Front-End Loader Safety concerns when moving hay bales

[Turtle1718]

I've never owned a tractor before, but am thinking of buying a used JD 460 tractor with a 400 series front-end loader and pallet forks to move large square hay bales for my horses. Are there any safety issues I should be aware of? Thanks

 

[whistlepig]

If you pick it up too high it can roll off the loader back onto you. Anything on a loader makes a tractor top heavy. Even an empty loader makes a tractor top heavy. Be careful on slopes and hills.

 

[Dozernut]

What whistlepig said. The wife's cousin was moving round bales raised too high on forks, hit a bump and he is now a paraplegic. Get yourself a bale spear, carry low and be safe.

 

[Ken45101]

I'm not sure how a spear is safer than forks (unless the recommendation is for a 3pt spear.)

But: make sure you have plenty of rear counterweight and/or loaded tires and counterweight. If going downhill, have it in 4wd for the braking assist.

As everyone said, keep it low and go slow. Use your safety equipment (ROPS and seat belt).

Realize too that with a big round bale in front of you, you cannot see what's in front of you.

Realize that round bales can vary significantly in weight from one bale to the next. Don't assume they are the same and get complacent.

 

[aczlan]

I'm not sure how a spear is safer than forks (unless the recommendation is for a 3pt spear.)

Most people pickup under the bale with the forks, so it is free to tip backwards and roll down the loader arms onto the operator if you raise the bucket too high.
A spear goes into the bale and prevents it from going anywhere.

Aaron Z

 

[Xfaxman]

These are spears for large square bales.

Much better than pallet forks

 

[WM75Guy]

Welcome to TBN. :welcome: Get a 3 point spear. Safe is better than cheap. All it takes is one life altering accident to wipe out any savings. You start with "I will never have to lift them that high" and then you find out that stacking them higher takes less room or the trailer holds more if you stack them. Next thing you know you are going for 3 high in the barn.

 

[GManBart]

I've never owned a tractor before, but am thinking of buying a used JD 460 tractor with a 400 series front-end loader and pallet forks to move large square hay bales for my horses. Are there any safety issues I should be aware of? Thanks

First off, welcome!

I'm not aware of any Deere tractor called a 460. They had a 460 loader, is that maybe what you saw?

When moving keep the load as low as possible, avoid moving sideways across a hill, and make sure you have enough counterweight on the back of the tractor.

You can lift a max load to full height safely if you move slowly, and have a solid, level surface under the tires, but you can still run into problems. For example, if you didn't see an obstacle and it pinched a tire causing it to go flat suddenly...that would be a nearly instant roll over.

It's unlikely that a single large square bale is a max load for the machine you're looking at, but we'd need more info to be sure. For example, if the machine weighs 5,000lbs, and the loader can lift 2,000lbs to max height, you shouldn't have any issues with something like a large square bale, or even medium round bales.

 

[Bigfoot62]

. . . Get yourself a bale spear, carry low and be safe.

I'm not sure how a spear is safer than forks (unless the recommendation is for a 3pt spear.

Realize too that with a big round bale in front of you, you cannot see what's in front of you. . .

Aaron answered the question about a spear vs. forks.

I ran over a parked pickup in my hayfield once. :

 

[k0ua]

I ran over a parked pickup in my hayfield once. :

Pictures? I would like to see how it turned out.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I ran over a parked pickup in my hayfield once. :

Pictures? I would like to see how it turned out.

Sorry, James, no pictures.
My cousin was baling my hay with his new Vermeer. I was finished raking, and had started moving the rolls to the barn. A service tech, from the Vermeer dealer, had pulled up beside the baler, then hopped on my cousin's tractor for a ride-a-long. I forgot all about that pickup parked in the middle of the hay field - until I hit it!!! Centered the hood with the hay bale, and the forks went through the windshield. The service tech thought it was funny. (but, I didn't laugh about it for a few days)
Back then, I was running my NH 7610S MFWD (100hp) tractor with FEL, 8' wide bucket, and bucket forks. After that day, I bought a hay spear for it.
My insurance paid for the damage to the truck, so the only thing hurt was my pride.
I try to put that behind me. It's been several years, but I probably still need therapy.

