Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

Older trailers? How old is to old when it comes to hoppers? I am looking at a older truck and he has a 97' Wilson 43X96X78 that has had a bunch of work done to it. I know the local midd hauler is still uses trailers they bought new in 93 and 94.

 

Just curious....what opportunities exist in western PA / eastern OH for this kind of work ? What are the good companies to lease on with, or who haul this kind of freight in this region ? Thanks.

 

Do any of you folks have plans or pictures of a home made hay spear?
I have a friend that bought a low time JD 950 with a front end loader
She would like to use it to move small round bailes into the pasture for her hay burners
She says that the bailes are 5' tall 39" deep and weigh about 900lbs
Specs on the machine that I can find say it should lift 900 (dry)
I told her she was going to be at the limit of the machine and she should also get a feeder to keep them from just making a big bed outta of the bails
Thanks for your help
rag

 

Google hay spear and look at images. There's about a million pictures of all different kinds. And she doesn't have to put it on the front. They make them for the three point on the back. Probably be able to lift them easier.

 

Thanks
She picks them up with a trailer
A 3pt won't be able to get them off and I aint so sure I want her running around with a 4 foot spear on the back.
I can already see a dog/cat/horse being run through the middle with it
At least on the front they may have a fighting chance

 

Rag,if your friend is feeding hay then i'm guessing she has enough acreage that she probably has some type of 3 point hitch type of bush-hog/pasture clipper so if she is gona go with the bale fork on the front end loader on that 950,then i'd recomend hooking up the bush-hog so she has a little counter balance while feeding/unloading those rolls,especially if they were not baled good and dry because like kajidono said,they will make 'er purty light in the back. Here is the best JD web site i can think of,if she wants to take a look at it,she can probably see a lot of different set-ups showing 950's with loaders+bale spears. the web site is www.machinefinder.com ,maybe that will help,just tell her to keep the bale low when she's moving around on un-even ground if she doesn't have much exp. on it

 

She'll have to keep the front tires aired up higher than normal too. One guy almost tipped his tractor over several times unloading bundles of railroad ties off my truck because the weight on the forks nearly flattened the tires with the regular amount of pressure in them. I'd put some bigger wheels and tires on the front too.

I'm pretty sure they make counterweights to hook on the back for that. A brushhog is the easy way but it leaves an even bigger overhang off the back than another hay bale. Just need a big brick of iron with hitch points on it. Maybe see if somebody around there has an old bank safe out in the barn you could weld hitch points onto. Or an engine block.