Thought some of you might find this interesting.
http://www.ca.uky.edu/cmspubsclass/file ... ky2011.pdf
http://www.ca.uky.edu/cmspubsclass/file ... ky2011.pdf
Angus Cowman":3fs2r92l said:I still think I am saving money and time by using my self unloading trailers on putting hay up
all your system is saving in MY operation is a tractor in the field loading and I can actually load 8 bales in the time you are loading 4 as we gather ours in load lots as we are loading
I timed some last yr we were hauling 3/4 of a mile and averaging just under a bale per minute
56 bales pr hr with 1 tractor loading and 1 trailer hauling
this yr on 1 field we were 2.5 hrs on 80 bales with 1 tractor loading and 1 trailer hauling 4 miles
Tomtom4018":xkqruxog said:What trailer you got?
Sorry for this becoming a trailer discussion but thought the link was interesting on what it costs to different things.
I wasn't down playing your product in the leastbaleflipper":2colhw7j said:There are many self unloading trailers on the market. This shows that people are looking for a better way to handle hay.
I looked at all I could find and did an extensive study. I found some wont dump over the wheel,some only dump the whole load at once. I decided to build mine where you can push a button it the truck cab and dump the whole load or go to any cradle on trailer and dump a single bale.I also figured out a way to put a cube hopper on the front cradle to allow feeding cubes while putting out hay.
The time required to bunch bales with a tractor cost money also. With my Bale flipper you go to one bale bump it ,it clears the ground you drive to the next.The newest loaders load a bale in 45 secs.This includes travel time to next bale.
Any tractor large enough to load round bales will consume more fuel than my Bale Flipper.I run it 10 hours on 2 gallons of gas. I timed my trips to a bale and back to trailer with a tractor many times . The average is 2 minutes.
the BH price is in the ballpark for pasture clipping and light brushBrute 23":1u5jbc8x said:Bushhog $14.50-$18.50 per acre. That is only one pass too I bet. For $18/ac I can have a boom truck spray. Plus I am killing it... not just spreading it.
Hauling cattle $5 per mile. You can hire guys for $2.5 per loaded mile.
Is it really cheaper to do it yourself? I wonder if they factored risk into that also?
I guess if I was having to take tractors off of baling and mowing I might look at things a little differently but the way it is I always have atleast one tractor dedicated to moving hay as I always have an extra 1 aroundbaleflipper":z7kud5bm said:I welcome open discussion,Thats how I learn.The 100 bales in 10 hrs is usualy on gravel roads with me having to get out and open gates etc. With a six bale machine on good roads It is quite a bit more hay moved.Time to move tractors is also a factor. Tires on tractors ,oil changes and fuel consumption and wear and tear were all taken into my consideration.One rear tractor tire will buy all the tires on one of my loaders twice. You are not the first to say tractors are faster. In several field trials I have shown several folks tractors are realy slower.Last November I moved 169 bales 3/4 of a mile to a hay yard in 9 hrs using a four bale manual trailer. The thing is I dont want to make a claim I cant back. I yard the hay when I unload it.
I would rather leave my tractors on the baler making more bales or cutting hay than sitting there while I make a load.