 

[Todd NE WY]

I would also recommend putting a grapple on to help hold the bale while you are moving it. Especially with the round bales they vary a lot from bale to bale in terms of how tight they are. When they are loose they are difficult to pick up with just forks. With the grapple you can squeeze it a little and control it much better. Also if you are lifting the 3X3X8 or 4X4X8 square bales it is better to have a wider set of forks with more than 2 tines.

Todd

 

[Texasmark]

Keep a low center of gravity meaning keep the bale as close to the ground as is convenient for as long as you can. Some of the comments may have had to do with lifting round bales from the side, like in a bucket, with no grapple over the top, raising too high, and the bale rolls back over the operator station. A 1500# bale of hay rolling over you is not very funny.

I don't see it that much of a problem with squares. Other thing in forking squares, is that the ties may not be adequate to keep the bale intact while lifting. On a round bale you have lots of wraps of twine or a complete wrap of plastic giving you good density control. Spears in my opinion are a must for those, stuck in the flat end(s).

Don't make sharp turns. A wide front helps in stability over a row crop. On a hill, line up with the hill vertically, no sideways running if you can help it. If you have to, hanging a weight on a string (off the steering column which is usually tractor center line) will tell you where it is and always ensure that it is inside the rear tire print on the downside of the hill.

Fluid in the rear tires helps to lower the CG and helps with stability not only on hills, but also in keeping the rears on the ground. Course adding a 3pt implement for a counterbalance works fine too; like a Brush Hog for one.

HTH,
Mark

 

[CobyRupert]

FYI:
This quick attach frame comes with both pallet forks and bale spears. I have one. The forks work good but I can't testify on the bale spears as I haven't used them yet.
48" John Deere Pallet Fork Attachment

 

[texasjohn]

Turtle, :welcome:, and you have already gotten every bit of advice that I could give on this topic. And, it's all good and true.

You won't understand a lot of it, fully, until you have gotten your tractor and hay equipment.

If you will only need to move 1 bale at a time around on your place and never lift it very high, get a 3ph bale mover. But, it cannot be used to lift a bale from or to a trailer. This is the safest method for many reasons...always low to ground, weight distribution always good, can't roll back on you, etc.

A hay spike on the front has the benefits and risks already covered.

If you need to move numerous bales at one time, having a front and rear carrying capability halves the time required and allows you to have a bale as counterweight on the rear...but you need the tractor capable of doing this.

 

[k0ua]

Sorry, James, no pictures.
My cousin was baling my hay with his new Vermeer. I was finished raking, and had started moving the rolls to the barn. A service tech, from the Vermeer dealer, had pulled up beside the baler, then hopped on my cousin's tractor for a ride-a-long. I forgot all about that pickup parked in the middle of the hay field - until I hit it!!! Centered the hood with the hay bale, and the forks went through the windshield. The service tech thought it was funny. (but, I didn't laugh about it for a few days)
Back then, I was running my NH 7610S MFWD (100hp) tractor with FEL, 8' wide bucket, and bucket forks. After that day, I bought a hay spear for it.
My insurance paid for the damage to the truck, so the only thing hurt was my pride.
I try to put that behind me. It's been several years, but I probably still need therapy.

I bet that made an "expensive sound" when the forks went thru the windshield.

 

[fordmantpw]

What whistlepig said. The wife's cousin was moving round bales raised too high on forks, hit a bump and he is now a paraplegic. Get yourself a bale spear, carry low and be safe.

Same thing happened to a former coworker a couple years back.

 

[k0ua]

Same thing happened to a former coworker a couple years back.

I saw a youtube video of a reenactment of a Dr. that was moving a round bale with forks, and lifted a bit high and bounced a bale over himself. He is lucky to be alive because of a quick thinking wife and good EMT's but he is paralyzed of course.

My thoughts are don't move round bales with forks. Get the proper bale spike, and still carry low until you are are stacking and just barely moving.

 

[fordmantpw]

I saw a youtube video of a reenactment of a Dr. that was moving a round bale with forks, and lifted a bit high and bounced a bale over himself. He is lucky to be alive because of a quick thinking wife and good EMT's but his is paralyzed of course.

My thoughts are don't move round bales with forks. Get the proper bale spike, and still carry low until you are are stacking and just barely moving.

I've never moved a round bale, but I have the same thoughts.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I bet that made an "expensive sound" when the forks went thru the windshield.

Yep. Bending sheet metal and crashing glass are two sounds that you do NOT want to hear in the hay field.
Thought I was going to be sick, literally.