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round bale handler for team

D

DJL

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 15, 2005
Messages
897
Location
southern Alberta
Has anyone out there got a good design for a round bale wagon/unroller to pull with a team? I know NR has one, but it's a sleigh, and doesn't lift the bale. I was thinking of one with wheels for those non-snowy times, and a winch or some sort of hydraulics for lift. Thanks. DJL
 
Well here is a point to start from.... If you have an old implement around (like and old disk) that has wheels that you can cut off for a set of wheels that is a good start. Then look for some oilfield pipe 3-4 " or a piece of small I bean will do about 6-7 ft long. That will make the axle and for the tounge you can use the same 3-4" pipe or beam and make the hitch of choice. If you have 3 short pieces 2-3" long of smaller pipe or angle iron to brace the tounge to the axle and another to use for a stand to mount the winch on. One of the last things to look for is a piece of shaft about 4' long to make a spike to put into the bale to pull it over onto the cart. I don't know if you have a two wheel dollie for other implements but this cart would hook right up to one. I have seen these pulled behind pickups and I personally have pulled one behind my 4-whlr one day when it was real cold and the tractor wouldn't start. Hope this will get you an idea to run with not sure if it is the best idea but a time tested point to start from.
 
Contact Anchor D guiding and outfitting. I think his name is Dewy Mathews but its been a few years so I might have the name wrong. He doesnt sell them but he made one thats the slickest outfit I have ever seen. His is on runners because he is located in the mountains just east of sheep river reserve in Kanisnaskis.
If you have trouble finding his number PM me and I will dig it up for you.
He would not mind showing you his rig so you could get one made up the same way.
His uses a hand winch but it works slick even in four feet of snow. Im thinking hydraulics is just more weight and trouble?
 
There's a few guys up here have ones set up on wheels-hand winches aren't bad for a bale or two but get pretty old after ten or so lol. Some guys make a forecart to pull the bale handler with-it's hard to make it when the bale lifts that your pole doesn't lift too if it's all in one piece. As for a spear two-two foot ones are better than one four foot one.
 
WebLittleDickens.jpg


This is an outfit I've had since the early 1980's (when the picture was taken). It was manufactured at the time by "Little Dickens" manufacturing of Nebraska, and was a ranch-produced product. Unfortunately, the inventor of the machine was killed in a tragic power-take-off accident, so the manufacturing part went out of business. His widow has carried on with the ranch.

This little machine is much like a Hydra-bed which mounts on a pickup. Hydraulics are powered by an eight horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine. It carries two bales, and unrolls them when you get to the destination. I used it both for hauling bales off the field after haying, and for feeding in the winter time. It worked well, although the hydraulics move slower than does my current Hydra-bed on a pickup.

In the picture, I am standing on the seat because that was the only way you could see to back up and unload the bales in a nice row. Once in a while it was possible to try to load too heavy of a bale. The front end of the wagon would rear up into the air. When this happened, you had to abort the mission and seek out a lighter bale for the front one. With the additional weight on the front, the heavier bale could be loaded on the back. The mules got pretty good at the job. I still have the machine, but haven't used it for quite awhile. A couple different neighbors have borrowed it and used it within the past two years.
 
Thanks NR, roper. Soapweed, could I trouble you for closer up pics of the empty machine? We have a Hydra bed on the truck, but didn't quite know how to incorporate that kind of arms onto a wagon frame. Your rig looks just like what we had in mind. Does the pivot point have to be that high on the arms? Looks like quite a lift getting it over center and onto the deck or frame.
 
There is an article in the dec. 21 western producer about a guy in s.w. Manitoba building such a rig. Has battery powered hydraulics for loading.
 
DJL said:
Thanks NR, roper. Soapweed, could I trouble you for closer up pics of the empty machine? We have a Hydra bed on the truck, but didn't quite know how to incorporate that kind of arms onto a wagon frame. Your rig looks just like what we had in mind. Does the pivot point have to be that high on the arms? Looks like quite a lift getting it over center and onto the deck or frame.
Click to expand...

I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow, if it isn't covered up by white "global warming". :wink:
 
Sandy I saw the Western Producer one, and it is just my opinion of course, but that model is pretty primitive, and looked darn heavy for what it was.

Soap, thanks a bunch. There is no great hurry, as this is a project in the planning stages. If you want to wait until it isn't so white, no problem.
 
Soapweed maybe you need to make a trip to sunny Saskatchewan to get rid of that unused iron-the mule team could come up too lol. If you want to sell that rig let me know. I woner if a person couldn't hang some weight on the front end to counterbalance it when you are loading bigger bales. Can you put fluid in those kind of tires?
 
Northern Rancher said:
Soapweed maybe you need to make a trip to sunny Saskatchewan to get rid of that unused iron-the mule team could come up too lol. If you want to sell that rig let me know. I woner if a person couldn't hang some weight on the front end to counterbalance it when you are loading bigger bales. Can you put fluid in those kind of tires?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the mule team is long dead and gone. The picture was probably taken in 1985. At that time the price of the machine was $4000. I traded four Belgian broke geldings straight across for the machine, and then didn't have anything to pull it with. :? :???: :-) My neighbor had this pair of runaway mules that he'd traded for, but he never used them. He was only too happy to loan them to me to use to haul bales. I used them that summer to haul three cuttings of baled alfalfa off of the sixty acre hayfield, and then bought another team of Belgian geldings that fall to feed with.

