I bought this Massey 390 while I was still over on the coast. Plan A was to mount a loader on it. But they wanted more for a new loader than I paid for the tractor. So after several years of trying I finally found a used loader in decent shape for an affordable price. It is a Farmhand F258 loader. It came off a JD 4020 that they parted out. It came with the frame from the 4020. The tractor had a frame on it, Atlas loader? Anyway the loader frame didn't fit the tractor and the frame on the tractor didn't fit the loader. My friend Ken Bain at Haines Ag & Auto put his knowledge and his welder to work and made it fit. Now I have a tractor with a loader that will handle these big square bales with ease.
Finally got a loader
- Thread starter webfoot
- Start date
Congratulations, that turned out to be a capable looking loader, webfoot. Also points out the value in having access to a good welder/fabricator if you don't like doing that stuff yourself. A little red paint when you have some downtime and it'll look every bit as good as a factory rig. Your post points out the value of us being patient when it comes to making investments like that.
I have another tractor with a loader but it is a New Holland TC55. It will pick a big bale but doesn't have much reach. Can't reach the top bale on a truck load. And it is short and narrow enough that one has to be real careful when up very high.
The vast majority of hay in this area is put up in big squares. The people who do make round bales it is only for their use not for sale. The neighbor who I occasionally partner with on cow deals makes and buys big squares. I feed for him at times and hay that I buy would most like come from him or through his contacts.