Home-Built 2-Wheeled Bale Hauler And Stacker

Home-Built 2-Wheeled Bale Hauler And Stacker BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 31-4-41 My 45 hp tractor was a little too small to handle a 6-ft. hay bale so I built this 2-wheeled bale hauler and stacker using a two-stage mast off a Hyster hydraulic forklift, an 8-ft. house trailer axle and wheels, and an old steel I-beam for the tongue. I use the machine to haul bales from the field to my barn and also to stack them. It's equipped with a spear on back and will lift bales up to 12 ft. high. The top part of the spear pins onto the mast while the bottom part clamps on. A big advantage of this design is that it keeps all the bale's weight off my tractor. The 8-ft. wide axle provides stability when lifting bales high. The I-beam tongue is made from 1/2-in. thick steel and is welded to a length of steel tubing that goes all the way across the axle. U-bolts were used to clamp a 1/4-in. dia. rod on the mast to the axle. The axle has a slight upward bend, so when maximum weight goes on the axle, it straightens out. The mast weighs about 700 lbs. A big wheel mounts above the tongue and is used to tilt the mast in order to keep the bale from falling off the spear. After raising the bale off the ground. I get off the tractor and turn the wheel about 10 times to tilt the mast six degrees forward. I'd like to use a hydraulic cylinder to tilt the mast so I wouldn't have to get off the tractor, but my tractor doesn't have dual hydraulic outlets. I spent less than $300 to build it. (Hugh Kirby, 5043 State Route 121 North, Mayfield, Ky. 42066 ph 270 623-8730)

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