How to Load Hay Bales on a Wagon

Hay bales weighing 40 to 130 pounds each are used for horses and small farms. Loading the bales onto a tractor or horse-drawn hay wagon is bad enough doing it once, but it's even worse if the hay bales tip over and you have to stack them into the wagon all over again. Because buying hay and stacking it in a hayloft, barn or stable is such an exhausting chore, people tend to buy as many hay bales as can fit on the truck. If that pile topples over, the hay bales could cause damage.

Instructions

1

Put on heavy socks and work boots. Although it is possible to stack hay bales without work boots, the stalks of hay will float into your shoes, socks and into your skin. It is much easier to do the heavy job of transporting hay bales with protected feet. Put on work gloves to protect your hands from stalks of hay and from the sharp baling wire. Stalks of hay can easily go underneath fingernails.

2

Check the level of the bottom of the wagon. If it's level, skip to Step Three. If it isnt level or has dents and holes, then the hay bale stack will be prone to toppling over. Place wooden pallets on the bottom of the wagon to keep a mostly level base.

3

Tie one end of a rope or bungee cord around the middle of one bale in a row closest to the truck cab or tractor. This bale acts as an anchor. Make sure the rest of the rope is on top of the cab or hanging outside of the wagon.

4

Lay the first layer of hay bales so that they are all facing the same way (either vertically or horizontally). Push them together when possible to keep a stable bottom layer. Do not use any broken hay bales (where the twine has snapped) for the bottom because this layer has to take most of the weight.

5

Lay the second layer in the opposite direction as the first. If the first layer of hay was all placed horizontally, then the second must all be placed vertically. The third layer is then placed in the same direction as the first. The fourth layer is in the same direction as the second layer. This crisscrossing of layers will help keep the heavy hay pile stable.

6

Place broken hay bales on top or wedge them in the sides of the wagon if possible. If they begin to slide off the wagon, leave them.

7

Get the loose end of the rope or bungee cord that's tied to a hay bale on the lowest layer. Use this end to tie the top of the bundle down to the gaps in the wagon's sides. If it's just a short haul, Equus magazine recommends driving a few hundred yards, stopping and checking the pile before continuing on your way.