Bale Unroller Fitted With "Brake" Arm

Bale Unroller Fitted With "Brake" Arm BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 30-5-18 A Missouri farmer, looking for a way to reduce waste caused by hay falling off his bale unroller during transport, solved the problem by mounting a home-built "brake" arm on it. Ed Schroeder added the brake arm to the center of his 3-pt. mounted bale unroller. It hooks up to the 3-pt. top link. The 5-ft. 3-in. long arm is made from 2 by 4 tubing, and has two 8-in. long arrow-shaped points welded onto the end of it about 1 ft. apart. The base of the arm hinges on a pin, which is inserted through a metal bracket that he welded onto the unroller's frame. The arm is moved up or down by extending or retracting an 8-in. stroke, two-way hydraulic cylinder. Lowering the arm brings the points down into the bale, keeping it from rolling forward or backward during transport. "It's not a 100 percent cure but it solves 98 percent of the problem. I've used it for five years with no problems," says Schroeder. "It does take a little practice to figure out how to load the bale. I got the idea because I store all my hay outside and the strings can get rotten. As a result, sometimes when I picked up the bale it would make a half turn causing some of the bale to fall off. Now I can go right down the highway and never lose any hay." The top end of the cylinder pins onto a steel bracket welded to the underside of the arm. By changing the position of a pin in the bracket, Schroeder can adjust the arm to fit different size bales. The bottom end of the cylinder swivels on a steering knuckle off a Deere 3155 Deere tractor, with the knuckle welded to the unroller frame. "The knuckle allows the cylinder to move up or down as well as sideways," says Schroeder. "The unroller is about 10 years old, and over the years wear caused the side arms to flop back and forth. As a result, the cylinder kept breaking off. The knuckle allows the cylinder to swivel so it won't break as the bale shifts from side to side during transport." He didn't spend much money to build the brake arm. "The cylinder is off the variable speed reel on a Massey Ferguson 300 combine. I paid $40 for it. I already had the steering knuckle. I made the bracket from two pieces of 3/8-in. flat iron," notes Schroeder. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ed L. Schroeder, 54 Wachtendorf Lane, Westphalia, Mo. 65085 (ph 573 229-4209).

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