# Hauling a round baler



## Hokelund Farm

I just bought a Case IH 3650 round baler on an internet auction. Mapquest says its about 190 miles/3.5 hours away.

I have a 1/2 ton chevy and a nice 16' car trailer.

Should I load it on the trailer or just pull it home behind the pickup?

Tires look good on the baler, how fast could I pull it?


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## 8350HiTech

I'd haul it as that gives you braking for the baler/trailer combo. Otherwise you're always going to be relying, too much in my opinion, on the braking action of a half ton truck.


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## Hokelund Farm

Good point. I've been trying to find the approximate weight of the machine but no luck so far.

If a 3/4 or 1 ton were used, would it be better pulling it?


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## T & R Hay Farms

Pulling a Round baler with a 1/2ton pickup should be just fine. Just be a safe driver and drive a realistic speed and enjoy the country side for a few hours on your way home. Just my two cents. A little common sense goes a long way!

If you would like to pull it a little faster, just bump up the tire pressure for the journey home. Good luck!


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## Tim/South

I bought a used baler a few years ago and hauled it home. It was a couple of hours away and I did not have a spare for the baler and did not know how well the wheel bearings were.

I knew the shape of the trailer.


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## Supa Dexta

Weight should be around 4250 from what I see. Which is similar to my deere 457. I haul it with a 2500HD, you can feel it back there, but its alright. Ive had it up to 60mph at times, for short times when needed. Bearings never got warm, but implement tires say 25mph max. But Id have no problem running mine at 40 for a trip. Tie up hoses good and throw the drive shaft in the box. The worst part is rough roads, and speed and they wanna bounce bad, which feels awful thru a bumper hitch, when you are used to 5th wheels and goosenecks.


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## Hokelund Farm

Sounds like a split decision. We have a nice trailer with brakes, but we have never hauled a heavy enough load far enough away to put a brake controller in the pickup. We have one that we bought for our former 94 chevy but never used it. I wonder i that would work for a 2007 chevy?


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## swmnhay

I'd pull it.grease wheel bearings.hopefully it has decent tires.ive heard of some guys putting some highway type truck tires on if baler has float to type on it.I pull my Vermeer 605 with 3/4 ton pickup quite often 50 mph it is pretty heavy on the tongue compared to other balers

Braking is not that big of deal with a 5-6k lb baler.Just use common sense

I'd want to use a 3/4-1 ton if you had one available


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## Hokelund Farm

I would have access to a 3/4 or 1 ton, but would have to ask the in-laws...
swmnhay - I might be going through your neck of the woods to pick it up. Its in Rock Rapids IA.


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## swmnhay

Hokelund Farm said:


> I would have access to a 3/4 or 1 ton, but would have to ask the in-laws...swmnhay - I might be going through your neck of the woods to pick it up. Its in Rock Rapids IA.


Would you like to meet for coffee or lunch?Luverne perhaps?Are you taking hwy 75?What day are you planing on going?


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## swmnhay

Oops looked at a map to see where you were at.You comeing down hwy 60?i could get you down some back roads from here to rock rapids.


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## Fowllife

I vote for pulling it. Throw a couple spare tires, a grease gun, and a jack in the back of he truck & head out. My baler is a little lighter, but it pulled just fine with my 1/2 ton. My new 3/4 pulls better though.

The one thing that hasn't been brought up yet is that it may not fit on your car trailer. Depending on how wide the wheels are set on the baler they may not fit over/past your fenders in the trailer. If it doesn't you will have to leave it behind the axle which will probably make it tail heavy & tow like crap. If you know for sure it will fit between the fenders, and you have plenty of good tie down points hauling it would also work though. 6,000lbs behind a 1/2 ton is doable without trailer brakes but you need to use your head, no problem for a 3/4 ton.


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## Tx Jim

I'll bet loading a rd baler on a 16' car hauler won't be FUN or EASY. I'd pull the baler as I've pulled many farm implements 100's of miles.


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## slowzuki

I pulled mine about 100 miles, smooth roads where excellent, our 30 miles of secondary roads I couldn't go over 20-30 mph as she was in the air as much as on the road. Long drive at that speed.

Tires were poor but gave no bother.


