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| Looking into bale beds. Looking for pros and cons on which bed to buy. Seems like a lot of guys around here use hydra beds want it to haul and unroll hay but don't want to give up space of a regular flat bed that I am used to What is the Best Buy for the money and what bed is the handiest and sturdiest? Any advice will be appreciated. Currently have 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 quad cab long box with 8 ft Bradford bed Would hope to trade off flatbed |
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central ne | I bought a hydrabed in 2008 and it's on its second pickup. I think at the time it was 1500-2000 dollars cheaper than a dew eze. Really easy to make it flat to haul pallets or scoop off distillers for cows. Replaced a couple hydraulic hoses and that's about it. We use it a lot to haul panels or lift stuff very handy. |
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| How good does it do at unrolling hay? I've heard some beds don't get the bales unrolled all the way but I also don't know if that's a huge deal because the cows would still eat it all Just wondering |
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SE KS | Deweze. Ive owned 3. It will unroll with spinners, but i dont unroll unless we get snow or ice. I like because heavy built and i can grab a bale off center, almost along the edge, which picks it up high and can drop in bale feeders without moving feeder. Remote, wireless, control has always worked and is handy when behind the truck cutting netwrap off. Im sure some people hate them, but they work for me and their service is good. |
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KY | With ours it can unroll it to probably 1.5 ft diameter and I usually just get out and roll the rest out by foot.
If you don't have them picked up in the dead center then they won't unroll as far. |
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north west arkansas | I had a deweze forever and now have a hydrabed and cannonball. I also just bought a second hydrabed. I would like to try one of deweze's pivot beds but will not own another slide style bed. A hydrabed with manual controls work pretty dang good. The cannonball has some nice features but I will not own another. I guess a lot of it depends on how many bales a year you intend on feeding with one. Lots of difference whether you feed 100, 1,000 or 10,000 bales a year with one. |
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| What is a slide style? Do the arms slide in and out? I've seen a lot of beds but never used one. Just trying to do my homework |
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powell mo | Yes they slide in and out . |
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north west arkansas | Yes. That's how deweze has been made for years. The now do offer a pivot style bed. The slide style works ok but I prefer the pivot style. |
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| 10-4 thanks what's maintenance like? I'm wanting a quality dependable bed that's gonna work great. I'm not gonna use it on all my cows but it sure would beat a tractor or skid loader price plus it goes 60mph down the road. I'm just not wanting to buy a headache. How does a pivot style work? What's the advantage to individual arm movement? Is electric over hydraulic as good as direct drive? Just wanting to understand all the mechanics |
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north west arkansas | If you want simple, reliable, and fast. Go buy a hydrabed with engine pump and manual controls.
Edit. Individual arm movement is nice and very handy in some situations but only bed I know of that has it is caonnonball. As I stated earlier I won't own another caonnonball after this one leaves. Actually not sure how much longer it's even gonna be here.
Edited by wayneNWAR 1/1/2017 19:22
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north west arkansas | Electric pumps are fine if you don't mind them being very slow and replacing batteries every 6 months. Also the colder they are the slower they are. My hydrabed(engine pump) can have 2 bales on and being leaving the lot before the cannonball(electric pump) gets on the bed. Like I said all depends how many bales you feed with one. My beds feed around 1,500 bales a year and I also move some hay with them on top of that. |
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Central Kansas | I am a big fan of Hydrabeds. Had Deweze for the first bed and wouldn't go back. Tried my neighbors new pivot arm Deweze and don't know if it was just the relief setting in the valve or what, but it had no hydraulic power. Hydrabed offers cable, wired or wireless controls now. Which ever you get I would strongly recommend either engine driven pump, or pto pump. They are light years ahead of an electric over hydraulic setup.
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Central Kansas | The other thing to remember once you get a bale bed is all the other jobs you will find to use it. You can run a hydraulic auger, wire winder, post hole digger, and many other jobs that you couldn't do with an electric over hydraulic unit. Don't forget about all the stuff you can pick up with it.
Edited by cattlefeeder 1/1/2017 19:40
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north west arkansas | If it wasn't for us normally being so muddy all winter long I'd love to try a truck like that. |
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northwest missouri | I have a krogman with engine driven pump
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North Central Texas | Cannonball was made to sell more dew Eze and hydrabeds. |
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| +1
You can extend the spinners out on a Krogmannn if you need to lift bale higher to put in a feeder. On really cold days there is no way I would want an electric pump. |
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North Central Kansas | I've got a bessler on my f350. Its a well built bed that came on my truck when I got it. It has the electric over hyd. pump. My only complaints are it seems the bed is higher than hydrabeds, making it harder to reach the gooseneck trap door, and the hyd pump it terrible slow. But it sure beats a spike bed or no bed at all. My next truck will have a new hydrabed on it.
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Alpha, MN | How well do these steel bale beds hold up to winters in MN, IA, and WI where we pour a ridiculous amount of salt on the roads? How long before they rust out? |
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southern middle TN | I have had a Dew Eze for about three months now and have no complaints about it. It is a parallel squeeze. We've found several different uses for it already. The pivot may be better but the Dew Eze brand sure seems to be built stout and heavy. I'm hoping that it outlast two or three trucks.
