Front-Mount 3-Pt. Makes Great Bale Hauler

Front-Mount 3-Pt. Makes Great Bale Hauler HITCHES Hitches 22-3-18 When Joseph Parker, Mesquite, Texas, traded off his Farmall MD tractor, he kept the 3-pt. hitch and mounted it on front of his 1969 Ford 5000 tractor. He then attached an extension designed for a rear-mount 3-pt. A steel frame that supports a long bale spear and two shorter ones is bolted onto the attachment, allowing him to haul and stack round bales. "It lets me load bales onto a trailer. A conventional 3-pt. can't lift bales that high," says Parker. Parker bolted a 6-ft. long, 4-in. dia. steel pipe "bumper" on front of the tractor, then welded lengths of angle iron to the bumper and mounted the 3-pt. on it. A hydraulic cylinder raises and lowers the 3-pt. and another cylinder works the controls. A third cylinder mounted on the attachment is used to keep the bale level. "By loading a bale on the tractor's rear 3-pt. I can haul two bales at a time," says Parker. "I paid $500 for the 3-pt. A new commercial front-end bale hauler sells for almost $3,000. "I remove the attachment whenever I don't have to load or unload bales. One disadvantage is that the bale extends out in front of the tractor a long ways, so if I haul a bale on front I always have to haul one on back, too." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joseph W. Parker, 285 Longzreekro, Mesquite, Texas 75149 (ph 972 285-0452).

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