# Compact wheel loaders.



## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm just curious on how many hay guys are using compact wheel loaders for hay work. 
Any brands are being considered, have great dealership support around here for pretty much any brand. I am demoing a John Deere 2014 304 loader today and tomorrow. 
Currently using 2 track loaders and a wheel machine for the Kuhn 18 bale tie grabbers loading and unloading. Looking to move one of the nice track loaders to a wheel loader so I can road the grabber setup and stack a little but higher in the field, and with a better view.
I really like the wheel loaders because of their long lasting life compared to the high cost per hour expense of my 2 track machines. 
Looking for opinions. Thanks- Seth


----------



## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

All the small wheel loaders I have used in the past are slow as death on the road. They are fun as heck to operate and very maneuverable. Not good on hilly terrain turning! Be careful!
Some ossilate in the middle and others at the rear axle. The center ossilation units are hard to feel the load tipping in my experience. Try them all and see what you like! Make sure you do multiple functions at the same time to be sure the hydraulics are up to par! I have noticed a TON of new equipment that won't "walk and chew gum at the same time"! (Can steer and lift at the same time for instance) so put rhem through the paces! For the record. CAT SUCKS! Deere is WAY better! Kubota,Komatsu,Hyundai,Takuchi are all top notch machines. Good luck and have fun.


----------



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I have and use a Volvo L20F. I wish I had two. It's very good. I've never felt unstable with it even when picking up around 2800 pounds of hay. Skyrydr2 is right about slow though. Mine tops out at probably 8-9 mph. But working faster than anything. But I've been told by CaseIH and Volvo reps you can get one with road speed and ride control that will make them much faster. I'm also sure much more expensive. I bought mine used from a former Volvo rents store so it is a base model. Not even a radio. I doubt they are much different then a skid steer speed though. Although if I was willing to spend what they cost new I sure would look at a JCB TM320. It is a compact wheel loader with teleboom. https://www.jcb.com/en-us/products/telescopic-wheel-loaders. Compact wheel loaders don't have a lot of reach. Especially if you are using a bale grabber and might need it.


----------



## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

I demoed a JCB teleskid as well. That thing is sweet. Same problem as a regular machine though, cannot see what your doing up high. It would be great if was loading trucks and mixers, or even stacking big bales in the barn. Extremely stable as well.
Going to try the jcb wheel loader as well. I'm going to put stable on the top of the list of requirements I need.


----------



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

sethd11 said:


> I demoed a JCB teleskid as well. That thing is sweet. Same problem as a regular machine though, cannot see what your doing up high. It would be great if was loading trucks and mixers, or even stacking big bales in the barn. Extremely stable as well.
> Going to try the jcb wheel loader as well. I'm going to put stable on the top of the list of requirements I need.


I don't think the JCB tele wheel loader wouldn't look much different then just a regular wheel loader. Just have more reach. I've never tried a skid steer of any kind so I can't compare them to a compact wheel loader. A guy on Hay Kings of facebook has the JCB TM320 and loves it. I'm sure I would love it also, but not the over $100k price tag. But heck I bet a base Volvo L20F like mine is $90k now. It was $85k 3-4 years ago. At least when I called for a quote.


----------



## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

What ever you do, try be fore you buy. Some manufactures can't get it through there heads that the operator needs to be able to see what he is doing with the work tool. I operated a CAT 928G last fall, with the arms at full lift it was nearly impossible to see the tines on the bale spear. The CAT was replaced by a Deere partway through and the Deere was a lot better, but still not as good as the Volvos I've run. These are all midsize machine. Your mileage may vary.


----------



## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Question on not being able to see, I have some issue of with accumulator on my tractor and was thinking about installing a backup camera or such for that reason. Not sure if you could fine wire reel for a teleboom but maybe that would help on those machines. Looking at cameras on ebay have had people tell me they did such and it worked. Really thinking about getting camera out fit with at least two cameras for for grapple and fel bucket and another for behind me.


----------



## LukeS (Feb 24, 2015)

sethd11 said:


> I demoed a JCB teleskid as well. That thing is sweet. Same problem as a regular machine though, cannot see what your doing up high. It would be great if was loading trucks and mixers, or even stacking big bales in the barn. Extremely stable as well.
> Going to try the jcb wheel loader as well. I'm going to put stable on the top of the list of requirements I need.


What is the twine for?


----------



## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

LukeS said:


> What is the twine for?


Ties bundle/grab of bales together, Kuhn's tie grabber.

https://kuhnsmfg.com/product/15-bale-edge/#product-2

Larry


----------



## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Seth, how about a rough terrain fork lift? Was looking at one like they use on trailers for building materials and sod here last week. Has tires for construction site, forks run out to allow for wide loads (that I did not know till then) and it has tricycle steering wheels so should turn good. Wide stance of the pulling wheels which are the front end. If using grapple no sure about hyd source for that. No idea their speed.


