So speaking of hauling hay and hauling equipment, I haul about 100 loads of hay per year. It’s not easy and round bales are particularly difficult. Not to strap down, that’s easy, but to load so they stay balanced. Round bales have varying densities and when left in fields, can get soft on the bottoms making them squishy. I’m hauling hay today and when it’s round bales, particularly stacked in 2 layers, it’s always an adventure.
Im not making excuses for haulers losing bales off trucks/trailers, but trying to illustrate
why bales sometimes come loose.
I would never condone unsecured bales.
One thing I taught my kids when teaching them to drive is always avoid cruising behind an open truck and next-to larger trucks. Things fall off and tires can unexpectedly blow out. Pass them or stay back.
I actually load bales with the driving route as a consideration. If the road has a great deal of “run off” to the shoulder, I will pre-load the bales slightly to the drivers side, knowing that by the time my destination is reached, they will begin leaning to the passenger side. In a few extreme problematic deliveries, I have had to pull over in a parking lot and have to go back, get a tractor and fix the load! One was when a couple dumb, careless drivers cut me off and I had to make an emergency maneuver.
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Large square bales on the other hand are very easy to load and stack on truck or trailer and are much more predictable.
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After 35 years of hauling hay and equipment, I have never lost anything other than a few pieces of paper trash from hauling debris on my tarped dump truck. I plan on keeping it that way until my driving days are over.