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Bale decks.

F

frenchie

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Joined
Feb 10, 2005
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564
Location
nw manitoba
Anyone feeding with one of these or something similar . I,m looking to buy one. Your opinons.

http://www.triple-c-inc.com/hydrabed.htm
 
I have a Besler Bed I've had almost 10 years now- have went thru 2 trucks with it- hauled in and fed thousands of bales and never had a problem...Works best in the cold when you can keep it in a heated shop as the hydraulics get a little stiff at 30-40 below....Altho I've found that when that isn't possible just sticking a magnetic oil pan heater on the hydraulic fluid tank helps.......
 
I have a Hydra Deck on a one ton 4x4 dualkly-it works pretty good but has a hard time lifting 1800 pound plus bales or the biggest big squares-I use synthetic hydraulic oil which really helps when its very cold. I just run my pump while I'm driving out to stack yard.
 
We have a 1998 Dodge one-ton dually with an eleven foot Hydra-Bed. It is a great feed outfit, and we also have the 1800# model caker mounted on the front. Other attachments we use are a dump box (which works very well for feeding ear corn), and a post-hole digger.

All in all, I would give Hydra-Beds a very favorable rating. This is the second one we have had, and neither one has ever caused a bit of trouble or failed to function.

Last winter, I had four hundred cows at a neighbor's ranch. They were in two bunches of two hundred cows each. From the time I left the highway, I could feed both bunches two pounds of cake per cow, feed each bunch four bales of hay (eight bales total), and be back on the highway in an hour. Then it was simply a matter of driving on into town to get the mail, and get a cup of hot chocolate at the gas station before returning home. :wink: :)
 
Thanks guys..now my next question.. with your current truck bed are you still able to use your truck to pull a gooseneck with.
 
frenchie said:
Thanks guys..now my next question.. with your current truck bed are you still able to use your truck to pull a gooseneck with.
Click to expand...

My Hydra-Bed has a door on the platform, approximately eighteen inches square. Just flip the door up and over to open it, and a 2 5/8" ball is ready and waiting to hook up to a gooseneck trailer. With the long eleven foot box, the caker is not in the way at all.
 
If you are talking about the old Jiffy thing that goes in the box of the truck, yes we've used one, and its stone age compared to a Hydradeck or a Dew ease. A lot of truck boxes have been destoyed by the waving arms of the Jiffy, trying to set the bale in the cradle.
 
Dew Eze here, got no complaints. Best thing since sliced bread. I use it for lifting and hauling everything. It has a flip up ball.

I have heard that Triple C are better for loading big squares as they close tighter than the Dew Eze. :)
 
Yes, the hydra bed works well. Have one mounted on 1 ton Dodge 2002 and like Soapweed said-it has the flip up door with gooseneck ball under.Ours is very similar to Soapweeds set up and really use it alot and don't know why we did not have one sooner. It sure make feeding a breeze. After weaning the calves we leave the cows in the pastures and feed this way. Also the cattle would probably follow for miles. Have lead them quite a ways with it.
Just have to let the pump warm up a bit in extreme cold. Get one-you will like it.
 
Some of our cows spend quite a bit of the year at a neighbor's place, right next to the highway. Cars, pickups and trucks go by them at all times of the day and night. It is funny watching them, but even when I drive the Dodge by at 65 or 70 mph, they recognize the sound of the engine and all look up expectantly. For as daft as cows are in most ways, it is interesting to observe a spark of brilliance come out in them once in a while. They are hoping for a free handout. :? :???: :wink: :-)
 
We had the Jiffy, then the Hydradeck, then the Deweze. Now we have the Multideck made by Falcan industries. http://www.falcan.com/

The one nice thing about the Multi deck is that the arms are extendable and that comes in handy for dropping bales over a fence or into a feeder. The one disadvantage is its weight. We put those air filled shock thingies on to help support and stabilize the deck. Made a world of difference when travelling over rough ground and also keeps the deck from heaving when lifting and dropping bales.
 
Soapweed said:
Some of our cows spend quite a bit of the year at a neighbor's place, right next to the highway. Cars, pickups and trucks go by them at all times of the day and night. It is funny watching them, but even when I drive the Dodge by at 65 or 70 mph, they recognize the sound of the engine and all look up expectantly. For as daft as cows are in most ways, it is interesting to observe a spark of brilliance come out in them once in a while. They are hoping for a free handout. :? :???: :wink: :-)
Click to expand...

Your cows must be Louisiana Democrats.... :wink:
 
Frenchie: We have a 2003 Dodge one ton dually extended cab under the Multideck.

With the Dew Eze we bought a used 1995 GMC one ton under a long bale deck and eventually the frame cracked from the continual stresses placed on it by the raising and lowering of bales. It cracked just in front of the deck and cost a pretty penny to have it welded. It wasn't the bale decks fault, in fact the Dew Eze was a good bale handler. It was the fault of cheap frame construction in the truck. They make them light and full of holes for less gas consumption. An achilles heal.
 
My Dad bought his first Jiffy in about 1989, I think. Traded it on a newer model - still a Jiffy though - in about 93. He graduated from that straight to a bale shredder in 95. When I took over the farm, I told him to go ahead and sell his $90,000 tractor and I pulled the Jiffy out of the bush, redid the hydraulics and never looked back. It's a pain not being able to use the 5th wheel, but we get by. The '84 Chev dually it's on though is a little too tired to haul our 5th wheel anymore.

As for the Jiffy, I like it. The magnetic heater is a great idea, as well as the synthetic oil. I've replaced every hose and steel line on it w/higher grade hose, but everything on it is stuff you can get at a local parts shop. I don't know about the newer brands, but I can take the 'forks' off of my Jiffy, so I can use the arms alone to pick up heavy gates or panels. I guess where there's hydraulics you'll find all kinds of uses for it.
 

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