Tractor Sizing What size Yanmar needed to lift round bales?

[BTackett]

My father is now looking for a smaller tractor with a FEL that can lift/stack 500lb round bales. What would be the correct size Yanmar to do this? Also, does he need 4wd?

thanks,
Bill

 

[Mickey_Fx]

This topic is near and dear to me as I feel few have ever weighed their tractor, did the math and actually see what happens due to weight transfer.

I suspect some of the concern over which model depends upon which series. I find the F series with it's short wheelbase isn't suited for heavy FEL loads. Maybe the some of the older YM series are better in this aspect.

My F24 has the power, the loader can lift a ton but the real question is can the front axle & tires handle the extra load. I've weight my tractor, front and rear, ran the math, looked at the load rating for the stk front tires. What I found out is with my bucket empty my front axle load is at the max load rating for the tires. Think it is hard to find any data on actual load rating for the front axle. With my set-up every pound placed in the bucket places 2 pounds of weight on the axle.

With that said I have picked up a couple loads in the 500-800 lb range, the tires didn't blow but the rear axle was very light. These load were lifting from the cross-bar aft of the bucket.

I couldn't recommend using this set up to anyone wanting to lift sizable loads safely.

You've also not said anything about how you would be picking up the bales and how far in front of the front axle the load would be placed. This has a big impact on weight transfer.

 

[chriswheeler]

I have unloaded heavy items out of my pickup several times with the FEL on my YM3000, FEL is a Koyker 160 with a 1200 lb rating. Sure, the tractor and FEL will lift it, but anything more than 500 lbs overloads front end and tires. I first block the frame to the ground, lift the load, and drive the truck out from under it, move the load to the ground. To move large round bales I would not use any smaller than a YM 4200 or bigger. The trick isn't to lift, it is to lift and still be able to move and not be overloaded. CUTS, for the most part, are to small for this job, I'd be looking at a larger tractor and error on the side of safety, only got one dad!!!
Chris

 

[BTackett]

Thanks for the input guys. Yes, I only have one dad. I think he found a Massey 245 with a FEL for a decent price. I was just wondering about what model Yanmar would work and I don't believe he could find what he needed due to availability.

Bill