Please weigh in on a weighty issue.

[LD1]

I was wondering too on the estimated weights.

900-1000# bale's for a 5x6 don't sound right.

My neighbor makes 5x6 bale's. He has a skidloader and a 100hp New Holland. He estimates them at 1500-1600.

One of these days I'm gonna take the MX over there just to see if it will handle one, how high it will lift, various ballast weights, etc. Just so I can be a little more informative on posts like these.

1500# is doable on a pallet with forks on a MX. But bale's stick out there a little more

 

[Halftrack]

Thanks for the replies so far. To clear up some questions, he will probably only handle a bale a week or less. And a muddy feed lot is not an issue. Being able to drop a bale into a round feeder and stacking in a barn are considerations. Thanks again.

 

[Xfaxman]

I was wondering too on the estimated weights.

900-1000# bale's for a 5x6 don't sound right.

My neighbor makes 5x6 bale's. He has a skidloader and a 100hp New Holland. He estimates them at 1500-1600.

Picture from 2010, took this load to the scale at the Co-op. 5x6 bales averaged 1450 pounds each:

 

[4570Man]

HP really isn’t the classification you want to be using. There’s a wide variation is sizes for the same HP tractor. Also how the tractor is setup makes a big difference. You could do the same job with a 50 percent smaller tractor if it had optimal ballast. It seems that most farmers want to use a 100 hp tractor with no ballast to do the job.

 

[WM75Guy]

I moved round bales with my TC40DA with no issues. Moving them out of the field I had forks front and rear. Load the rear first for ballast. When moving them to feed I always had rear ballast from the arena drag. Just go slow and kept it low to the ground until I lifted it up to drop in the feeder.

 

[Clintock]

A 45 horse tractor will handle all he wants. I’ve got a 45 and I move 4x5 and 5x5 bales frequently. Bahai bales. Bermuda bales. Rye and some with clover. Clover makes a heavy bale. I’ve not run into any issues yet and I don’t use a ballast. Just loaded rear tires. I do recommend getting a true bale spear and not a clamp on bucket type.
Note: I live on rolling hills

 

[LD1]

A 45 horse tractor will handle all he wants. I’ve got a 45 and I move 4x5 and 5x5 bales frequently. Bahai bales. Bermuda bales. Rye and some with clover. Clover makes a heavy bale. I’ve not run into any issues yet and I don’t use a ballast. Just loaded rear tires. I do recommend getting a true bale spear and not a clamp on bucket type.
Note: I live on rolling hills

What is your 45 HP tractor.

John Deere makes a 3046r. Doubt it would handle a 5x6 bale blasted and no chance at all non ballasted.
Deere also makes a 5045 that would likely handle it day in and day out.

Simply saying a 45 HP tractor will handle all he wants is the WRONG way to size a tractor for moving big round bales. I can point you to a tractor that is 45hp yet weighs UNDER 3000 pounds. I can also show you one that weighs double that

 

[Clintock]

What is your 45 HP tractor.

John Deere makes a 3046r. Doubt it would handle a 5x6 bale blasted and no chance at all non ballasted.
Deere also makes a 5045 that would likely handle it day in and day out.

Simply saying a 45 HP tractor will handle all he wants is the WRONG way to size a tractor for moving big round bales. I can point you to a tractor that is 45hp yet weighs UNDER 3000 pounds. I can also show you one that weighs double that

It’s a kioti dk4510. I didn’t say anything about a 5x6 bale. Not sure my would handle a 5x6 safely. I know I could move it but not safe. I assume the guy knows something about tractors since he’s needing it for hay. But I may be wrong in that assumption.

 

[LD1]

It’s a kioti dk4510. I didn’t say anything about a 5x6 bale. Not sure my would handle a 5x6 safely. I know I could move it but not safe. I assume the guy knows something about tractors since he’s needing it for hay. But I may be wrong in that assumption.

You said a 45hp tractor will handle all the op wants. And the op wants to handle 5x6 bale's......

 

[JC-jetro]

Perhaps one more thing to look at as far as longevity of the rear axle and the 3 point. Most of the 40ish HP tractor come with cat-1 3 point and a an axle matching that. My MX-4700 comes with cat-2, 3 point and a lot beefier axle in comparison to a mid 40ish kubota (L series) with cat-1 and not as beefy of axle. Along with that My Kubota has a sub mount for the loader that ties the bell housing to the rear axle that I think is pretty important for stiffness of the tractor loader and rear end combination for picking up hay bale on both frontand the rear of the tractor.