How much do round bales weigh where you live?
Dry round bales weigh 800 to 1,400 pounds but as a round bale projects forward of of the FEL the effective bale load will exceed the lift capacity of 1,058 pounds stated. Keep in mind Bale Spear is part of FEL load, so attachment weight must be deducted from payload capacity.
If you could lift a bale with FEL, light tractor would be VERY unstable.
While some move round bales on the FEL with a 4,000 pound bare weight tractor, the consensus holds
safe, routine transport of round bales via FEL requires a 5,000 pound bare weight tractor with ample Three Point Hitch counterbalance mounted.
Will RK24 lift and move a 4x4 round bale of hay with tph bale spike or pallet forks?
What is the RK24 3-Pt. lift capacity?
I believe the RK 24 will work well on our small farm.
Subcompact tractors with a mid-mount-mower are excellent residential mowing platforms. With optional FEL, good for residential use as a powered wheelbarrow. Few choose a subcompact tractor for farm/garden applications on more than one or two working acres.
Multiple reasons owner/operators trade up from Subcompact Tractors:
~More tractor weight.
~More FEL lift capacity.
~More ground clearance.
~Three-range (3) HST (Lower LOW, Higher, HIGH) ~~ rather than two-range (2) HST.
~Larger wheels and tires have a larger tire/tread "patch" in contact with the soil. Larger wheels and tires bridge small holes, ruts and tree debris maintaining traction, which stall subcompact tractors. As a result, larger wheels/tires yield more tractive power pulling ground contact implements and logs, pushing a loader bucket into dirt and pushing snow. Larger wheels and tires decrease operator perturbation operating over rough ground.