Dual remote hydraulic outlets on back of his 4-WD pickup allow Charles Ballinger, Atlanta, Ill., to operate his Hesston 3-ton stack mover -- which he uses to move round bales.

He removed the pickup's air conditioner pump and replaced it with a hydraulic pump that's belt-driven off the engine crankshaft. A pair of control levers mount on top of a hydraulic reservoir behind the cab, and hoses lead from the reservoir back to a pair of remote outlets at the back of the pickup just in front of the bumper. A drawbar extends through a slot cut into the bumper which was moved back to protect the bed.

"It lets me load up to three bales at a time without ever getting out of the cab. Then I can haul them at highway speeds," says Ballinger. "I installed the remote outlets more than 20 years ago so I could use my pickup to load and haul 3-ton hay stacks. A few years ago I switched to round bales, but I kept the stack mover. To operate the hydraulics I simply slide the rear cab window open and grab the control levers.

"When I used it to move stacks I did quite a bit of custom work. The stacks weighed more than 6,000 lbs. apiece but with 4-WD I had no problems backing the stack mover under them. The stack mover is factory-equipped with a hydraulic motor that operates the chains for loading and unloading and also tilts the bed up or down. The 4-WD pickup will take me places where I can't go with a tractor. However, I have to load it down with heavy weights. It has an automatic transmission which is necessary for moving heavy loads. The hydraulics also come in handy for moving equipment." He used sheet metal to make the hydraulic reservoir and mounted it on one of the fender wells under the hood.