stacking hay

steve terplak · Jan 16, 2011

guy came up to buy some small squares out of my barn yesterday.
26' gooseneck, 7 tiers, 280 bales.
my uncle and i are in the barn, hauler and helper are on the trailer
he starts bringing back all 7 tiers at once...
my uncle shouts out of the barn - "hey, you are doing that wrong, you should bring back a couple at a time so you can stack them tighter"
guy responds "i have my way"
uncle "doesn't make it the right way"
i laughed at the whole exchange...my uncle was born to be a pain in the A...great guy, just likes to bust balls...
but...if i were stacking the trailer i would bring back 3 tiers, nice and tight, then start back at the front and do the remaining 4...
anyone stack all 7 then move back one set of bales, and so on?

fixerupper · Jan 16, 2011

They probably wanted to keep their feet on the solid floor of the trailer while they stacked so they wouldn't risk the chance of a twisted ankle walking on the bales. But picking bales up out of the road ditch after they've fallen off the trailer is not fun either.

We used to stack one column at a time on the rack in the field, but it was pulled home behind a slow tractor. When we stacked out of the barn we did one whole tier at a time, the length of the trailer so we could tie it all together for the road trip, and the higher up we got we were closer to the barn door. The downfall to that is after the first tier we were walking on stacked bales for the rest of the load. Good incentive to stack them tight! Jim

Anonymous-0 · Jan 16, 2011

they are the ones hauling them so if it's harder work their way or they fall off that's their problem.

thurlow · Jan 16, 2011

Think stair-steps....top of steps at front of trailer. Whole load will essentially be tied together.

camju · Jan 16, 2011

We always stacked them that way.We would start at the front and back of the semi trailer tie in all the way up when we met in the middle turn bale up at angle and jamb them together. Somtimes it took 2 off us jumpping on the bales to get them together.And yes it is alot nicer to walk on the deck than on the bales,and much faster when you don't have to be so carefull where you step.7 bales high is not that high,one guy stacks the other throws and carries.Switch around every 15 minutes.

rrlund · Jan 16, 2011

The way the guy was doing it was the way we did it on the wagon in the field.

Mike (WA) · Jan 16, 2011

Depends on how big your hay crew is. If you got 2 guys, pretty much have to build all the way up with each "rick" as you go. If you've got 3, can put the extra guy on the trailer to build the higher levels in stairstep style as someone mentioned. But you have to leave part of the trailer at floor level, so the guy on the ground doesn't have to throw so high.

kyhayman · Jan 16, 2011

That customer has more patience than I do, someone said that to me I'd have unloaded and left. For me personally, I'm stacking all 7 at once, walking on hay wants to make it creep out, risks turning an ankle or a knee, or worse. I've only ever seen one guy load that way. He made a good load but he wasnt putting but 4 high.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 16, 2011

On an open trailer/wagon, I would build 2 rows forward and then walk on them to build the rest. Building seven rows at a time results in chaff falling down your neck without need.

In a closed semi trailer, I would probably build all seven rows at one time instead of banging my head on the ceiling.In a closed trailer, having a tight, solid load is not as critical.

Randy-IA · Jan 16, 2011

OK I'm no genius but 7 tiers by my reckoning is 10-1/2 feet high. I'm pretty sure I can't reach that high and still make em tight. I stack my rack that high. But like was said in another post "stair-step" fashion back to front. And top two tiers are always stepped inward to lock it all together. A 26x8 trailer deck will hold about 51 bales/tier so he must have done the same on top?

RodinNS · Jan 16, 2011

I find it a lot easier to correctly lay out the load when working one tier at a time but I also hate walking on bales. Usually end up doing 3-4 tiers one at a time then finish the last 3-4 at once...
Beyond that... if someone wants to pack them a certian way on their rig... and they're paying... I don't care. Shut up and pass bales...

Rod

730 virgil · Jan 16, 2011

if you have ever had knee trouble you soon learn soild footing is best

stacking hay

steve terplak

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fixerupper

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Anonymous-0

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thurlow

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camju

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rrlund

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Mike (WA)

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kyhayman

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Anonymous-0

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Randy-IA

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RodinNS

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730 virgil

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