can pallet forks be used with bales

[roborigger2]

Hey guys, i am looking at getting a quick attach bale spear but my dealer offered me a set of qiuck attach forks that are used for 600. Just wondering if anyone uses them in everyday bale handling or if i should just buy the spear.

thanks

 

[denvermartinfarms]

i know people that only use forks and it work fine. i like a spike better with the forks you can tear the net or twine especialy on bigger bales but it does work

 

[dun]

We have bale forks for the tractor, 2 long spears about 3 foot apart at the bottom with no top spear. I've found them to be a lot handier then a straight typical 3 spear type. For moving round or large square bales you use it as is, for small squares you use it like pallet forks. Also makes moving corral panels or cattle/hog panels a lot eaiser. Straight pallet forks just aren;t really all that practical.

 

[novatech]

With pallet forks you will end up digging holes under the bales so as not to tear up the bale or wrap. They work OK when stacking on end. I'm with Dun on the 3 fork. On the farm they work out a lot better but just don't overload them. They bend a lot easier than pallet forks.

 

[hillrancher]

I have a pallet fork for the bobcat and the 2 prong hay spear. You can buy the 2 prong spear for 600$. The pallet fork not good to load and unload hay on the trailor will work.

 

[pdfangus]

We used pallet forks for years....
we stack the bales on the flat side three high without being in a pyramid.
we could get 12 5 foot wide bales in a vertical row four wide and three high.
Actually what worked best is I hauled them from the field to the barn with a spear on my loader and a spear on the back and Jack stayed at the barn and put the bales in the barn with the pallet forks. both did not have to happen at the same time....I usually had the bales in rows near the barn before they finished baling and Jack would put them in the barn after baling.
The hay barn was nothing but a pole barn roof high enough for us to stack three bales high. No sides...just a roof
the floor was a rock dust pad built up to prevent water pooling....
Hay would stay in there a couple of years and not loose quality.

 

[thendrix]

BE VERY CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had an uncle who used forks. One day he was stacking hay in his barn and started to spin. He looked back and didn't take his hand off the lever. Cylinders reached the end of their stroke and bumped a little and the roll came off and crushed him killing him instantly.

Again, BE VERY CAREFUL

 

[pdfangus]

nothing about farming is safe....
so Many ways to maim and kill yourself.

sorry about your uncle....

 

[J&D Cattle]

I watched a guy unload hay with forks the other day and ruined a minimum 4 bales out of 46 total. Spears are the only way to go. As Dun said above the 2 down low that sit side by side work better than the 3 pronged ones. You can then to a degree use the 2 spears as forks for some applications.

 

[ERNIBIGB]

During winter we use pallet forks only on one tractor. They work fine for getting hay out of the barn and putting in hay rings. They stay on there because they are so handy for so many other things. They are not very good for loading and unloading hay trailers. It works best to handle the bales from the side or on their end so as not to try and spread the forks.

I also agree with thendrix on the safety issues. Be very careful and keep everything as close to the ground as possible. The tractor we have them on will lift more than is safe so I often have a roll of hay on the rear for extra ballast and try to keep the weight as close to the ground as possible when moving. I have handled many logs and stacks of lumber with it and have had my share of close calls.

So again be VERY CAREFUL handling anything with the forks. That being said they are probably the most used attachment around here. I could not begin to list all the jobs those forks have helped with.

 

[ERNIBIGB]

Hey guys, i am looking at getting a quick attach bale spear but my dealer offered me a set of qiuck attach forks that are used for 600. Just wondering if anyone uses them in everyday bale handling or if i should just buy the spear.

thanks

I would suggest trying to make a deal on both. Both have their place and both are very useful.

 

[Tim/South]

We have both and use both. For hay only, I would prefer the spear. It is easier to stack rolls pyramid style with the spear.
If you use forks, I would get the kind with a tall back stop to keep the bale from rolling back over the loader.

 

[roborigger2]

the forks i am looking at have the high back stop on them. My dad has a home made bale spear and i am tempted to weld up a quick attach mount to put it on my loader. it is set up for either three point hitch or it will bolt into the bucket. Not to sure i want to bolt it in as i have seen alot of buckets bent from doing this. I agree the pallet forks would be handy but for my bale trailer i need a spear. My dealer said he has heard of guys moving one fork to the center of the mount and the other fork out as far to the outside of the mount and then using the center fork as a spear. Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[backhoeboogie]

I use pallet forks. I have a spear but prefer the forks. Never dig holes but then again I have used them for years and years. Seen people dig holes and don't understand why. You can always spear the bale with one of the forks. It works just fine. I put round bales in the cradle using one fork as a spear all the time. It is a big tractor so balance is not an issue.

 

[thendrix]

Seems like spearing a bale with a fork would be more apt to push the center out the backside because of the fork being flat across the front

 

[Tim/South]

I can pear with one fork if I am spearing bales from my 30 year old baler. At times I have trouble getting a spear in the bales from the new baler. They are hardcore and much more dense.
I made my last hay spear. I wielded a frame, bought a 3,000 lb. capacity spear on line, placed a flat bar at an angle at the top, cut out the two bottom pieces and had a spear.

I wielded a quick attach mount on the back of a box blade. It works well. I can still use the three point hitch and pull it from the front.
You can buy a quick attach adapter that allows you to hook up to any 3 point hitch implement. That may be the cheapest rout to go. You could use the spear you have.
The hard part about using the bucket mount you mentioned is visibility. The bucket blocks the view.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Seems like spearing a bale with a fork would be more apt to push the center out the backside because of the fork being flat across the front

Spear them high. If it is too tight in the open, set another bale against it with the back lift. I never have a problem spearing with the forks but my neighbor and BIL do. They both can watch me do it over and over and neither of them can get the feel. THey have to stack another bale in behind to spear with the fork.

 

[roborigger2]

thanks guys. I think i will look at a blank quik attach mount to weld the spear i have to, but i tried the forks with a bale and with a bit of practice i think it will be slick as snot on a doorknob.