Straw bale inflation
I made two Big City trips
this past week to pick up straw.
This post is to help me
remember that the load rides a bit smoother when I leave the tailgate
down and ratchet strap from the wheel wells.
It was 8 dollars a bale.
Quite a jump up from last year.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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There was 10 bales on the first trip which is the picture on the left and 9 bales on the next one.
No way could I do 32 bales.....maybe I could push it to 15 if I only had to drive on a farm road but never on the 4 lane.
Oh geeze Mark, I think a contest is in order! You didn't stack 'em right!! fill the bed then one straight down the middle and two flanking it hanging OVER the bed, then alternate the stack so they kind of lock together... and all that roof space you didn't utilize either lol!
Plus, I'd never hook steel straps to the outside of my painted surfaces and damage them, but considering you left that truck in a swamp for five months kind of says you aren't a "car guy" like me..:)
For perspective: here in NE IL, we're paying $6 for a 70 lb bale of dairy quality hay. I never buy straw, but I think it's about $3 a bale at the feed store.
At $7 a bale for mulch, I can't believe you're getting your money's worth in terms of increased yield. Why not "green mulch"-- let the weeds grow until they're 3-4 in high, then hoe them down and let them lie in place, if you insist you need mulch at all?
RE: stacking- 6 to a layer and 3 hi, interlocked as mentioned above, should fit comfortably & ride well. Three tie down straps - - maybe you have to rig up some better anchor points on the side rails.
Eric! I'll enter the contest as well. Bottom layer could be crosswise in the bed, or on edge depending on fender wells, then two rows of crosswise centered on the bottom layer, the third layer is stacked the same, fourth layer stacked lengthwise and then tied in two places with rope and a truckers hitch. Guaranteed to stay on in freeway conditions, but all dependent on truck suspension...
We either haul too much hay or have been doing it too long, the less loads we have to haul the better.