|
WC Illinois/SE Iowa | I'm contemplating switching from a bale thrower on the back of my small square baler to using an accumulator and grapple. I would be loading the bales on a gooseneck with the grapple instead of hauling hay wagons back and forth to the barn. The reason this is an upside for my operation is because the majority of my hay ground is ten miles away or further from the barns. Currently I have been borrowing the neighbor's wagons and he is wanting to sell them. This is why I need to make a decision which direction I want to go. I have wanted to go to the accumulator for some time, but haven't because I haven't had to yet. I'm not familiar with brands and models of accumulators and grapples. Tractor House doesn't have direct listings for them, but I have scrolled thru their site and found a few. Used setups are hard to come by it seems. The cost looks to be about $2500 - $4000 more for the accumulator setup vs what the 4 wagons are going to cost me. I did find a Farmhand brand 8 bale accumulator and grapple that would be less than the 4 wagons, but it looked a little rough and I'm just not familiar with that brand's reliability.
What is anyone's opinion on accumulators (brand to look at, trail behind vs mounted to the baler, etc)? I'm probably going to go with an 8, 10, or 12 bale accumulator. I'm not sure of the trail behind accumulators that drag the bale along the ground until there are enough bales. It seems to me that the dragging would break twine, or at least wear it thin. Am I wrong in thinking this?
TIA | |
|
Bale Accumulator and grapple
