Never had one, but I have a FEL with a bucket and no spear. Will I be satisfied with one? One on Craigslist here in town for $150. Seems easier than changing to spear when I don't have quick attach.
Bucket mounted hay spear?
- Thread starter Bigfoot
- Start date
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tnwalkingred
Well-known member
I've seen a couple of buckets bent by a spear. I wouldn't have one myself.
Kyle
Kyle
highgrit
Well-known member
I bent our bucket bad and even welded a brace on it before I mounded the spear.
EastTxBrushCattle
Member
I used one on a 2wd Kubota m4900 with LA1002 loader for several years before I broke down and got a pin-on spear that replaces the bucket. Starting out, we were only feeding 80-85 rolls a year. As the herd grew little by little, I'm now feeding around 140 rolls so I bought a pin-on spear last year. Night and day difference, as you might expect. I still have the bucket spear laying around and will use it if I just need to handle a few rolls, anything more than 10 or so and it's worth changing out to the pin-on. I paid $179 for the bucket spear years ago at TSC, now it looks like it runs around $230.
We feed mostly 5x5 rolls, the ones I have weighed have averaged about 1700 lbs per CAT scale at local truck stop. The bucket spear hasn't had a problem with bales of this size but it did wind up bending the bottom of the tractor bucket - not horribly disfigured but noticeable to the eye. What Dun said about pushing the weight forward of the loader pins is 100% correct. On my tractor, without a bale on the 3 pt out back, I can forget about trying to pick up a bale with the bucket spear. Tractor will tip forward. With a bigger/heavier tractor, loaded rear tires, or smaller bales, this might be less of a problem.
If you already have a dedicated spear and want the bucket spear to put on to handle a few bales, I'd say it's worth it for that. For more frequent use, I would skip the bucket spear and buy a dedicated pin-on. It's a pain putting it on but handles the weight 100% better and safer. The bucket spears will work, as I used one for 3 years with no other alternative, but I really don't enjoy using it due to the stress on the tractor and how unstable it makes everything.
We feed mostly 5x5 rolls, the ones I have weighed have averaged about 1700 lbs per CAT scale at local truck stop. The bucket spear hasn't had a problem with bales of this size but it did wind up bending the bottom of the tractor bucket - not horribly disfigured but noticeable to the eye. What Dun said about pushing the weight forward of the loader pins is 100% correct. On my tractor, without a bale on the 3 pt out back, I can forget about trying to pick up a bale with the bucket spear. Tractor will tip forward. With a bigger/heavier tractor, loaded rear tires, or smaller bales, this might be less of a problem.
If you already have a dedicated spear and want the bucket spear to put on to handle a few bales, I'd say it's worth it for that. For more frequent use, I would skip the bucket spear and buy a dedicated pin-on. It's a pain putting it on but handles the weight 100% better and safer. The bucket spears will work, as I used one for 3 years with no other alternative, but I really don't enjoy using it due to the stress on the tractor and how unstable it makes everything.
skyhightree1
Well-known member
Bigfoot":t70czm2p said:
Bigfoot I bought a tractor recently and it had a slide on bale spike and was chained to the bucket and it will bend the bucket to crap as others said. Just say no.
M5farm
Well-known member
I loaded one load 2 weeks ago with a bucket spear and I decided that I needed a dedicated spear. It Handled the load fine but that extra 24" or so out front makes a BIG difference. Buy or build you a spear frame and make it your quick connect for your bucket. I built a pallet fork frame today and I should be set with a hay fork, pallet fork and bucket with quick attach hooks.
skyhightree1
Well-known member
bigfoot I found some pics on my phone. I think in both pics you can see the bucket bend
OP
OP
Bigfoot
Well-known member
Yea, that looks like it would be a ton of pressure out on the end of a bucket. I've two or three hay spears for a 3 point hitch. I can probably modify one of them to fit the FEL cheaper than I can fool with the bucket spear.
skyhightree1
Well-known member
yea bucket spears are bad biz.. I will never take that one off I only bought the tractor to keep at 2 pastures away from home to move hay.
D2Cat
Well-known member
You may be able to purchase the male and female attachment pieces to add to your loader. When you weld the female brackets on you bucket it is then easy to remove. You can then buy or make just the pieces that mount on implements to make whatever you want. Then it would be pretty simple to have a bale spear with a quick disconnect also.
This is what I did with a Westendorf model 21, and it works nice.
I always looked at it like this, I wouldn't carry a bag of groceries into the house with my arms extended as far away from my body as possible!
This is what I did with a Westendorf model 21, and it works nice.
I always looked at it like this, I wouldn't carry a bag of groceries into the house with my arms extended as far away from my body as possible!
James T
Well-known member
Bigfoot":w4zx5atf said:
dun":w4zx5atf said:
BF, Dun is right......depending on your rig. I have a bale spear that attaches to my bucket (sine '06) and have NEVER had any problems with it bending the bucket. But that's on my rig which is an '05, 64 hp, 2 wheel drive tractor with stock FEL picking up bales no heavier than about 1200 lbs and I have lifted hundreds of those. The other critical consideration is how the bale spear is engineered - how it disperses the weight on your FEl. I bought mine from Northern Tool back in '06 and it cost about $400. Looks kinda like:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200612296 (this one rated for up to 1800 lbs)
Regardless of whether you use a clamp on like mine or a quick attach, you will have serious safety considerations - more so with the clamp on type due what Dun said. ALWAYS keep a heavy weight - like another bale - on the back of the tractor when moving a bale with the front end bale spear. Water in the rear wheels isn't enough. Any bale spear has to match up right to the bales weight and lift abilities of your FEL or you can have serious problems.
J&D Cattle
Well-known member
Sounds like you have decided Bigfoot but I would recommend buying a seperate spear or fitting one of your 3pt models to the front of the loader. I''ve never bent a bucket using one but have had some clusters loading hay with a big dang backhoe with a spike somebody chained in a bucket. Can't see crap either with them.
