Double-Duty Round Bale Trailer

Double-Duty Round Bale Trailer HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 15-5-9 "My round bale trailer can haul 12 bales at a time and does double duty as a feeder," says Dan Peterson, Burdick, Kan., who uses the trailer as a feeder during the winter and for hay transport during the summer. George Miller designed and built the trailer for Peterson from scratch. He started with a tandem axle from a house trailer and added a third axle. He built the frame from 30-ft. lengths of 3 1/2-in. dia. pipe with 2 1/2-in. dia. crosspieces. Three sheets of 6 by 10-ft. steel tread plate, 1/8-in. thick, are used as a floor for the feeder and also make it usable as a flatbed trailer when the trailer's four bale cradles are removed. Two cradles bolt to each side of the trailer's frame, with each cradle holding three bales. Bales are automatically unloaded by pulling a dump lever at the front of the trailer. There's one set of latches for each set of cradles. The front two cradles trip first, then the rear two cradles. Once bales have dropped off, the spring-loaded cradles relatch themselves. Each pair of cradles is removed by unbolting four bolts. A loader is used to set the cradles back onto the trailer. The inside half of each cradle is covered by cattle fence panel to keep hay from falling onto the floor as cattle eat. Peterson spent about $2,000 to have Miller build the trailer-feeder. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Peterson, Rt. 2, Box 34, Burdick, Kan. 66838 (ph 913 983-4353).

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