Abstract: A vehicle bed, comprising a bed frame adapted for carrying a load, a fork including at least one tine, and a pivot mechanism adapted for pivoting the bed frame and the fork between a first position and a second position with respect to a vehicle frame. The fork is connected to an end of the bed frame and is substantially orthogonal to the bed frame. Loads are transported on the bed frame in the first position and are moved off or on the fork in the second position. The vehicle bed may be incorporated as part of a truck bed or as part of a trailer bed for a bale loading apparatus. The vehicle bed may include a lift mechanism including a lift cylinder adapted for lifting a load with respect to the vehicle frame to compensate for a load weight compressing a vehicle suspension. The bale loader includes a boom having a mast rotatably attached to a vehicle or trailer frame, a main boom pivotally attached to the mast, a jib boom pivotally attached to the main boom, and a head swivably attached to the jib boom.