# Anybody do roundbales in a regular pickup bed



## jode (Oct 24, 2007)

I am trying to figure out if I can put a round bale in the bed of my pickup. It is a 3/4 ton truck, so the weight is no problem, the only question I have is if the bale will be wide enough that it is putting pressure on the sides of the bed to the point that it bends the bed sides out and makes it so my tailgate won't work anymore. I don't want to damage the truck you know...

Here's a (terrible) image of the truck. Note that it is not a flatbed - just a regular ol pickup truck.


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

Do some measuring, and make sure the bale can't roll. It don't take a lot to spread the sides enough that the tailgate won't latch.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

What size bale are you talking about? 4' wide is no problem. 5' is fine as long as you have it sitting up on edge, it'll push on the sides if you lay it down flat. 6' will be trouble either way.


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

Our hay guy brings us 5x4 round bales 2 at a time in his pick-up truck. He sits them on edge so we can roll them out - he can't get the tailgate closed with the two bales in but there is no pressure on the sides of the bed.


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## jode (Oct 24, 2007)

awesome! thanks!


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## Menglish (May 7, 2009)

We drove two round bales at a time in the back of a 1/2 ton pick up all last winter. Shouldn't be a problem.

Mike


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## Missy M (Mar 2, 2007)

Our neighbor has tons of cows and uses his pickup everyday to feed the cows round bales.


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## bruce2288 (Jul 10, 2009)

as mentioned it depends on the size of the bales. A round baler can make bales from 1-6.5 foot in diameter.


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## farmerjon (Jan 7, 2009)

If you can put them in so that you can just roll them off it works good. I was moving 3 at a time on my F250. Two laid down and one stacked on top. They were 4X4. Good luck.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

My hay guys brings me a 700 lb bale in the back of his pickup. His tailgate goes up when he is ready to leave.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Check every bale you put in your truck! We had hauled a few this way but put one in that was just a bit too big and it did splay out the truck sides. Not so bad that you couldn't shut the gate, but it was noticable if you looked. We put it in round end towards the tail. Wish I had thought about putting it in with the round side towards the wheel wells! At the time we didn't have a bale spear or skidloader, just a tractor with a bale mover (two spears that go under the bale instead of through it) to pick it up. Live and learn. - Catherine


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

My neighbor put one 4x5 round bale in his F350 with the flat sides front and rear. No straps. He went around a corner and the bale rolled. Bent his side out a lot.

Genebo
Paradise Farm


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## Lazy J (Jan 2, 2008)

We make 2,000 lb, 5x6 bales. They are not going in the back of a pickup.

The smaller round bales might fit in a pickup.


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## jode (Oct 24, 2007)

Update and FYI, here is a pic of my truck with two 4X5 round bales in the back. I was up in Tulsa and the hay prices were so cheap that I figured why not. The truck is just over 5' wide, but with the "flattening" of the bales, I had him rotate the rear bale 90 degrees so that it wasn't resting on the sides of the bed at all - then I strapped it down in that position. These must be fairly light rolls because I was barely on the overload springs. It drove like a charm and (thanks to Cummins) I was rolling up the Oklahoma mountains at 70mph without downshifting in cruise control. I love diesel power.


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## Montanarchist (Feb 24, 2005)

Lazy J said:


> We make 2,000 lb, 5x6 bales. They are not going in the back of a pickup.
> 
> The smaller round bales might fit in a pickup.



We have #1500 round bales here that I buy. I can get one in the back of the Cummins, and drive 3 miles up our really bad mountain road. There is no way two would fit. Also, as someone said before be careful on the corners.


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## Bountiful Ranch (Jan 11, 2010)

We have only use a trailer for what you did. I wouldn't want one of my round bales in my truck. Actually, I do not think it would fit. Now, being that we do our own bales, I am moving around with the tractor. Have sold but used a long trailer that holds 4 bales at a time.


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## jode (Oct 24, 2007)

Where in Eastern OK are you, and more importantly, do you have any spare bales for sale


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## Bountiful Ranch (Jan 11, 2010)

jode said:


> Where in Eastern OK are you, and more importantly, do you have any spare bales for sale


Sorry, but I am not going to sell anymore this year. I've kept enough plus some for my horses and you never know what this coming year's hay crop will be like. Some years I double what I got last year.

I live about 30 miles from McAlester.


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

I see two 1000 lb round bales in the backs of pickups all of the time.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

jode, 
I'm near Ada, (Francis) and have extra. Not sure how many you're interested in though.


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## hillbillly (Jun 28, 2009)

thx for the info, was kinda wondering this myself...


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## bigmudder77 (Jun 9, 2008)

ya i get 2 bales in the back of my 1500 with a 6ft bed cant close the tail gate but i just throw a strap around the back side 

and most times i do one every week in the back of the same truck if they look like that pushing them off might not be very fun i do every thing by my self so pushing bales off the truck can be a real pain if they are water logged cause they seem to get stuck on the sides of the bed 

but when we had our farm we use to put 2 in an 8ft bed chevy every day and drive 6 miles down the road around hills and bends in the road and we wouldnt strap any thing down only lost one bale in the 15 years i can remember and it was because the back bale was light and the front one was heavy and we hit a bump and the bale bounched and fell right out and rolled down the road a ways till it hit a tree and stopped had to get the tractor to get that one back on the truck then strapped it down 

also if you do alot of stuff by your self and dont want to push round bales off get a bed lift they make one that will go under the stock bed and pick it up and one that sits in the bed and just that lifts there about the same price and work great takes like 30 secs to unload the bale and you never have to push it just cut the strings but there both around $2000 give or take


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## BetsyK in Mich (May 14, 2002)

I've put many a round bale in the back of a pick-up. Spear them in the center and set them in the box and nudge them forward. One fellow had me load his flat bed with 5 bales and then decided he wanted me to "drop" one in the back of his pickup hitched to the trailer. I protested, told him I couldn't control the bale well, it was on a spike on the front of a bucket on the Case Crawler. I protested more, he insisted, should only cost a few hundred to straighten out the side of the box!!! Some folks don't seem to be able to understand the meaning of 800# bale and the theory of it rolling and tipping. And yes, men are always amazed at how well this old lady drives that Case Crawler.


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