Swing Spear Hauls Bales Faster

Swing Spear Hauls Bales Faster BALE HANDLING Don Larson came up with a better way to haul big round bales His Swing Spear lets him haul bales faster with less wear and tear on bale twine and net wrap as well as on the tractor itself “With most double bale carriers you pick up a bale set it next to another bale back up and then drive forward to spear the two bales ” says Larson “You often end up rubbing them together and sliding them on the ground ” Larson wanted to eliminate the repositioning and keep the two bales separate while handling them His idea was to spear a bale swing it out of the way and spear the second bale This would eliminate about 25 percent of handling time and reduce costs in multiple ways Bales would be left in better shape If the Swing Spear was being used to feed out bales they could be swung apart and netting more easily removed than if together “I started with cardboard patterns When they worked I drew a schematic on the floor ” says Larson “I cut out the pieces in steel and put it together It works amazingly well ” The prototype was hinged in the middle of the top frame The narrow 5-ft width allowed Larson to spear a single bale in a row of bales or one bale at a time in the field When approaching the second bale the first bale is hydraulically moved up and out of the way Once the second bale has been speared the first swings down for transit After using it in his fields in the summer of 2020 Larson shared the prototype with a college friend with a manufacturing company The friend referred Larson to a patent attorney and had his engineers fine-tune the design That winter a second prototype was put together “I used it in 2021 and it worked fabulously ” says Larson “I loaned it out to another producer and he bought it I’ve had nine more built since ” The Swing Spear has two sets of three spears each Two are heavy-duty 49-in by 1 3/4-in spears with a load capacity of 3 600 lbs each Each set also has a 27-in by 1 3/8-in stabilizing spear with a load capacity of 1 500 lbs The frame is welded 3 1/2-in by 1/4-in thick square tubing with 1/2 -in thick main back frames and master plates The swing mechanism has inner and outer wear pads made from UMHW polyethylene and an oil-filled cast nylon wear pad The pivot pin is operator lubricated and has an oil-embedded bronze bushing The carrier is powder coated for durability Larson designed the original Swing Spear for use with Euro/Global mounts common to recent Deere tractors welded in place It is available at an introductory price of $4 749 plus shipping and handling Swing Spears can also be ordered with universal skid steer mounts with Deere Classic loader mounts and with the Euro/Global mount master plates bolted to the frame Prices vary; however all are currently available at a $750 introductory discount FARM SHOW readers should contact Larson directly if interested in buying a Swing Spear Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Don Larson Swing Spear 6288 Enterprise Rd Fruitland Wash 99129 ph 509-680-2405; enterprisevalleyfarms@yahoo com; www swingspear com

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