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## 8350HiTech

I was in favor of hauling but now seeing that you don't have any braking on the trailer, I'm switching to a towing vote. If you have a shock absorbing drawbar for your pickup, that would help immensely for your comfort. Also like the idea of highway tires on the baler if you happen to have some on implement rims already laying around.


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## Hokelund Farm

Excellent suggestions. I wouldn't use the trailer without the trailer brakes. I call it a car trailer but its much more heavy duty. I'll have to check the width.
With all the time monekying around with the trailer I could probably just spend an extra couple hours pulling the baler at a safe speed.


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## RockmartGA

I don't think the baler would fit on your car hauler. Most 4' wide balers measure about 7-8' between the outside edges of the tires and most car haulers are less than 7'. Personally, I'd try to find someone with a deck-over equipment trailer or gooseneck and pay them some money to haul it.

If you do pull it, just a few considerations before I would set out to pull a baler for 5-6 hours....

What kind of terrain will you be traveling? Hilly? Flat? Going up and down hills with a 5000# baler with no brakes pushing you would not be fun.

Road conditions? Straight? Winding, narrow two lane with little opportunity for folks to pass?

Condition of baler tires? Original tires perhaps? If so, more likely to have a blow out if you overheat them.

I like what Fowllife said above about getting some extra rims with road tires. At least take a spare.


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## Hokelund Farm

I decided on pulling it home, probably this friday. I'll use the in-laws 1 ton Dodge. Can't remember if it has a spring hitch but a 1 ton should handle it either way. I'll be going through southwest MN so it will be relatively flat and open.

A spare is a good idea, not sure where I would find one.


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## 8350HiTech

Hokelund Farm said:


> I decided on pulling it home, probably this friday. I'll use the in-laws 1 ton Dodge. Can't remember if it has a spring hitch but a 1 ton should handle it either way. I'll be going through southwest MN so it will be relatively flat and open.
> 
> A spare is a good idea, not sure where I would find one.


Take one off of another piece of six-lug equipment you have.


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## PaMike

If you bring a spare you wont need it, and you will be fine.

Don't bring a spare and you will blow a tire about the farthest possible location from a spare.

At least that's how it normally works.


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## Nitram

If you pull definitely take time to check bearings for heat on occasion and grease...faster you go the more grease will migrate out...slow down and enjoy the ride


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## rjbaustian

I'd just pull it, BUt, if you're using a receiver for a Reese hitch, make sure you have one to handle the tongue weight. Going to cost you 50 bucks +\- but well worth it. I used a standard receiver for mine the first time, and bent the hell out of it. My new one is rock solid.


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## Hokelund Farm

Well I got it home. Pulled like a dream behind a 1 ton. Could barely tell I was pulling it. Drove 40-45 mph the whole way. Took about 3 hours down and 5 hours back.
Had to stop 3 times in the first 30 minutes to reshut the doors on the baler, but once those latched good didn't have any more issues.
The belts aren't as nice as I was hoping but overall it seems like a decent baler for $1700.


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## ARD Farm

You are already done and home safe...good thing.

One thing I saw no one mentioned is besides an SMV triangle you need lights on the back. Some of my implements don't have lights (like my 575 NH) so I use the stick on magnetic ones like are sold on this site's store. Work real well and run on AAA batteries. They are LED's and go foerver it seems.

I inadvertently left them on, on the 575 and left the bailer at a customers field. Came back 3 days later and they were still blinking away, just as bright.

The NH dealer delivered my 450 behind his Suburban and it was 60 miles of main 2 lane road. I asked him if he went 20 mph. He laughed.


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## shortrow

Hokelund Farm said:


> I just bought a Case IH 3650 round baler on an internet auction. Mapquest says its about 190 miles/3.5 hours away.
> 
> I have a 1/2 ton chevy and a nice 16' car trailer.
> 
> Should I load it on the trailer or just pull it home behind the pickup?
> 
> Tires look good on the baler, how fast could I pull it?


You can pull it as fast as your nerve will let you. I hauled my last one home on a trailer.


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## shadyoakhay

ive used a skid steer with a hole in one of the forks to push one up on a trailer. strap it down and haul it. works great!!


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