Round Bale Trailer

[littletom]

Starting to see several of these inline trailers that dump to side. No unloading when you get there, and no wide loads. Seems like a great set up. Some are bumper hitch some are gooseneck. Anyone have a hands on with one?

 

[True Grit Farms]

The gooseneck style work great.

 

[JMJ Farms]

The gooseneck style work great.

+1. Don't know how I got by before I bought mine.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Go Bob makes a nice one.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Go Bob makes a nice one.

They do. Mine is an EZ Haul Hay Handler. I found a couple in Tennessee and Kentucky when I was looking for men. Shouldn't be a problem for you littletom and I don't think you'll ever regret it. I moved around 600 rolls last year and will be closer to 900 this year. I actually moved 98 rolls 5 miles last year in 2 hours flat, start to finish. But I wasn't fooling around.

 

[lavacarancher]

I've been considering one myself. I've only seen it in operation on the delivery end, never the loading end. I asked someone how they loaded the trailer and was told put the bale in the end cradle(s) and push it forward with the next bale(s). So, does this cut the strings or mess up the net wrap moving the bales up on the trailer? Or did I get bad advice on how to load?

 

[jltrent]

 

[True Grit Farms]

Well I'll give you folks that use a in-line hay trailer a couple of tips. The first one is when you load the trailer try and have the trailer at 90 degrees to the truck. If someone is driving the truck have them hold the brake with the truck in neutral when you're loading the trailer. The second tip is always push the hay all the way to the front of the trailer.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

JMJ, what did you mean when you said you were looking for men in Tenn and KY?

 

[jltrent]

Go Bob makes a nice one.

They do. Mine is an EZ Haul Hay Handler. I found a couple in Tennessee and Kentucky when I was looking for men. Shouldn't be a problem for you littletom and I don't think you'll ever regret it. I moved around 600 rolls last year and will be closer to 900 this year. I actually moved 98 rolls 5 miles last year in 2 hours flat, start to finish. But I wasn't fooling around.

?

 

[uplandnut]

I was looking at them as well, being as I buy all my hay. I know a guy who pulls 8 bales, on a gooseneck one, with a half ton truck. He says it handles it just fine. The biggest concern I have with the loading is when you are pushing the bales forward there will undoubtedly be some pushing on the truck/transmission, is there a chance it will damage the transmission?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I was looking at them as well, being as I buy all my hay. I know a guy who pulls 8 bales, on a gooseneck one, with a half ton truck. He says it handles it just fine. The biggest concern I have with the loading is when you are pushing the bales forward there will undoubtedly be some pushing on the truck/transmission, is there a chance it will damage the transmission?

Might be why True Grit made the suggestions he posted a few places up.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I was looking at them as well, being as I buy all my hay. I know a guy who pulls 8 bales, on a gooseneck one, with a half ton truck. He says it handles it just fine. The biggest concern I have with the loading is when you are pushing the bales forward there will undoubtedly be some pushing on the truck/transmission, is there a chance it will damage the transmission?

Yes sir. Most definitely will. The brakes on the trailer need to be locked with the transmission in neutral. I once ruined an emergency brake on a truck also. Now I lock the trailer brakes and put a 6x6 block in front of the trailer tires on one side. Make sure the trailer rails are clean of hay from the previous load. Usually only a problem with wet hay. Once a year I sand them and paint them because the hay sliding on the rails knocks the paint off and it will rust. I think I'm gonna get some plastic black ABS pipe and line my rails to make the hay slide easier. With that being said I've never torn up a single bale.

As for a half ton truck, it wont handle it fine. It will handle it, but it's gonna get the transmission eventually. It will get the tranny hot and therefore make the truck run hot. Also make sure the trailer brakes are working good for both loading and stopping purposes. I have a ten bale and a 3/4 ton dodge and it's a good match.

 

[hurleyjd]

Try to own two loader tractors and use a standard goose neck to move hay. The gooseneck can be used for other hauling purposes. I have an old 16 foot bumper pull with rails welded on it crosswise. I haul 8 4 x 5 bales with it normally no long haul. I have a loader tractor on each end of the trip or if close just pull with the loader tractor after loading.

 

[JMJ Farms]

JMJ, what did you mean when you said you were looking for men in Tenn and KY?

Well I be dammed. I just caught that. Flipping autocorrect. MINE. not men. MINE. $hit. :lol2:

 

[JMJ Farms]

Try to own two loader tractors and use a standard goose neck to move hay. The gooseneck can be used for other hauling purposes. I have an old 16 foot bumper pull with rails welded on it crosswise. I haul 8 4 x 5 bales with it normally no long haul. I have a loader tractor on each end of the trip or if close just pull with the loader tractor after loading.

That's a good point Hurley. Problem for me is that I deliver a lot of hay to customers that don't have a way to unload and my inline makes it real easy to unload.

 

[JMJ Farms]

JMJ, what did you mean when you said you were looking for men in Tenn and KY?

Well I be dammed. I just caught that. Flipping autocorrect. MINE. not men. MINE. $hit. :lol2:

Just for the record.... I am a 100% heterosexual white male that loves women :cowboy:

 

[hurleyjd]

Try to own two loader tractors and use a standard goose neck to move hay. The gooseneck can be used for other hauling purposes. I have an old 16 foot bumper pull with rails welded on it crosswise. I haul 8 4 x 5 bales with it normally no long haul. I have a loader tractor on each end of the trip or if close just pull with the loader tractor after loading.

That's a good point Hurley. Problem for me is that I deliver a lot of hay to customers that don't have a way to unload and my inline makes it real easy to unload.

I was not thinking about selling hay only taking care of my herd and their needs. It is hard to sell hay here at a profit. And I do not have the time to run cows and a hay business also.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Hard here too. Only reason I'm in the hay business is that I make just enough money that it helps me justify owning some equipment that I otherwise could not afford.

Also. My inline is faster for me than a flatbed. But every operation is different I will be the first to admit.

 

[John SD]

Try to own two loader tractors and use a standard goose neck to move hay. The gooseneck can be used for other hauling purposes. I have an old 16 foot bumper pull with rails welded on it crosswise. I haul 8 4 x 5 bales with it normally no long haul. I have a loader tractor on each end of the trip or if close just pull with the loader tractor after loading.

That's the way a lot of guys do it here anymore. Many ranchers already own a couple loader tractors along with an old semi tractor and a flatbed trailer.

I have an old fashioned Lahman 16'x33' chain stackmover. I could haul up to 26 bales if I went 3 layers high. But with only short hauls and not wanting to abuse the Kubota I bunch up 15 bales in a 3x5 pattern and move a single layer. At 1300 lbs per bale that is still almost 8 tons of hay per trip. With short hauls, I don't mind making more trips.

A full load of 26 bales would weigh 33800 lbs, which IMO is just too much at one time for my Kubota. Would be no problem for my MF tractor, IF I could get under the stack. I always hauled 23 bales (29900 lbs) with the MF which worked well as long and the ground was perfectly dry.

The single level bales take more space at the hay corral, but I think the bales do keep better if not stacked :idea: