Bale Trailer Mechanism Unloads One At A Time

Bale Trailer Mechanism Unloads One At A Time BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 26-1-43 A Saskatchewan farmer has designed a round bale trailer that he says "works better than anything on the market" because it lets him unload bales one at a time - without ever getting off his tractor. "I use it in my pasture to feed hay to my buffalo herd. I had been using a front-end loader to feed the bales one at a time. My home-built trailer saves a lot of time and also wear and tear on the loader," says Kevin Mahussier, of Bjorkdale. The 30-ft. long trailer is designed to hold five bales, each with its own individually-controlled dump cradle. Key to success of the trailer is the ingenious latching that uses a single hydraulic cylinder. It's attached to a length of sq. steel tubing that runs along one side of the trailer, starting at the front. The operator controls the release of each bale by how far he extends the cylinder. The steel tube is fitted with five rollers and five metal latches, one set for each bale cradle. They're staggered so as the cylinder is extended, the tube moves back, tripping each cradle. Mahussier started with the wheels and axles off a commercial bale trailer that he already owned. He removed a 4-in. dia. pole that connected the axles, then clamped on a 30-ft. length of 12-in. I-beam. The hydraulic cylinder, which has an 18-in. stroke, is attached permanently to one side of the beam. Each cradle is made from 2-in. sq. tubing and is hinged on two bolts. There's a spring-loaded locking mechanism at the bottom. The locking mechanism for the cradle is held in place by a 1-in. dia. stub shaft that's welded onto the side of the I-beam. As the cylinder is extended for the first time, the latch releases the locking mechanism on the front cradle. Then the roller contacts the tapered bracket and lifts it up enough so that the cradle "overbalances" and dumps the bale off. Once the bale is off, the cradle automatically snaps back into place. Mahussier then drives ahead to the next feeding area and extends the cylinder another 3 in. to unlock and release the second bale. The process is repeated until all bales are off the trailer. "I use it mainly during the winter to feed bales in my pasture. It lets me dump anywhere from one to five bales anywhere I want with one touch of a hydraulic lever," says Mahussier. "I use a front-end loader to load bales onto the trailer in my yard. Then I hook the tractor up to the trailer and plug in hydraulic hoses and go out to the pasture. I dump the bales 50 to 100 ft. apart. "There are commercial trailers equipped with individual cradles, but the operator has to walk up to each cradle and pull a pin so he can manually tip the cradle. As a result he has to get off the tractor every time he wants to dump a bale. Buffalo are potentially dangerous animals so I appreciate not having to get off the tractor. I didn't want to use a trailer that dumps all the bales off at the same time because buffalo have horns and if they get too bunched up they can hurt each other. "The cradles can be operated without hydraulics. If I want I can use a pickup or 4-wheeler to haul the trailer out to the pasture, then use one hand to release the locking mechanism and the other hand to tip the bale over." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin Mahussier, Box 141, Bjorkdale, Sask., Canada S0E 0E0 (ph 306 886-2024).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.