We moved to the ranch where we now live in the spring of 1986. We were putting up all of our wild hay in loose four-ton stacks, so I had no use for the bale hauler then. I sold it to another neighbor. They had an auction a few years ago, so I bought it back for old times' sake. I haven't personally used it since, but two different other guys have borrowed it and it still works good.

I guess it isn't for sale, but you could sure get a pattern from it. Fluid in the front tires might be a very good idea to keep it from occasionally rearing on its hind end like the Loan Arranger's Silver. Another idea for weight would be to just extend the frame so there was enough room to put a gravity flow caker on the front, right behind the seat.
 
I have one I built myself, similar to Soapweeds. Mine uses 2 winches. One to close the arms around the bale and another to lift the bale off the ground. I have a neighbor who built one like Soap's, but he found that it wasn't very handy to carry two bales, as Soap mentioned, it's hard to see the second bale.

I'll try to get a picture.

What I found out.

I want hand operated winches, as when it's cold, a little exercise helps to keep you warm and I used a team to GET AWAY from cold, hard starting engines that use gas and oil. The neighbors has a gas engine and he likes it, but I always liked the peace and quiet and never having to worry about a gas motor. (I'm not very mechanically inclined :D )

I found that it was easier to put the hay close to the cows and then just haul and feed one big bale at a time.

My winch that raises the bale is 2 speed, so on heavier bales you can switch to the lower gear. Bale goes up slower, but takes less effort.

All mine really is, is a bale unroller/hauler that would fit on a 3 point hitch, mounted over the back axel of the frame off an old 28 chevy car, that was in the junk pile.

Very little cost to make.

If I made a new one, I would make it to fit on the bolsters of a farm wagon so I could take it off and put it on one with runners, for those times when the snow gets deep. And I would like a 5 wheel, for the front axel. Then you can get into or out of, about anywhere.

I fed a lot of hay for quite a few years, with mine. Wore out several winches. Got a really well broke team from using them.

Oh and springs on your wagon are a good thing!

I also found that when you feed with a team you are much more aware of what kind and quality of hay you are feeding and you are closer to the cows and see more about them than you do in a tractor. Also, if you need to move them, you can do a pretty fair job with a team, if they have a little "spirit' to them. :lol:

As for the cake feeder, I got an old hopper off from an old combine. Rigged it up to set on a stand with pipes in back, to hook the pins from the bale unroller into. You can back up to it and load it just like a bale and then feed cake or corn and then set it down while you are feeding hay. Pick it back up and go home. I was driving about a mile to get to the cattle, so on cold days one trip was much nicer than two. :wink:

Good luck. :)
 
Northern Rancher said:
I was thinking a guy could put big sprayer tires on it and fluid them it should hold the front down.
Click to expand...

The only disadvantage to that would be a wider track to break in deep snow. Even the tires that are on the outfit, if filled with fluid, would probably be heavy enough to hold it down. It didn't give problems too often, anyway.
 
DJL said:
Thanks NR, roper. Soapweed, could I trouble you for closer up pics of the empty machine? We have a Hydra bed on the truck, but didn't quite know how to incorporate that kind of arms onto a wagon frame. Your rig looks just like what we had in mind. Does the pivot point have to be that high on the arms? Looks like quite a lift getting it over center and onto the deck or frame.
Click to expand...

Here are some up close current pictures.

LittleDickensbalehandler.jpg

Little Dickens bale handler
Viewofthefront.jpg

View of the front
Thebalearms.jpg

The bale arms
Frontview.jpg

Front view
Eight-horsepowerBriggsandStratton.jpg

Eight horsepower Briggs and Stratton
Theotherside.jpg

The other side
Thebackend.jpg

Back end
Possiblyabetteroutfit.jpg

Quite possibly a better outfit :wink:
 
Thanks for the pics Soapweed. It looks like a pretty good outfit, and a pretty simple plan. As to the 'better outfit', we do have one of them too for when it's thirty below or a rushed day.
JB, I look forward to seeing pics of your rig too. Then I'll have to get the son welding! We have a very well broke team, just need something for them to do.
 
DJL said:
Thanks for the pics Soapweed. It looks like a pretty good outfit, and a pretty simple plan. As to the 'better outfit', we do have one of them too for when it's thirty below or a rushed day.
JB, I look forward to seeing pics of your rig too. Then I'll have to get the son welding! We have a very well broke team, just need something for them to do.
Click to expand...
One of the reasons I liked having a team to feed with was that when it got real cold they would always start and I didn't have to worry if I broke down. When a pickup or tractor breaks down, it's a long cold walk and can be dangerous. With a team, if something broke, I just unhooked and rode the eveners home. And they always knew where home was and never once got lost. Unlike a pickup or tractor. :)
 

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