Schoolbus Made Into Hydraulic Dumped Bale Wagon

Schoolbus made into hydraulic dumped bale wagon HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 15-3-34 I bought a 1976 48-passenger schoolbus and made it into a hydraulic-dumped big bale wagon that'll haul from 8 to 12 bales. It dumps bales off to the side. I cut off the body behind the driver's seat and closed in the opening with plywood which I then fiberglassed. I made a calf shelter out of the back end of the bus and sold the seats for sun decks, fish houses, etc. The bale-hauling deck is 22 ft. by 10 ft., made out of 2 by 4-in. sq. steel cross bars spaced every 10 to 12 in. along the main frame. I mounted a used cultivator rocker shaft on one side to function as a pivot point and mounted two single action hydraulic cylinders (salvaged from a Deere 96 combine head) on the other side that run down to the bus frame. The cylinders are powered by an electric hydraulic pump powered by the bus battery. I load four bales on each side and four down the center on top. I made rotating "stops" down the center of the deck. They attach to a length of 3-in. oil pipe and let me keep one row of bales on the deck when dumping so I don't have to dump all bales in one spot. A boat trailer winch turns the "stops" up or down. With the plates turned up, I dump the top row of bales and one side and then drop the deck back down. Then I drive ahead and dump the other row of bales by turning the "stops" down. The bale bus has a 2-speed rear end and a 5-speed transmission. (Joe Dugan, Box 906, Roblin, Manitoba ROL 1PO Canada ph 204 564-2690)

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