----------



## Smoothy (Apr 26, 2015)

The farm I used to work at had two 244j Deere's. They were 100% better than the skid steer. If they ground was soft they were a little slow but you made up time in stacking and loading. We made 3x3x8 squares moved three at a time. No matter what kind of hay your moving I think you'll be happy. They take getting used to but after while they are extremely fast and nimble. They are nice for loading because if you need to move one way or the other you can just nudge the wheel instead of totally moving the machine. As you can tell I'm a fan.


----------



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Smoothy said:


> The farm I used to work at had two 244j Deere's. They were 100% better than the skid steer. If they ground was soft they were a little slow but you made up time in stacking and loading. We made 3x3x8 squares moved three at a time. No matter what kind of hay your moving I think you'll be happy. They take getting used to but after while they are extremely fast and nimble. They are nice for loading because if you need to move one way or the other you can just nudge the wheel instead of totally moving the machine. As you can tell I'm a fan.


Yes you describe exactly why I like a compact wheel loader for loading hay. They also doesn't tear up the ground like a skid steer. The nudging hay is what makes them great. I guess one can do that with a skidsteer also.


----------



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I’ve seen wheel loader videos from Ireland I think with big radial Ag tires on them, look much better for wet ground.


----------



## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

I looked at the off-road forklifts, but won't work for some of our super soft ground,. Even some peat ground mixed in too.
I demoed the Deere and would be happy with it except for the cab. The wheel of really close to my knees and cab is tight.
A bigger fellow would not be able to fit in there. I'm 5'11" and 180. 
Im going to sell 2 of my track skidsteers to buy a compact wheel loader, I'm sure dealers don't offer decent offers on trade in.
The jcb 409 I'm going to look at this week has a way bigger cab and tires. Same price as well.


----------



## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

sethd11 said:


> I looked at the off-road forklifts, but won't work for some of our super soft ground,. Even some peat ground mixed in too.
> I demoed the Deere and would be happy with it except for the cab. The wheel of really close to my knees and cab is tight.
> A bigger fellow would not be able to fit in there. I'm 5'11" and 180.
> Im going to sell 2 of my track skidsteers to buy a compact wheel loader, I'm sure dealers don't offer decent offers on trade in.
> The jcb 409 I'm going to look at this week has a way bigger cab and tires. Same price as well.


If you would not fit this fat boy certainly would not. Now don't want one as much as I did looking at JD web site. You know your soil, we don't have that soft of soil here unless lots of rain or you are on super sandy soil with no vegetation growing in it. The forklift I was referring to I really think would work well on any of my land but may have some issue on one little dead sand hole. I really do like the compact wheel loader. Plant nursery we often buy from has one without a cab and looks neat, do not remember the brand.

If you would consider a used loader you may be able to find someone who would like to trade for the skidsteers you have or one of them. They may have found a wheel model did not suit them for some reason. You just never know.


----------



## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Yup I have a month or two before hay so I'm not in a huge rush. I hate being rushed into buying something. John Deere dealer was pushing hard for a sale. Apparently price was so good that they had people calling everyday...
I could care less. Hate pushed into a buy


----------



## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

sethd11 said:


> Yup I have a month or two before hay so I'm not in a huge rush. I hate being rushed into buying something. John Deere dealer was pushing hard for a sale. Apparently price was so good that they had people calling everyday...
> I could care less. Hate pushed into a buy


 First Kubota tractor I bought local dealership hit me with that line and I told him sell it I was not ready. Traveled an hour away to save about 5% and also got case iron rims over the steel ones. Never called him on the second Kubota.


----------



## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

Palmettokat said:


> Question on not being able to see, I have some issue of with accumulator on my tractor and was thinking about installing a backup camera or such for that reason. Not sure if you could fine wire reel for a teleboom but maybe that would help on those machines. Looking at cameras on ebay have had people tell me they did such and it worked. Really thinking about getting camera out fit with at least two cameras for for grapple and fel bucket and another for behind me.


I mounted a camera on my accumulator (the one I use for unloading, not the one I use for loading) and it has been a real nice help. I have trouble getting the stacks straight ...I think I'm line up down the center, but often am not. I use an 36" "F" clamp on the wagon at the center of the far side of the stack and slip a piece of PVC pipe over it. I can line my grapple up with it when I am loading/unloading over my head. It is also helpful when stacking in the barn. I can "aim" each one at a specific rib in the tin or the center of the previous stack. Has really squared up my stacks and stabilized them.

I bought mine from Ebay for 50-60 bucks. 7" screen and pretty nice cameras (the one on the skid steer has 2 cams for one screen). When shopping, make sure you can invert the pics; some will not (such as what the local wally world stocks) invert the image in the correct orientation according the the mounting of the camera.









Also have a backup camera on my accumulator so I can watch for feeding errors or broken bales and whatnot.









Mounted the monitor with magnets for easy on/off


----------

