# barn dimensions for a NH 1033 bale wagon



## Grayhay (Jan 21, 2015)

Going to be putting up a hay barn for storage of square bales using a NH 1033 bale wagon. Barn to be about 48'x96' clear span. Site works for being open on the side. I've read posts that indicate 48' wide is OK for 4 stacks wide when going in from the end, but what about post spacing when backing in from the side?. I'm not interested in trying to back between 12' post spacing, but is a 24' post spacing wide enough clearance for backing in 2 stacks without eventually wiping out a post? Or, is it reasonable to just go with a little wider spacing like 13' or 14' to eliminate the big expensive header and just make the barn a little longer? Anybody with real world experience have any advice?


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

My barns are similar size to yours but I keep my narrow end open. You can back straight in and stack your way out plus you minimize the amount of hay that's exposed to the weather. I hate backing between poles especially now that I am older and don't flex around to back up as good. I do use 12' wide bays to park my tractors in and use my mirrors to back up. I also use an accumulator now instead of my stack wagon. I am sure you could find barn plans for stack wagons on the old inter-web. Mike


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

What you basically need is a couple of extra feet either side of the actual stack of hay for maneuvering the wagon without hitting the sideboards, pickup, tractor, etc. against the walls or posts. That is where the idea of "48 feet works for 4 stacks wide" comes from. If your hay stack is going to be 10 feet wide and you are putting the stacks in such that the ends of the bales are touching, that give you 40 feet plus 4 feet either side of the stack for maneuvering room and clearance for the wagons sideboards, pickup chute, etc.

Leaving the short end open as NDVA Hayman suggests is the easier way to build, but having the side open like you said you site is driving you to do will allow you to separate your hay more. This means that you can do multiple types and cuttings of hay and be able to get at them without having to move something else. If you are really worried about the weather getting to the hay, install some canvas rollup doors between the posts that can be rolled up out of the way when you need to go in and out. Another option is to put doors in both short ends that are half the width of the barn, but offset them so that you can stack two rows wide from one door and then put the other two rows in from the other door.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Relative to the cost of the entire building, the headers really aren't that bad. It's the posts that nail you. I'd much rather have 24' bays than single width bays. For the minimal price difference, I don't think you can go wrong with having fewer objects to crash into when you eventually stack hay in this shed!


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

My barn is 40' wide Clear span, and 120 feet long.

Come in from each end to a middle bulkhead. That is three stacks of 34" long bales and a good drip line.

This gives 12 stacks deep to the bulkhead or 24 stack deep for the barn, I use a NH 1003 which holds 83 bales per load. Three stacks wide,

When I was stacking an older, Much older, NH 1010 I had 4 stacks wide and a good 12" between stacks.

The NH 1003 is 3 bales wide and 8" or 10" between stacks. Three stacks wide.

I had to replace what a tornado took out & built this one. Built it with a 17 ft verticle clearance so I could I could use a NH 49, or 69 with enough verticle clearance plus a little.

Just do not allow anyone to load out taking only the top two to four tiers. You NEED a full stack to lean the next stack against.

Works well for managing you hay inventory. I put alfalfa in from one end and bermudagrass in from the other end.

For a floor I have 4 to 8" deep septic tank rock. Protects the bottom bales from dampness, and good traction. Worked for 30 + years.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Josh in WNY said:


> Leaving the short end open as NDVA Hayman suggests is the easier way to build, but having the side open like you said you site is driving you to do will allow you to separate your hay more. This means that you can do multiple types and cuttings of hay and be able to get at them without having to move something else. If you are really worried about the weather getting to the hay, install some canvas rollup doors between the posts that can be rolled up out of the way when you need to go in and out. Another option is to put doors in both short ends that are half the width of the barn, but offset them so that you can stack two rows wide from one door and then put the other two rows in from the other door.


My larger hay barn is built like above....double doors on the ends if I needed them....and the entire length of the East side of the building is open with a 12 foot overhang to cover the East side opening.

Regards, Mike


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## jturbo10 (Feb 28, 2011)

I built a new fully enclosed but ventilated hay barn for my small square bales of premium horse hay. I have a 1033 Stackliner and it worked fine as I had 20 ft eaves and 20 ft double doors on both ends. However, the 1033 only stacks 7 high so total space utilization is not very efficient and I tired of having to use poles, autotie, etc to get the stacks to stay somewhat dense packed. I quickly changed tactics and now I have a stacking crew that dense packs the bales 12-13 layers high and I don't have any backing or obstruction issues. Since my hayfields are all within a quarter mile from the barn I can flat wear the crew out even if they use the skeleton elevator. We can load and stack about 300-400 bales per hour without any stress. The Stackliner works great for picking up the bales but stacking is another story. I would make the distance between poles no shorter than 14 ft and arrange so you can drive through the barn from all four directions. I was always concerned with the integrity of the stacks when we sold the hay and the customer was loading the bales. I tried very hard to keep the density and length of the bales very consistent but that is easier said than done, especially with variability in different field tonnage rates and headland/combined swaths. If I hadn't changed my stacking height I would have had to build another barn of equal size. In my market, open sides was not an option.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

I find I do not need stacking poles like I did with the NH 1010 which has pull off braces ans it can pull the stack our if not careful, You realy need a bulkhead to lean the stack back against and usin puss off feet the stack stayes where you put it. As long as you have good tight bales. My 34" lolng bales will weigh 55 lbs or 35 bales to the ton.

I put the tie tier on the 5 th tier.

For bermudagrass hay I used to have a tie tier on the 3 rd and 5 th tiers.

With a 1034 you can have two tiers, one facking the front and one facing the rear.

The operators manual tells it nice.

My NH 1003 has 12 bales to a tier while a 1033 will have 15 bales to a tier.

My loose rock pad I can shape the floor so the tier can lean in on it's self as well.

When my wife would guide me in and tell me where and when to set the stack it was faster going.

Now I have to get off the tractor to insure where & when to set the stack in close to the bulkhead.

Your NH dealer should have sets of plans on how the Barn should be constructed.

Wilson Hay Farm [email protected]


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## jturbo10 (Feb 28, 2011)

The 1033 stacks only 7 tiers high when it dumps not 15. The second table is an array of 3bales 5 deep which is stacked on the load table 7 times which equals 105 bales if you don't use the tie option. By manually stacking in my barn I basically double the height of the final stack and get a much denser pack. May not be a good option for some operators but it works great for me.


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