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Two-Way Bale Hauler Built From Old Truck
Instead of spending money on an expensive bale hauler - and to avoid wear and tear on his loader tractor - John Hughbanks, Harrisburg, Neb., built a unique, heavy-duty bale hauler out of an old International truck that gets bales off his irrigated fields fast.
It has two separate sets of forks on each end all of
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Two-Way Bale Hauler Built From Old Truck HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 20-3-17 Instead of spending money on an expensive bale hauler - and to avoid wear and tear on his loader tractor - John Hughbanks, Harrisburg, Neb., built a unique, heavy-duty bale hauler out of an old International truck that gets bales off his irrigated fields fast.
It has two separate sets of forks on each end all of which are raised or lowered independently by hydraulic cylinders. It can handle four big bales at a time.
"It only lifts bales 18 in. off the ground so all we use it for is to get them off the field. Then we use a front-end loader to stack the bales. The great thing about it is that it frees up a tractor yet cost only about $1,000 to build," says Hughbanks.
He started out with a 1957 International 2 1/2-ton truck and stripped it down to the frame, axles, and tires as well as the 265 cu. in. engine, manual 4-speed transmission, and rear end. He welded a cab off an old IH combine onto the middle of the frame. He made the heavy-built L-shaped loader arms out of 4-in. dia. oilfield pipe and then fitted them with 50-in. long forks made out of 3-in. sq. tubing. The loader arms are raised or lowered by 4-in. dia., 8-in. long hydraulic cylinders that pivot on a pair of steel pipes that mount crosswise on each side of the cab.
"It has enough capacity and speed to al-most keep up with the baler," says Hughbanks, who built the rig three years ago and has used it to haul about 2,000 bales each year. "I don't even have to stop when loading bales on front, but I have to back up to load the rear. I can travel up to 15 mph in the field and up to 40 mph on the road. I use a bank of four valves in the cab to raise or lower the forks. The bales weigh 1,300 to 1,400 lbs. apiece. To support the extra weight I added extra leaf springs which makes it ride a little rough. I also mounted dual wheels on both axles to make a much softer ride when crossing center pivot tracks.
"The truck has a 2-speed rear end but I locked it into low gear. I mounted a hydraulic pump on the engine crankshaft to pro-vide live hydraulic power and to operate the hydraulic cylinders and hydrostatic steering.
"I paid $200 for the truck, $10 for the cab, and $1 per foot for oil field pipe."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Hughbanks, HC 67, Box 39A, Harrisburg, Neb. 69345 (ph 308 436-5233).
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