Can a L2501 Lift a 1200lb large bale 6 inches off of the ground.

Tx Jim

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I have an L2501, and I move 5' round bales, but I use a 3pt spear, and that of course moves them without any issue at all. I would bet the L2501 would move the bale for you with the loader. I gather this because I have lifted some really big, heavy logs many many times and moved them to my firewood pile after cutting down trees. Some of these logs easily are as heavy as my 5 foot roundbales. The L2501 can actually lift 2,000lb off the ground, and Im pretty sure Ive lifted near that much in some of these log loads.
tractor weighing less than 3000#s picking up a 2000# load on it's FEL??? SURE!!
 
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Goz63

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Hay Goz63..
gotta ask, did you defeat the seat switch ?? cause HOW do you see 'over' the load ! My luck, engine would shut off EVERY time I'd get up to make sure the way is clear.
also , are those a bunch of small squares ? maybe 12 ??
Yes that is 21 bales bound together in a cube. Each bale is 65lbs. I have my wife guiding me. Yeah can’t see over that. Can’t see over the round bales either. We do the 4x5 rounds.
 
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jyoutz

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Tornado

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Well this was my post then, this is now. No sweat. View attachment 72751
Surprised as today I got lots of notifications from this 6 month old thread. I am glad that you posted this picture though just to prove my point in this thread from 6 months ago. 21 Square bales at 65lbs each is approx. 1365lbs. And you are up well above 6 inches of height here. Some people just really underestimate these tractors. I still hate to see people on the forums constantly telling people that they cant do a task with their $20,000 tractor, like move hay. I don't know why so many have such flawed logic, and I find most of the time its from long time tractor users who seem to go on some flawed internal thinking process rather than just thinking practical. Just a couple of posts above this one we have a post form TX Jim mocking me for saying you can lift 2,000lbs off the ground with the L2501....which you can, and which I do all the time. Sigh....

Thanks for posting the picture though Goz. I suspect your picture still wont change minds though. Lot of hard heads on here lol
 
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minthral

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tractor weighing less than 3000#s picking up a 2000# load on it's FEL??? SURE!!
Tractor weighs almost 4k with filled r4 tires and loader. Then with something on 3PT (or just ballast box) or backhoe, you add nearly 1k. Plus fuel and operator, it’s 5k LBs.

Base tractor with NOTHING on it (including loader) and ag tires is less than 3k…

After loader and backhoe, it’s almost a 40k tractor not 20k…
 

minthral

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Also my farmer neighbor moves hay bales with his old L3301 all the time. Just a few days ago I saw his on the road using moving one with rear bale spear.
 

Tornado

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Also my farmer neighbor moves hay bales with his old L3301 all the time. Just a few days ago I saw his on the road using moving one with rear bale spear.
Its odd that we have to report that we seen a tractor perform a task that is fully within its spec. It is as if we are reporting sightings of big foot to convince people that he exists.

Also you are correct that with ballast tires and a little 3pt balast (I use my box blade a lot as its compact and adds several hundred pounds) the L2501 can easily be sitting around 5,000lbs. I bought mine in 2019. L2501 + FEL + Bucket+ Quick Hitch + 400lb FEL Root Rake was $20,500 brand new off the dealer lot. Adding backhoe to the package was goign to put me around $26,000. I did not buy a back hoe - and glad I didnt. Just not something I would have used a whole lot for the massive increase in cost. Are you saying L2501 with loader and backhoe is 40k, as in 40k dollars?? If so your dealer has lost his mind. L2501 with just loader and bucket should be right around $20,000
 

GreensvilleJay

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re: I don't know why so many have such flawed logic,

The same logic as we 'need' a big v8, 4 real doored, 4wd pickup to take kids to school and pickup groceries ??
 
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minthral

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Went back and checked. My L3301 was actually 19500 tractor + 5000 loader + 8000 backhoe. So actually about 33k. That doesn’t include tax, third function, remotes, any other attachments or insurance. After all that stuff, mine was ~40k or ~500 per month after 0% financing deal.
 

Tx Jim

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Tractor weighs almost 4k with filled r4 tires and loader. Then with something on 3PT (or just ballast box) or backhoe, you add nearly 1k. Plus fuel and operator, it’s 5k LBs.

Base tractor with NOTHING on it (including loader) and ag tires is less than 3k…

After loader and backhoe, it’s almost a 40k tractor not 20k…
Adding weight of frt end loader to tractors base weight for a cumulative weight has little to no affect on tractors ability to pickup a load with frt end loader because most FEL's attach to front 1/2 of tractor. I agree counterweight attached behind rear wheels does increase tractor's stability when picking up a load with a FEL & greatly relieves pressure/stress on frt axle & tires. When this thread was started I thought no counterweight was mentioned.

I was employed by a farm equipment dealer for over 21 yrs so I'm very well aware of the differences in tractor base(shipping) & ballasted weights.
My M7040 & LA1353 loader with cast rear wheels/liquid ballast in rear tires weighs 7670#s on a certified scale. That's only 2670#s more than the weight being for the L2510. Accomplishing lifting a heavy load &lifting a heavy load safely are 2 different things.

