Moving large square bales, with no machinery. Let’s do this.

[Hay Dude]

Well, I finally realized one way square bales are inferior to round bales. I always knew this, but now it’s come to be a problem.

Customer messaged me last night. Has 4 easy keepers and wants to feed them big bales on the ground with NO hay hut or feeder.
Ridiculous, I know, but ifn that’s what they want, who am I to judge? She’s too far to run them over to her with loader tractor.

Problem is, she only wants 2 per month. If it was round bales, no problem, just roll them off the trailer onto the ground, but my 4x4x5 hay blocks don’t roll so well

Trying to think of ways to deliver them without tractor. Best I can come up with is load them on the bed of my Ram and me and my son push them off, but at 1000lbs each, won’t be easy, or will it? I think I might put a 5’ long pc of 4x4 under the back edge of the bale to give it some “slope”, then strap down real, real tight. Then when I get there, the slight angle off the edge of the truck, we might be able to shove them off.

Would love to have a cheapy, easy to chain down skid loader right about now….

 

[WM75Guy]

Use the dump truck or a small dump trailer.

 

[skid mark]

Is there something you could secure a rope/strap to? If so, secure rope to bale and anchor and drive truck out from under the square bale?

 

[Engineer42]

Or something similar under the bale

 

[Hay Dude]

Use the dump truck or a small dump trailer.

I have considered this.
However, it’s a risk that the strings could break upon impact to the ground.
Don’t have a small dump trailer.

 

[Hay Dude]

Is there something you could secure a rope/strap to? If so, secure rope to bale and anchor and drive truck out from under the square bale?

I asked Customer if she has an “anchor point” like this, but she’s a bit clueless. I am working on this idea as we speak.

 

[oldnslo]

What are you unloading into for her storage area?

Would round posts or pipe under bales make roll off easier on presumption only one bale high.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Way back when I used to haul fence posts, some yards did not have anything to unload the 4x4xhowever long bundles. The bundles were placed two wide on the deck on 4x4 dunnage. Two more side by side bundles on 4x4 dunnage over the first bundles. Long stakes were placed into the stake pockets. Small chains/binders from stake to stake to hold posts should the bandings come loose. Followed that up with 4inch straps over the load.

Anyway, after the straps, cross chains and stakes were removed, I would climb up on top of the load, shove a stake in between the bundles and start popping them off. It looked like a tornado had gone through and the yard workers had their day set up for them to organize the mess but I was out of there.

What I would do then is put a couple of 2x4's or 4x4's across your flat bed and stand a couple of 2x4's verticle between the bales. At the drop site, jam another 2x4 or a bar between the bales and pry the first one off. Then, stand on the deck and slip your pry bar under the second bale and pry that one off.

Even if the strings break, so what, the buyer is feeding on the ground anyway.

 

[Carl_NH]

2 or three pipes then a piece of plywood with the bales strapped to the plywood on truck bed should roll off easily - will cost her a sheet of plywood each delivery.

 

[Tpondel]

This is where a Star Trek teleport would come in handy.