Mechanic Turned Truck Parts Into Hay Loader

Mechanic Turned Truck Parts Into Hay Loader BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 31-2-34 Vern Schneider didn't want to invest in a tractor and loader just to feed hay to his 200 sheep, so he built a hay loader out of old truck parts. "I fixed cars for 40 years," says Schneider of New Cambria, Kansas. "And I built all kinds of weird stuff." His truck looks strange and is about the size of a 4020 John Deere tractor. But it does the job. Schneider bolted a mid-1980's S-10 pickup cab onto a 1975 21/2-ton 70 series Chevy truck frame. He added hydraulic pumps and fittings and attached a used loader to the front, which gives him great visibility. To balance the weight of the bales, he moved the motor toward the back and mounted a forklift weight box on the rear. The S-10 has a club cab, which is important, Schneider laughs, so he can "throw junk behind the seat." He made a spear for big bales out of 2-in. round cold rolled steel, a 1 1/4-in. stress-proof iron spear for large square bales, and a bale clamp to carry eight square bales at a time. The rig will easily handle 1,600-lb. round bales, Schneider says. Plus the loader comes in handy for tree trimming, when he adds a cage. Schneider has used it for two years and it has worked well. He estimates he spent about $2,000 on it, mostly for the loader and hydraulic pump and fittings. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vern Schneider, 3698 N. Woodward Rd., New Cambria, Kansas 67470 (ph 785 827-6325).

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