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3-pt Self Supporting Wheeled Bale Mover
"I owned a 3-pt. mounted Gehl 1500 clamp-type bale handler but I didn't like the space I had to leave between bales in order to open up the arms when setting a bale in place. It took up too much room," says Tom Crittenden, Mansfield, Penn.
"I made the arms stationary by mounting a piece of 4-in. sq. tubing betwe
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3-pt Self Supporting wheeled bale mover HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 15-2-16 "I owned a 3-pt. mounted Gehl 1500 clamp-type bale handler but I didn't like the space I had to leave between bales in order to open up the arms when setting a bale in place. It took up too much room," says Tom Crittenden, Mansfield, Penn.
"I made the arms stationary by mounting a piece of 4-in. sq. tubing between them and then fitted the arms with a bale spear mounted on a rectangular frame. I remounted the hydraulic cylinder that previously opened and closed the arms to a new position so it would tilt the bale spike up and down.
"This was an improvement over the old system but the bale was now so far back a lot of weight was put on the rear of the tractor, making it unstable and causing a strain to the back of the tractor. It wasn't safe.
"I went back to the shop and mounted a set of dolly wheels made out of a narrowed-up house trailer axle on the bale carrier. They're raised and lowered by hydraulic cylinder.
"Now when I load a bale, I simply stab the spear into the bale and lower the dolly wheels. I don't even have to use the 3-pt. lift. All weight and strain is on the dolly wheels, which follow the tractor fine except on sharp turns. I solve the problem by lifting the 3-pt. arms on turns, raising the entire bale carrier and bale. After the turn, I lower them back down.
"I can now store five 51/2 ft. bales in the same space where I could previously only store 4 bales because of the space I had to leave between.
"To use the bale carrier for unrolling bales, I can remove the dolly wheels, hydraulic cylinder, spear and stabilizer in about 1/2 hour to put it back to its original configuration.
"I use the bale mover mostly to load bales onto my converted school bus hay hauler. Total cost was only about $300, since I already owned the Gehl bale carrier. I'd be happy to answer questions from anyone wanting to build one."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom F. Crittenden, 207 Crittenden Drive, Mans-field, Penn. 16933 (ph 717 662-2742).
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