Big Bale Truck

Big Bale Truck HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 12-1-9 "We needed an inexpensive way to haul the approximately 1,000 big round bales we make each year. It had to be fast for long hauls and yet have a large capacity. This truck works perfect and it's legal over the road," says Philip Stang, Macklin, Sask. "We first cut the frame of a 3-ton truck in half and extended the wheelbase to 21 ft. We had to add another driveshaft and `steady' bearing because two long drive-shafts were not strong enough. We then added a ladder-type framework of heavy-duty steel pipes to expand the surface area of the truck bed. Now the truck hauls 11 large round bales. "The pipes cradle the bales, holding them securely in place. The wide-open design lets us pick the bales up from below rather than spearing them or using a grapple fork. We use a front-end loader with a 2-tine bale fork. "To tow the tractor behind the truck so one man can haul bales, we welded a short steel pin to the back of the truck and put a hole in the bottom of the bale fork. You simply lower the fork onto the pin, raising the front tractor tires off the ground. "We spent just $600 for the truck and the pipes cost $50. Everything else was scrap metal we had around the farm. We plan to modify the exhaust system to lessen the danger of fire and extend the mirrors for safer traveling when the truck is loaded." Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Philip Stang, Box 354, Macklin, Sask. SOL 2C0.

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