Bale Bus Loader Clears Fields Fast
When FARM SHOW recently caught up with Dallas Henry, he and his wife were hauling 30,000 cornstalk bales off a large, irrigated field in S. Dak. using his bale-hauling bus that we featured back in Vol. 38, No. 3. He has since repowered the rig, which can carry up to 5 big round bales at a time.
“I was a machinery salesman for 18 years and hauled bales in the evenings,” says Henry. “Last April, I quit my job and started driving my bale bus while auctioneering on the side.”
On a big job like the cornstalk bales, his wife drives the bus and Henry drives a tractor, loading semis. “She can buzz half a mile down the field, grab two bales and be back in 2 1/2 min.,” he says.
The upgrades he made are making the work easier and faster. “I cut the old bus apart and welded the front end of a year 2000 bus with an International DC466E to the loader end of the old one,” says Henry. “It’s shorter for a shorter turning radius and handier for loading in smaller areas. It runs rougher across the field, but the Allison automatic and the suspension of the new bus can’t be beat.”
The newer engine also starts better. Like the 1969 original, the new “front” end quickly became the back end of the baler. Forward gears were reversed, and the operator seat and controls turned around to face the working end of the bus.
“I kept the loader end of the old bus, just the same,” says Henry. “The 1969 or 1970 Artsway loader is built better than anything today.”
Henry replaced the old military-style tires with newer ones retreaded with tractor treads. He notes that it made a big difference with traction and raised the rear slightly.
“With the new tires, the frames matched up, so I could overlap them by a couple of feet and weld them tight,” says Henry.
He replaced the OEM radiator with one used in concrete mixer trucks. It has a 6-in. hole in the center, ample room for the driveshaft to the hydraulic pump for the loader.
“On the old bus, the radiator had been raised above the shaft,” says Henry. “It had electric fans, but dirt and vibration kept them from running well.”
Henry and his wife appreciate the changes he made to the steering. “I made this one hydrostatic with a cylinder on the tie rod. It is more dependable and was easier to hook up. It has no linkage to mess with.”
Henry ran the return oil to a booster to power the brakes. He also added a 1,000-watt, 110-volt inverter. It makes it easy for him to run an air compressor for blowing out the radiator and powering the air ride seats.
He also moved the hydraulic valves outside the cab to eliminate the heat source. He replaced them with joystick controls.
“Mounting an LED light bar on the front of the bale bus with several on the side has been a huge improvement,” says Henry. “We move a lot of bales at night, especially in the summer.”
When he sets down the first bale for a nighttime bale collection point, he mounts a battery-powered, amber strobe light to it. That way, it is easy to locate from any point in the field.
Henry also replaced the OEM door with a door from an old camper. It provides a tighter fit than bus doors do.
Hauling corn stalk bales this past fall resulted in a few more changes. He went from three spears per bale to only two with the cornstalks.
“I found the center spear couldn’t penetrate the corn stalk bale,” says Henry.
Henry still has one more change to make. When his mechanic son reversed the gears and the cab, Henry told him to replace the new bus seat and seat belt with the old.
“For some reason, he cut the seat belts off,” says Henry. “When going across a field at 25 mph and hitting ruts and holes, you need a good set of belts. I’m planning to install a 4-point belt out of a race car.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Henry Sales, 705 4th St. SE, Highmore, S. Dak. 57345 (ph 605-870-9626; dallashenrysells@yahoo.com; www.henrysales.com).
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Bale Bus Loader Clears Fields Fast BALE HANDLING When FARM SHOW recently caught up with Dallas Henry he and his wife were hauling 30 000 cornstalk bales off a large irrigated field in S Dak using his bale-hauling bus that we featured back in Vol 38 No 3 He has since repowered the rig which can carry up to 5 big round bales at a time “I was a machinery salesman for 18 years and hauled bales in the evenings ” says Henry “Last April I quit my job and started driving my bale bus while auctioneering on the side ” On a big job like the cornstalk bales his wife drives the bus and Henry drives a tractor loading semis “She can buzz half a mile down the field grab two bales and be back in 2 1/2 min ” he says The upgrades he made are making the work easier and faster “I cut the old bus apart and welded the front end of a year 2000 bus with an International DC466E to the loader end of the old one ” says Henry “It’s shorter for a shorter turning radius and handier for loading in smaller areas It runs rougher across the field but the Allison automatic and the suspension of the new bus can’t be beat ” The newer engine also starts better Like the 1969 original the new “front” end quickly became the back end of the baler Forward gears were reversed and the operator seat and controls turned around to face the working end of the bus “I kept the loader end of the old bus just the same ” says Henry “The 1969 or 1970 Artsway loader is built better than anything today ” Henry replaced the old military-style tires with newer ones retreaded with tractor treads He notes that it made a big difference with traction and raised the rear slightly “With the new tires the frames matched up so I could overlap them by a couple of feet and weld them tight ” says Henry He replaced the OEM radiator with one used in concrete mixer trucks It has a 6-in hole in the center ample room for the driveshaft to the hydraulic pump for the loader “On the old bus the radiator had been raised above the shaft ” says Henry “It had electric fans but dirt and vibration kept them from running well ” Henry and his wife appreciate the changes he made to the steering “I made this one hydrostatic with a cylinder on the tie rod It is more dependable and was easier to hook up It has no linkage to mess with ” Henry ran the return oil to a booster to power the brakes He also added a 1 000-watt 110-volt inverter It makes it easy for him to run an air compressor for blowing out the radiator and powering the air ride seats He also moved the hydraulic valves outside the cab to eliminate the heat source He replaced them with joystick controls “Mounting an LED light bar on the front of the bale bus with several on the side has been a huge improvement ” says Henry “We move a lot of bales at night especially in the summer ” When he sets down the first bale for a nighttime bale collection point he mounts a battery-powered amber strobe light to it That way it is easy to locate from any point in the field Henry also replaced the OEM door with a door from an old camper It provides a tighter fit than bus doors do Hauling corn stalk bales this past fall resulted in a few more changes He went from three spears per bale to only two with the cornstalks “I found the center spear couldn’t penetrate the corn stalk bale ” says Henry Henry still has one more change to make When his mechanic son reversed the gears and the cab Henry told him to replace the new bus seat and seat belt with the old “For some reason he cut the seat belts off ” says Henry “When going across a field at 25 mph and hitting ruts and holes you need a good set of belts I’m planning to install a 4-point belt out of a race car ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Henry Sales 705 4th St SE Highmore S Dak 57345 ph 605-870-9626; dallashenrysells@yahoo com; www henrysales com
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