Little OT - best hay wagon size for stacking hay

relaurain · Jan 10, 2009

What are the pros and cons of a 8X16 and 9X18 hay wagon as far as stacking and traveling down the road? Can make My bales standard size 36 - 40 in long.

old · Jan 10, 2009

9 foot wide is not legal on most roads so you then limit where you can use it. 8 foot works well if you stack them right. 8.5 foot wide is legal max for any thing on most roads
Hobby farm

Paul from MI · Jan 10, 2009

My standard racks are 7-1/2 x 15. I stacked 4 tiers per load. I stacked 5 bales in each layer, 4 to 5 layers high, with a cap of four bales. 15' long gives you a little place to stand to finish the last tier of bales. Can also stack a few single bales in front of the last tier. This would give 96 bales per load minimum, more if you went 5 high plus the cap. A cap of four bales per tier helps lock the load together. 8' wide would be a little better than my old 7-1/2'. A 1x2 strip around the edge of the rack helps hold the bales in place too. All depends on how you like to stack it.
Paul

MikeinKy · Jan 10, 2009

All of mine are 8X16 or 8X18. I have tried other sizes and shorter ones don't hold enough bales and I just didn't like the longer ones. 8 ft wide is just right to stack 2 bales wide with one down the middle lenghwise.

kyhayman · Jan 10, 2009

8x20, and would be 24 or 26 if I could get lumber that long. I've got 1 8x18 and it almost never gets used for anything. Just too short. Cant quite get another full run of squares on it, and with rounds it only holds 8 as opposed to 11. Fuel, and the time moving a short wagon all costs. My 20 foot flats are mostly on 4x8s. Got a couple with 3x10 runners but I really dont like them. With silage bales I have broken 3x10s and thats not fun by any measure. On a 20 foot flat we normally stack 128 square bales or 11 round bales.

John e.c.MI · Jan 10, 2009

How is nine feet not legal? As an implement of husbandry it shouldn't matter. Nine is a long way from the 20' grain head we go down the road with.

Leroy · Jan 10, 2009

Ours were either 6 1/2' or 7' wide and load 36" bales with one down the center with no problem and all except one were 16', the other was 18' and bought used and with the length it was to long for one to keep up with on loading with the extra length to walk, allways was the last one used because did not like it. on 16' long 5 stacks fit and 25 bale per stack made 125 per load but lot of time made 30 bale stacks for the back 4 stacks. If I was still farming and either loading by hand or with a thrower they would be no wider than 7' and no longer than 14', had it with big wagons.

CHRISCO · Jan 10, 2009

17' or 18' gives you plenty of space to stand to put the final bales. We had 16' racks but it was a bear to stack the final stack all the way to the top without standing on the tongue of the rack. So we bolted a 2x10 out front of the rack to extend it to 17' feet and it was a lot better.

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Don-Wi · Jan 10, 2009

Ours are all 8x16 or 8x18. 3 wide fits really nice on them, just a little overhang on each side but that's not an issue. I stacked on one that was 9' wide once, and that extra bale down the middle just makes it a pain.

We also had a 7'wide wagon, and it was just too narrow. We put 2 wide and one down the middle, but I never liked stacking on it.

On a 8x16 rack, I average around 160 bales. on the 8x18, about 180. I stack 6 high, the first 4 layers 3 wide and then taper it in 1/2 a bale at a time. If I'm feeling strong, I'll put one more on top and go for 7 high, but you really don't gain much. Only a couple extra bales.

Donovan from Wisconsin

old · Jan 10, 2009

A wagon is thought top be like a trailer so that is why it can fall into the not legal thing. Other stuff like combines fall into farm equipment but a hay wagon can in some area fall into the trailer laws

farmer boy · Jan 10, 2009

how long the wagon can bd Depends how good your legs are. 18x8 or 8.5 is usually about right.On a wagon that size you should EASILY be able to get 200 bales. The most we ever put on a 18x8 wagon was 265 bales. 3.5 wide for 4 layers, 3 wide for the other 4 layers and 8 high stacked straight up right to the front. You don't want to do 9 feet wide because in alot of places it's not legal for roading and it can be a PIA to back in into a barn or to simply move it around

Don-Wi · Jan 11, 2009

Man, That's a baby load. I like our 8x18 wagons that we have, but 8x16 is a good size too. Here's an 8x18 loaded 9 high. I would have a few more bales on it, but it was getting late and the dew was setting in so the bales were too heavy.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Little OT - best hay wagon size for stacking hay

relaurain

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old

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Paul from MI

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MikeinKy

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kyhayman

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John e.c.MI

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Leroy

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CHRISCO

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Don-Wi

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old

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farmer boy

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Don-Wi

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