Several yrs ago I was in a discussion about how much rear counter balance relieved stress on frt axle when handling rd bales so I weighed it with different configurations of loads
Same tractor/loader with bale on frt & rear 9630#s
Frt bale weighs 1090#s
rear bale weighs 870#s
Frt axle with bale on frt and bale on the rear 5380#s
Frt axle with bale on frt no rd bale on the rear 5990#
 
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Tornado

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Went back and checked. My L3301 was actually 19500 tractor + 5000 loader + 8000 backhoe. So actually about 33k. That doesn’t include tax, third function, remotes, any other attachments or insurance. After all that stuff, mine was ~40k or ~500 per month after 0% financing deal.
just seems high for a 3301. backhoe really jacks the price though. My L2501, loader, quick hitch, bucket, and a big root rake all was just like $20,500. I pay just over $200/month with likely the same financing.
 

Tx Jim

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Tornado
I wasn't mocking you just expressing my opinion from many, many yrs associated with farm equipment. I grew up on a farm & have driven tractors over 65 yrs. I've spent many hrs driving & demonstrating a tractor/farm equip.
I once rd baled hay for gentleman that thought the correct method to handle rd bales was with pallet forks on frt end loader bucket. He was confined to wheelchair after rd bale rolled back on him sitting in tractor seat.
I hope you have a nice day, Jim
 
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UpNorthMI

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This post was an interesting read, I was impressed to see the photo of the L2501 transporting 1,365lbs of bales. I own a L3901 and believe that I lifted as much as it could practically lift with the FEL. I’m talking about lifting something to a high pickup bed level.

I have a set of UA 42” pallet forks for this tractor, total weight of 300 lbs, I lifted my WoodMaxx MX9900 chipper that was on a standard pallet, chipper weight is 1,000lbs, pallet 25 lbs? Total weight of forks plus load 1,325 lbs.

My L3901 would not lift this to pick up bed height until I ran it at full throttle, not something I do most of the time. I could not imagine driving this load down farm tracks or across fields, in this case I just needed to drive forward on cement.

A lot of time is spent debating machine capabilities and capacities, I think we also need to consider safe operating conditions, and a general safety factor. I own cars that will exceed 150 mph but it’s difficult to find safe conditions to do so. I’m lucky enough to own a number of machines that will lift with pallet forks, I like to select a machine that will give me a safety factor.

Stay safe.
 
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minthral

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This post was an interesting read, I was impressed to see the photo of the L2501 transporting 1,365lbs of bales. I own a L3901 and believe that I lifted as much as it could practically lift with the FEL. I’m talking about lifting something to a high pickup bed level.

I have a set of UA 42” pallet forks for this tractor, total weight of 300 lbs, I lifted my WoodMaxx MX9900 chipper that was on a standard pallet, chipper weight is 1,000lbs, pallet 25 lbs? Total weight of forks plus load 1,325 lbs.

My L3901 would not lift this to pick up bed height until I ran it at full throttle, not something I do most of the time. I could not imagine driving this load down farm tracks or across fields, in this case I just needed to drive forward on cement.

A lot of time is spent debating machine capabilities and capacities, I think we also need to consider safe operating conditions, and a general safety factor. I own cars that will exceed 150 mph but it’s difficult to find safe conditions to do so. I’m lucky enough to own a number of machines that will lift with pallet forks, I like to select a machine that will give me a safety factor.

Stay safe.
What ballast was on your tractor when you tried? Makes a big difference. With backhoe, it’s is easy for me to unload off truck bed 1000lb skid +350 forks. Maybe have your hydraulic pressure checked…mine was really low from factory and dealer bumped it spec prior to delivery. Lower that weight down and its EASY to transport in rough trails. I really doubt you had any ballast weight….heck I’ve moved 2k lower down no problem and you’re saying half that was hard…don’t buy it.

Duh…I always run the tractor wide open throttle. Least it ever runs is PTO speed. With HST, you want it pumping as fast as possible.
 
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UpNorthMI

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What ballast was on your tractor when you tried? Makes a big difference. With backhoe around 1000 lb, it’s is easy for me to unload off truck bed +350 forks. Maybe have your hydraulic pressure checked…mine was really low from factory and dealer bumped it spec prior to delivery. Lower that weight down and its EASY to transport in rough trails. I really doubt you had any ballast weight….heck I’ve moved 2k lower down no problem and you’re saying half that was hard…don’t buy it.

Duh…I always run the tractor wide open throttle. Least it ever runs is PTO speed. With HST, you want it pumping as fast as possible.
Loaded rear tires and 650lbs of rear ballast. I normally run at pto speed. I always carry loads low when transporting. Sorry but I don’t believe this machine will lift 2,000 lbs, at least no more than over a few inches high. A lot has to do with how far center of gravity is in front of the pins.
 
