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Turned Around Bale Handler
"I've never seen another loader like it," says Joe F. Cucarola, Sterling, Colo., who built a huge hay-hauling farm loader by cutting the frame of a C-600 Ford truck off right behind the cab and mounting the cut-off frame in front of the cab.
Once the flip-flop of the truck frame was complete, Cucarola buil
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Turned around bale handler HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 9-5-10 "I've never seen another loader like it," says Joe F. Cucarola, Sterling, Colo., who built a huge hay-hauling farm loader by cutting the frame of a C-600 Ford truck off right behind the cab and mounting the cut-off frame in front of the cab.
Once the flip-flop of the truck frame was complete, Cucarola built the loader. The differential and other major parts of the truck remained in place.
A 5-grooved "C" pulley mounted at the rear of the transmission drives another 5-grooved "C" pulley which is parallel to and under the right side of the truck frame and connects to the differential.
One of the biggest advantages of the unique turned-around design are operator comfort, winter and summer. "Using the truck cab this way provides super visibility, ease of handling, and great maneuverability. It has an amazingly short turning radius," points out Cucarola.
The up-front loader, built in his farm shop, extends 5 ft. beyond the drive wheels for long reach over stacks, trucks, fence lines, and so on. The loader can handle two 5 by 6-ft. round bales at a time, or one 4 by 4 by 8-ft. square bale (stacked four high).
In the past two years, Cucarola says, the loader has stacked and hauled over 3,000 tons of alfalfa and grass hay with a minimum of repair. Fingertip hydraulic controls for the loader are located next to the operator in the cab.
"It's extremely easy to operate. A sunroof in the cab even lets you see the loader when it's working above 14 ft.," says Cucarola, noting that the truck is equipped with power brakes, power steering, standard 4-speed transmission, air conditioning, heater, and radio.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe F. Cucarola, Rt. 2, 20627 Road 41, Sterling, Colo. 80751 (ph 303 522-8278).
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