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| Thanks for the input. Anybody mess with suspensions at all? Air bags, bigger springs, etc? My truck is a 3500 single rear wheel. I think it'll get around in the mud here |
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north west arkansas | On the one tons springs have been fine. On 3/4 tons we add extra leafs to the springs. If you put a large cake box on it also I'm starting to think the front springs need beefed up also. When the mud gets real bad we put skidsteer tires on and it makes a lot of difference. |
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Northwest Missouri | We have four hydrabeds and they are about as trouble free as they come. Engine drive with manual controls. Would never have an electric pump, engine driven the only way to go. Just bought a new one last week, $9500 installed. |
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| I'm on my second DewEze, first one was electric/hyd on a parallel arms. Next one I waited until I could order a pivot bed, I put engine hyd. with remote wireless control. Hands down I would go engine drive again, if you ever feed any ton bales I would look at pivot bed. You can still feed tons off parallel arms, but if you need to fork any of it off lot easier to when bale is sideways vs. long ways.
If you want to load a lot of stuff using arms, parallel works easier. I always wanted to build a semi truck unloading chute on skids that I could just slip arms, under squeeze arms together then flip up on bed. That idea wouldn't work as easy with a pivot. I have no problem loading fuel tank slip with pivot.
I put air bags under my second truck, first one I put helper springs on. I went cheap didn't put compressor on truck, just change air with valve stems on rear of truck by my license plates. Not many dealers out here, DewEze is the closest. I would have to go to Montana to buy anything different, I mount my own here. I also think DewEze does a nice job in their wiring harness for lights, built to last a long time as they had Grote build everything quality. It met my high quality standards on wiring.
Slick way to mount those beds is to cut a piece of tubing to rest between frame and bed to give a gap, sure is easier to adjust bed that way.
DewEze old beds were heavier built, the new one is lighter but I'm sure it will be ok. Just makes me mad when they cheapen products up.
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NE Oklahoma | I like your truck set up, is that trk 4- wheel drive? |
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| I won't own another dew eze
Currently have butler beds on my trucks - they are OK but not top of the line
Hydra beds with engine pumps I'd say as my #1
Cannonballs are good but wear out quicker IMO
My next bed will be a bramco arm bed - they are cheap for the quality |
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| Mac, tell me about those spear beds I see on their website. How do they unroll hay or do they just set bale in a ring feeder? None of those up here in snow country. |
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| ya sit in a feeder (yearlings/wheat pasture cattle)
If the arm truck is down and cows need fed (limit fed so need it rolled out or spread)
I just find a canyon or steep draw and dump em off that - the '12 with the spike bed has a extra long frame - thought was hauling more feed with it to stocker cattle - it fits a 1500# caker / big square bale and 2 - 5x6s bales on the spikes - works fine but the trucks gonna wear out prematurely! Next time I will get a arm bed with a normal cab and chassis frame and just pull the bale trailer - not a big deal to dump bales and unhook - the extra long frame/bed isnt worth what I thought it would be
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Driftless SW Wisconsin | We've used aftermarket airbags on the rear axles of pickups rather than adding leaf springs. Just remember to plumb the two airlines separately, do not tee them together. Better lateral support. Can adjust air pressure to the load. |
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Southwest Missouri | I guess I'll be the odd man out cannonball here,has been a really good bed for me. A few hoses and two solenoids is the only thing that's been done two her. Had it since 2000 feeds around 1000 a year with it. Love the independent arms don't think I could run another bed with out them. Yes it moves slower then a bed with a engine driven pump but if your hay is in a row you can spin your bales around and load them like your going to unroll them just as fast or faster with the cannonball cause you don't have to turn your truck. The dump comes in handy at times too,like hooking up our gooseneck just lift your bed up and lift the trailer up a bit drop the jack let it back down,no jacking. |
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SW, Missouri | Another vote for hydra bed |
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Central Kansas | Yes it is. |
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West River, SD | I like the Besler Beds. They just look like the most heavily built of all of them, although I admit I have no experience with any other brands. We have had one since 2001 and bought a new one last year. The old one was an electric over hydraulic system, which I do not recommend. It is slow and also was really the only thing about the bed that needed to be fixed. The new bed has an engine pump and hydraulic outlets, which is great, but more money (worth it).
The Krogman bed might be a look if you would like something a little less expensive. I have heard good things. |
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| Neighbor close by has one like that. It also has a 540 pto. He pulls a little feed wagon sometimes with it I like the option of hydraulic outlets. Would come in handy
Edited by redman66 1/2/2017 10:20
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| MActtle, why are you down on dewezze?
Edited by JPT 1/2/2017 20:26
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| Got a Krogman. Good bed . I thing its a knock off hydrabed . But has extendable arms. Engine driven pump. Loaded a rock one day at the pasture with it to put in yard . Weighed it on my neighbers truck scales. 4300 lbs that was stupid |
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| over priced
A lot better options now days - the design is crude IMO - I probably use a bale bed more for other things than hauling hay and the older design just isn't that handy
If the hydra bed had the option to run in sync or independent I'd only own them
No experience with the pivot arms FYI - neighbor likes his but all he's ever had was deweze
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NE MO | Hydrabed! You will not be disappointed. |
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Bale beds
