Ute loading

The weight of the bale would be 350kg or less. 3 bales of lucerne hay with the correct range of moisture of 18% Would bring it to that range. So if it was just grass hay pressed dry it would be far lighter.
By the flat bottom it is been sitting for awhile and probably wasn't pressed overly tight.
Lachie

How can you tell from the photo? Is it a colour etc?

Phil, 98% of the ratchet straps sold in Australia in hardware stores are made in China. The only ones I know of, that are not, is Aerofast brand, made in NZ. Very few of the Chinese ratchet straps meet Australian load restraint Standards.

The biggest blue strap has a partly-visible name on it, but it's certainly not Aerofast. I've regularly picked up ratchet straps to buy, in hardware stores, only to find they don't meet Australian load restraint Standards - so I put them back.
All load restraints (ropes and straps) used on road vehicles, must meet Australian Standard AS/NZS4380, since April 2015.

The lifting/sling companies are among the few retailers that ensure that their ratchet straps do meet AS/NZS4380 standard - and they're clearly marked as such.

Cheers, Ron.

Therefore we shouldn't say that "none of his Chinese straps meet any Australian load restraint standard". If we are going to use definitive statements and claims then we should be 100% positive that we are absolutely correct.

No doubt most came from Gubbings but being in the country they may well have come from a "proper" store that sells only "propper" items.

I thought for a minute that a colour meant something bad and that my blue ones were trash.

Phil

Back to the footy.

Your standard garden variety chinese "grunt" ratchet straps from Bunnings conform to 4380 these days.

There's a blue tag sewn into the strap in the pic so I wouldn't be surprised if he has a newer one.

Visually you would assume that the back of that ute should really be sitting down a bit further than that.

The Ute is sitting very level isn''t it. no sag in the rear. I'm concluding its a fake photo

Nah, it's a Toyota, they can carry anything without overloading

The round bales flatten out on the bottom, just sitting on the ground. If others were sat on top that would make it even flatter.
That one does not look to have had others stacked on top
Cheers
Charlie

Bob, John Deer make a baler that can produce flat bottomed bales for one of carrying or Hex bales for stacked loads. Would I lie.

That bale looks like it would be good for starting fires or mulch.

Good to see the use of telecom rope on the ladder. Safest tie on the whole load.

Only unsafe item I can see is all the ratchets are on the offside. Be a lot safer to have them on the near side, especially if doing some extra tightening on side of a highway., where few passing motorists slow down.

Bob

Blue M
I have asked my rural friends that very question. Their response is "It depends on what type of hay"
If it is straw it will be much lighter than lucerne or clover and how much grass is in the mix, and of course, how much moisture.
Anything from 500 to 900+kgs.
Cheers
Andrew

Thanks for that, as I was courious.
Had a quick look on the net but could mainly find weights in the UK.

Cheers

I've got an identical Hilux with a heavier steel tray, with racks, for a work hack. It's pictured below, carrying a Lincoln Vantage engine-driven welder, that weighs 800kgs.

For the nit-pickers - it did have multiple 2000kg ratchet straps holding it on - this pic was taken just after I'd taken the straps off and was getting ready to unload the welder with a forklift.

IMO, the welder was pretty much a near-capacity load for the Hilux. Even at that, the Hilux isn't sitting down near the bump stops.
It has settled well down from empty position (probably about 100mm, but it still has plenty of suspension travel left.



Cheers, Ron.

Thanks Ron
I guess my amazement - and hence reason for taking the photo - was that the bale is almost entirely aft of the rear axle, in stark contrast to your example of the welder sitting evenly across it. I don't know the nature nor weight of the other gear to the front of the tray.
Cheers
Andrew

"IMO, the welder was pretty much a near-capacity load for the Hilux. Even at that, the Hilux isn't sitting down near the bump stops.
It has settled well down from empty position (probably about 100mm, but it still has plenty of suspension travel left."

Ron
That photo should be in all the 4wd, camper trailer and caravan magazines. When you fully load a car correctly, it works. Uneven loading doesn't and aftermarket suspension parts are not the answer.

Andrew, we don't know the full story of what the bloke had planned, so it's somewhat pointless to speculate on the loading method, without talking to the ute owner and getting his input.

However, I'll hazard a wild-arse guess, that as the pic was taken in Warialda, the bloke had picked up a cheap single bale locally for his daughters hayburner - he wasn't planning on taking it too far, or too fast - and the weight positioning wasn't having any major effect on handling or steering.

I'd also guess it's a fairly light bale, probably 500 kgs, rather than 900kgs.
The two major problems presented with the load are ...

1. Any heavy load placed behind the rear axle acts as a lever to lift the front end.
In addition, this type of loading acts as a lever to initiate serious oversteer, in the event of sharp steering movements. It really does affect handling to a substantial degree. If the owner didn't have far to go and wasn't getting up to highway speeds, then the loading method is acceptable for the planned journey.

2. The large frontal area of the bale provides a great deal of wind resistance that will flip the bale off if not well secured, and if highway speeds are reached. A strong headwind exacerbates the problem. If the journey planned is short and speed is kept to say 80kmh, there shouldn't be any major problem with his bale loading.

I'd suggest he loaded the bale in the manner shown, because he planned for easy unloading, by merely kicking it off the back of the tray when he arrived at his destination.
It's possible he's a hobby farmer, and he might have minimal heavy-bale-handling equipment, as many hobby farmers don't have too much by way of substantial bale-handling machinery.

Cheers, Ron.

You could well be on the money there Ron ??
I can't add anymore to the story behind the photo.
Cheers
Andrew

Ron N, perfect load position for a single cab, wouldn't try it with a dual cab, or even a space cab, that's the trouble nowadays, dual cabs are really popular, and so easy to load badly.

Robbo, where you make up the weight of the Lucerne, is the Lucerne will lighten the load in your pocket quite a bit.

It is within normal mind frames to speculate though alloy c/t.

Its only conversation. And we get educated with different opinions.

Besides, as I mentioned previously, if its under weight it isn't a problem but preference would be for it to be further along the tray.

Opinions based on the available information is normal.