blades bent up. We hired our square baling done. We had the custom baler dump the bales on the ground then we would take the skids out to the field, drive right next to the bales and hook them and stack them. The skid was smooth and we could drive 6mph or better on 2nd 3rd crop. the other advantage was no walking back and forth on the skid. We only stacked 5 high. I think we got about 100 per load. We pulled it with a 1650 Oliver. Pulled it in to the yard and right up to the bale elevator. We thought it worked great. We easily put up 3000 bales /day. In the winter we had an old wood fence line feeder for the stock cows. We would load the skid every week and pull it 1/4 mile down the road up to the fenceline bunk and feed off of it. This was before roundbalers, and we didn't have any pavement to travel. I have fond memories of doing that. Most of you think I'm nuts I'm sure.

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Jimmy King

12-13-2003 18:16:43




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
My Dad custom baled in the 40's and 50's was going the bale for a neighbor, when he told him the man that was going to haul the hay wanted it bunched Dad borrowed a sled, and he hated it. Now the man that was hauling the hay had his truck going up hill when he accidently popped the clutch and dumped about 1/3 of his load. Dad quickly stopped baling and ran over and told Homer he wouild believe anything he told from then on because he had said he wouldn't haul the hay unless it was bunched, and he sure went to a lot of trouble to bunch it.

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MGT - PA.

12-13-2003 08:33:36




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
Seems like alot of extra work. If you have to have a person on the sled stacking bales and then use iron rod to push bales off sled, seems
like it be whole lot easier to tow a wagon behind baler and stack bales on wagon so when your done baling, the bales are already loaded.
Using a sled you have to go back to field pick them up off the ground and handle the bales again.



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wolfy

12-13-2003 17:39:34




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 Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to MGT - PA., 12-13-2003 08:33:36  
Sure HAVE used a bale sled. Not a bad method. Very easy work to stack up to about 25 (we had a stone-boat head with 2 by 10's with flat metal runners-one man could pick it up & put it into pick-up truck or set it on top of the baler); at a convenient corner of field, I'd just dump the bales. At end of baling, all of field was in bunches of 20-25 bales. A boy can ride the sled! Over the years, baled on ground & picked up with you name it; used sled; used bale shoot & flat wagons; used kicker-wagons; have round baled AND a lot of each method. To this day, drop a lot of bales on ground-can put 49 on pick-up truck without ever stepping off the ground- can store about 100 bales an hour myself. A helper is appreciated. This past summer by myself I tedded, raked, baled and hauled up to 500 bales a day & I just turned 60. (some days only 350; some days a neighbor kid helped with the hauling) Round bales easier, but horse customers like the squares!

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Joel Harman

12-13-2003 14:15:34




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 Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to MGT - PA., 12-13-2003 08:33:36  
Not everyone cuts hay on flat ground. Would you put a wagon on 20% groung behind your baler?



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kyhayman

12-13-2003 14:29:08




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 Re: Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Joel Harman, 12-13-2003 14:15:34  
Short answer, yes. My dad's place has no land less steep than a C slope. Spent many a day as a kid behind a 14t and a 336 Deere loading flat wagons. He had one 16' wagon I hated because about once a year, right when it was almost full loaded a tie rod end would break. Have to change it in the field on a downhill point of an E slope with a full load on. Even at my place, which is much less steep, I run the NH stackliner on the A and B (and some C's if they dont break in 2 directions) slopes and pull a flat wagon on the C's, D's, and E's.

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jim

12-13-2003 15:39:33




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to kyhayman, 12-13-2003 14:29:08  
kyhayman - Did you ever load hay on those hills using those old rocking-bolster wagons? Those wagons pretty well guaranteed an upset at least once a day (usually with rain on the way)?



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MGT - PA.

12-13-2003 17:07:41




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to jim, 12-13-2003 15:39:33  
Not sure how steep a B or C slope is or what a 20% slope would look like? Just know that here in York County, Pa. if you get that funny feeling that hillside you're on is a bit steep for farm equipment, that piece of ground usually ended up in pasture. Been farming here for years, from loose hay and pitchforks to the early New Holland balers with canvas hay pickup to modern balers, "never" had a load of hay tip over, whether loose hay, square bales, round bales, big round bales or giant rectangular bales. Person needs to use some common sense. I've seen some farmers on steep hillsides and it made you wonder what kept their hats from falling off. Thanks for your comments. Still, the fewer times you have to pick up a hay bale,
the better. My old bones tell me I must have picked up alot of 'em.

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Randy

12-13-2003 07:51:09




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
Years ago when I was growing up, my father did custom hay along with some of his own. He owned a '52 John Deere A and a W55 IH wire tie baler. He made his hay slip (that's what we called them) out of four 2x12x10' with two across the front spaced six inches apart. He left three to four inches in the middle for the crow bar. He used chain, ring and a clevis to attach to the baler. Good thing I had good stout cousin's to work the slip. Can be a hot, dirty job in July. Good Luck

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Unimog

12-12-2003 19:27:43




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
I use a bale buncher, which is like a bale sled
but this works much better. It is a metal frame
with sled runners made from pipe. There is a series of 1/2" rods spaced 8" apart that drag on
the ground and the bales ride on them. The bale
drops into the buncher and sides to the rear
against a rear gate. When an average of 8 to 10
bales are dropped, I pull a rope that opens the
gate and the bales are bunched in one place. The
next time around the field I dump another load in
the same area. Makes picking up bales a quick and
much easier job. Never had a broken or misshaped
bale in 8 years of use. All done from the seat of the tractor. A JD dealer in New Hampshire hires a welder make up about 25 per year. I paid $425 for mine, best money I ever spent.

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KentinNB

12-13-2003 05:49:50




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 Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Unimog, 12-12-2003 19:27:43  
My wife used one as a younger lady,says it worked well. Would you post some pictures of yours, so that we could figure out what she is talking about? and maybe build one. Thanks.



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Unimog

12-13-2003 06:47:54




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 Re: Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to KentinNB, 12-13-2003 05:49:50  
Sorry I don't have a picture at this time or a
digital camera. I'll try to get one made up and
post in the future.



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KentinNB

12-14-2003 08:41:54




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Unimog, 12-13-2003 06:47:54  
Sounds like a plan!



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KentinNB

12-14-2003 08:35:34




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Unimog, 12-13-2003 06:47:54  
Sounds like a plan!



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Dan

12-12-2003 19:20:40




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
Spent many, not happy, childhood hours on one of those hay sleds mentioned above. There was a metal piece on the front rounded up with a place to put your bar. The rest was wide boards with a slot in the middle that was open. As mentoned you stacked bales on the sled, whatever size pile you wanted, then jamed the bar into the ground ahead of the pile, the sled kept moving but at least in theory the pile stopped. We baled round and round on the field and you tried to line up bale piles so you could drive along the line to load them on a wagon. Problem was sometimes a rock came along in the slot and emptied your sled, other times when you jamed the bar into the ground the pile and sled kept moving and the bar slammed into your shoulder. Or, the ground was too rocky and you couldn't get the bar into the ground. In later years I used a "dumnp" sled. It had runners and a platform on top. The back part of the platform tipped back when you hit a pedal to unlock it. Worked better and easier except you couln't put as much hay on and sometimes when you dumped it the pile fell over.

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RJ-AZ

12-12-2003 18:25:20




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 Re: Anyone Ever Used A Bale Sled? in reply to Bill, 12-12-2003 18:14:23  
My dad borrowed one from a neighbor to try out one time and we didn't like it. You have to ride the sled and hand stack the bales then jam a crowbar into the dirt in a slot in the planks and walk the bales off. A real pain in the a##.



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