Hi Everybody,

I have designed a hay bale lift to load bales on top of my trailer. It works real slick with a small winch. I am thinking about producing and marketing it. It's very simple as you set the bail on two rails (like a forklift), push a button, the bale goes straight up and unloads at the top. You can then bring it down and load a few more. One person is all that is required to load it. If you can set a bale in the trailer you can do it. The loader also doubles as a ladder. Once you have loaded a few bales you just climb the ladder and tie it down. I will probably offer it with a rack to hold the bales. It is also just as easy to unload. I am a manufacturer of automation products and have just started to get into the horse world. I have a few ideas that might make it a lot easier on us.

Hit me with your opinions. I can take it.

What do you guys think?

Square bales or round bales?

Umm, unless you can pick up a round bale and set it in a trailer I would think he means square bales for you HORSE TRAILER.

I have a setup that works really well already. I use the front end loader on my tractor with removeable forks.  Lift the bales up to the top of the trailer and pull off the forks to the trailer. Works nicely also.

Ummm, sorry for my dumbness. I guess I am still on hay season mode and "thought" he meant for loading "trailers", not horse trailers.............

Dumbness, where? We all miss a line in a post occasionally, me especially. It was just funny when I was responding to visualize a "farmbabe" trying to force a 900 pound round bale through the escape door!

It is a modular unit that will adapt to any existing rack. I will have to possibly make some alterations depending upon the rack you have. We should be selling them in six weeks. Still crunching numbers for pricing.

I would be interested in seeing this design. I don't want to infringe on your patent. Can you tell me how to get info on it?

Dub

One of the major complaints my trailer dealer had, was that there are so few "Add-ons" for trailers.  You buy a new truck and you add a Spray in Bed liner, a tonneau cover, a GN hitch, wheels, tires, chips and exhaust. I'm getting carried away here, but you get the point, people add things to customize their truck. The industry has the statistics and it's something  like $1000 per truck gets added after it leaves the lot.

My trailer dealer sells me a trailer and doesn't hear from me for 5-6 years until I'm ready for newer trailer. He would love to have something to sell me as an add on so I would come back in 6months or a year and add things as I could afford them.

I have a hay rack on my trailer. It has a water tank attached to it. I use it to carry water, attach the hose and turn it on.  I've yet to store a bale of hay up there. I'll make room for the 3-4 bales of hay in the truck bed before I heft a bale up 9' feet to the top of that trailer.

I imagine it would be a difficult to sell a $1000 lift to someone with a $6000 trailer.  But wouldn't be a big deal to someone with a $30,000+ living quarters.

Hay lofts are pretty rare in my part of Forida, of course the bales weigh only about 70lbs and cost $14!!!!!

Anyone know where I can get a prefab aluminium hayrack that I can install myself ( No welding)?

Once I am in production I can offer a 120 volt unit to run off of the generator. All of the winch battery and mechanisms are on top. you can barely see it. It looks like an aluminum access ladder up the side of the trailer. We can even powder coat it white to camouflage it the trailers color. Hiding all of the components is a priority. I am also someone who likes my stuff to look sharp.