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minthral

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Loaded rear tires and 650lbs of rear ballast. I normally run at pto speed. I always carry loads low when transporting. Sorry but I don’t believe this machine will lift 2,000 lbs, at least no more than over a few inches high. A lot has to do with how far center of gravity is in front of the pins.
Sorry think either something wrong with your tractor or you’re trying with no ballast…was thinking I could make a video to prove it, but here is video from messecks showing nearly 2k lb 3-4 foot up when 100% ballast.
 
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UpNorthMI

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Sorry think either something wrong with your tractor or you’re trying with no ballast…was thinking I could make a video to prove it, but here is video from messecks showing nearly 2k lb 3-4 foot up when 100% ballast.
I did not say that the rear end of my tractor is raising, that is not the issue. What I’m saying is that it’s my experience with my L3901 that it’s maximum practical lift capacity is about 1,325 lbs with a load that has a center of gravity about 24” in front of the pins. My loader seriously struggled to lift that load. It would not lift it at pto rpm, I needed full throttle and felt it was at its max.

yes you can lift heavier loads at the pins at ground level using the curl. In the real life of lifting with flat forks I don’t believe an L3901 will lift a palletized load of 1,500lbs to pick up bed height, center of gravity at 24” from the pins. I’d love to be proved wrong and would happily take my tractor back to my dealer for some adjustment.

I just looked up the loader specifications, At 1.5M lift height with load center of gravity at 500 mm or 20” it is under 1,200lbs. Tall pickup bed is a little lower than 1.5M but this is the closest to real life lift and load.

Safe lifting to all.
 
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minthral

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I did not say that the rear end of my tractor is raising, that is not the issue. What I’m saying is that it’s my experience with my L3901 that it’s maximum practical lift capacity is about 1,325 lbs with a load that has a center of gravity about 24” in front of the pins. My loader seriously struggled to lift that load. It would not lift it at pto rpm, I needed full throttle and felt it was at its max.

yes you can lift heavier loads at the pins at ground level using the curl. In the real life of lifting with flat forks I don’t believe an L3901 will lift a palletized load of 1,500lbs to pick up bed height, center of gravity at 24” from the pins. I’d love to be proved wrong and would happily take my tractor back to my dealer for some adjustment.

I just looked up the loader specifications, At 1.5M lift height with load center of gravity at 500 mm or 20” it is under 1,200lbs. Tall pickup bed is a little lower than 1.5M but this is the closest to real life lift and load.

Safe lifting to all.
Yea I will agree unloading 1000 LB skid from truck is about max it can do. I haven't tried more than that... I'm talking about sacks of sand or aggregate from Lowes. I haven't tried to unload 1500 LB from a truck, but pretty sure it wont be able to do it. In my mind 1000 LB is a the limit from a truck, but if you're unloading from a low trailer, you could do more.

I have lifted and moved around ~1500-2000 a few foot lift. These are bags of concrete, soil, rock, etc. It won't lift 2000 a few feet, but can get it off the ground.

I would get your hydraulic pressure tested. Unless they did it on delivery, it’s set low at factory (probably a good 10%).
 
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Tornado

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I did not say that the rear end of my tractor is raising, that is not the issue. What I’m saying is that it’s my experience with my L3901 that it’s maximum practical lift capacity is about 1,325 lbs with a load that has a center of gravity about 24” in front of the pins. My loader seriously struggled to lift that load. It would not lift it at pto rpm, I needed full throttle and felt it was at its max.

yes you can lift heavier loads at the pins at ground level using the curl. In the real life of lifting with flat forks I don’t believe an L3901 will lift a palletized load of 1,500lbs to pick up bed height, center of gravity at 24” from the pins. I’d love to be proved wrong and would happily take my tractor back to my dealer for some adjustment.

I just looked up the loader specifications, At 1.5M lift height with load center of gravity at 500 mm or 20” it is under 1,200lbs. Tall pickup bed is a little lower than 1.5M but this is the closest to real life lift and load.

Safe lifting to all.
1325lbs ? If that is the limit you are seeing on a L3901 then you really need to investigate your hydraulic pressure. I have lifted well more than that with my L2501.

Another thing at play may be where the weight is located. If its sitting on a pallet and you are using pallet forks, and I am assuming you are keeping the pallet level, so that could be putting a lot of weight out away from the lift pin. Every inch you move away from the lift pin you drop lift capacity. Just a few inches out can swing a few hundred pounds capacity. One of the good things about Hay Bales, and I touched on this in one of my many replies in this thread, is that you can fork the bale, and curl the bale back so you shift a lot of that weight right back toward the lift pin. It makes moving 1000 - 1200lb hay bales really easy. With my big logs I move, which I'm certain are around 2,000 lbs, I also curl my rake back to cradle the logs closer to the lift pin, and I can get them up 1-3 feet off the ground and move them. My root rake alone is over 400lbs. Its actually a tad over sized root rake for the L2501. The long tines are 1 inch thick steel.
 

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I did try to read this thread in its entirety, but the last page I skimmed over. Apologies.

But thinking about the OP's post, he was asking if he could lift a round bale 6" ( yes, inches) and not 6 feet.

Not sure if this makes a difference in the replies...but is seems like some here think that 6" might not be a problem. While more might be...