Hay Trailer Ideas

[Hogleg]

Need some ideas on a simple to make hay trailer to haul round bales. I bale mostly small acreage around here that folks are happy to just cut and take the hay. Usually 8-10 large round bales a cutting (5x5). I am wanting to buy a cheap running gear with axles and tires and fab up a slow moving vehicle trailer. Thinking of a dual axle arrangement. My bales tend to run heavy at around 1200 lbs per, so prob 4-6 bales would be max for 2 3500 lb axles.

Thought about a boat trailer, and weld some sucker rods across them to hold 4 bales. Any other ideas? Most fields are just a mile or two away so running 2-3 trips to get the hay is not a problem. Grabbing them one at a time is a pain.

John

 

[bg/mo]

I just built a dolly so i coud hook gooseneck trailer behind tractor. If you allready have a trailer, and a boat trailer aint gona be heavy enough.

 

[paul]

Boat trailers are typically way too light.

The question is, how do you load at one location, unload at home, go back & load at the other location? You need your tractor at both ends. Maybe you are all set with 2 tractors capible of picking bales. Do you load with a loader, or a 3pt?

If not, there are some 3pt bale spears/ forks, that have a hitch on the bottom too, so you can hook up the trailer without taking off the 3pt. Takes the right hitch setup to make that work.

Then you can run with the tractor, and not have to hook/ unhook anything, and use the same tractor for hauling, loading, & unloading.

Something to think about.

--->Paul

 

[Errin OH]

Don't recall the name but there was a neat little trailer that loaded bales from the rear by dropping the two frame rails down and backing up. Seem like you could get 6 or so on it. But it needed hyd to raise and lower it. Someone here might remember it. Seemed like a simple do-dad. You could load and unoad those six bales without ever touching the ground, no other equipment needed.

 

[Errin OH]

I found it on youtube. Neat little rig. I think one could fab a simular version quite easily.
Hay mover

 

[Hogleg]

What I have also been doing is using a BP trailer that holds 3 bales. I unhitch, load and then re-hitch. I have a loader with a bale spear on front to do the loading and unloading. Just trying to cut down on the number of trips, and not have to spend $3-4K for a full blown gooseneck trailer.

Basically just wanting to see what others have done that is out of the ordinary. That 2EZ mover is pretty cool!

John

 

[jiminct]

i think a boat trailer is way too light to hold some heavy bales. i would find a cheap wagon running gear maybe from an old 3 axle forage wagon then fab up a deck that slants to the middle and will allow you to load 2 bales side by side then a single row across the top. being that they slant into each other on the bottom no need to tie them down. something similar to this
http://www.farmcomanufacturing.com/roundbale.php

 

[ChrisLSD]

neighbor has a pretty good idea in my mind -

take a 4 wheel running gear (harder to back but easy to hook and unhook....)

start building a hayrack by placing the two beams on the running gear, BUT instead of building a floor he puts some strong 3 or 4" pipe (he uses 9 footers) spaced every 4' from front to back - he uses a spear to load unload, two wide on the bottom and a single row on top

a very simple rig for hauling a lot of bales -

 

[PJH]

I built a round bale trailer out of scrap 8" channel. It holds four on the bottom and can hold two on top, if you're feeling frisky. It has a single house trailer axle, with springs, under it, and a long tongue with a 2 5/16 coupler. I have a ball on a frame that I can raise with my three point, and it allows me to hook/unhook from the trailer without leaving the tractor seat. Tongue has a foot to hold it about six inches off the ground when it's unhooked from the tractor. I load and unload it with a front spear, but I have used a rear spear in a pinch. Not as handy with the rear spear, of course. All of my hay is within a mile of home, and is like yours - small patches. Sometimes haul the whole crop in one trip - seven bales - six on the trailer and one on the spear.

The cost of my trailer was the welding rods and the reese style socket and ball. And a SMV emblem. . . No paint yet, and maybe never.

You can do it cheap if you look around for materials and ideas. I tried to post a picture, but it bombed.

Paul

 

[Hogleg]

(reply to post at 12:08:42 10/20/10)

Paul,

How big are your bales. Mine are around 1500 lbs, so 6 would be about 9K. Too much for a single axle, I bet. I like your design, though. Thinking of may be a scrap mobile home frame with 2 axles, cut it down and add the front drawbar and such...

Send me a pic at hoglegwilly AT gmail dot com, please.

John

Keeping my eyes open for a wagon running gear frame also...

Good stuff here. I borrowed a gooseneck today. 6 bales seems about right. Loaded it with 8 and way too much weight on the tractor.