victory hunter
Member
Im new here but have been lurking for awhile now. This may sound like a dumb question but how big of a tractor do I need to lift a 1200 lb hay bale with a spear?
victory hunter":3cj7qmqw said:I read on here before that If I had a loader on the front, I would be better off getting a 4wd. I assume this is for traction purposes right?
You need a tractor that has a base weight over 3500 LBS. Remember that if you fluid fill the tires and hang some extra weight on the tractor you can easily add 1000 Lbs to the weight of the tractor.victory hunter":452i94qd said:Im new here but have been lurking for awhile now. This may sound like a dumb question but how big of a tractor do I need to lift a 1200 lb hay bale with a spear?
I have moved 1000+ bales with a 35hp Massey, with the spike on the rear. No problems except if the bales are wet, then have to back up all the way.Angus/Brangus":r3p5bmnr said:With the smaller HP tractors I would think that having a bale on the rear to balance the bale on the front would become extremely important. A 1200 lb bale on the front of a 45 hp tractor sounds like a nose dive to me, without rear weight. You can get away with it on much larger tractors.
We have both a two wheel drive 64 hp Kubota and a 4 wheel drive 64 hp Kubota. The 4-wheel drive will lift and carry a large round bale on front, WITHOUT rear weight, with ease. With the 2-wheel drive, the same exercise is downright dangerous!!
I'm guessing the mud and snow have never gotten very deep there. A 2wd 2440 wouldn't get very far here in the snow during the winter even with chains and it would be even more worthless in the spring here in the mud. There is nothing like hauling manure while dragging the spreader thru the snow that is belly deep on the tractor. Fun Fun FunLimomike":i7kwgnn4 said:I have moved 1000+ bales with a 35hp Massey, with the spike on the rear. No problems except if the bales are wet, then have to back up all the way.Angus/Brangus":i7kwgnn4 said:With the smaller HP tractors I would think that having a bale on the rear to balance the bale on the front would become extremely important. A 1200 lb bale on the front of a 45 hp tractor sounds like a nose dive to me, without rear weight. You can get away with it on much larger tractors.
We have both a two wheel drive 64 hp Kubota and a 4 wheel drive 64 hp Kubota. The 4-wheel drive will lift and carry a large round bale on front, WITHOUT rear weight, with ease. With the 2-wheel drive, the same exercise is downright dangerous!!
Now with the JD 2440 I have, front end spear is not problem. Its a 2WD, has not bogged down one single bit in mud, snow, or whatever. Its a hoss..thats for sure.