Backhoe Backhoe Grapple

[Jim1764]

Has anyone ever seen a log or brush grapple attached to a Bradco backhoe?
Is this possible?
I have been looking at the TG 12 grapple on the following site,
http://www.intermercato.com/en/tiger_12-16-22.htm
The total weight of the grapple and rotator is lighter than the 18" bucket I have on my Bradco 609 backhoe now.
I'm not looking to pickup large heavy logs, but smaller firewood size logs and maybe some brush to be loaded into my truck. It could even be useful around the saw mill moving slabs and cants.
Any thoughts or concerns on this?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Tags]

Jim
Looks pretty cool.The only thing I can see is where would you mount all the controlls, unless they are electric-over-hydraulic Iwould imagine that would be a pretty substantial valve bank.The other option could be a rigid mount or hydraulic thumb,having the thumb would also allow you to set rocks,pick up logs/brush,and generally eliminate not being able to pick something up that doesn't fit in the bucket.You could always put a front mounted grapple buket on also.

 

[Tinmann]

I see a thumb mentioned on a backhoe. I have seen them used a lot in Washington. Wondering if one is available for my Bradco backhoe. Has someone ever seen one or know if one is available? I have even seen them manual where you just flip them down and they lock in place.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Daryl,

I was interested in adding a thumb to my hoe, but figured I already had to many.

Here are a few links and some good pictures of Treeboone's broken thumb:

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=58946&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=thumb&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=3&Limit=50&Old=allposts&Main=58946> Thumb 1 </A>

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=53650&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=thumb&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=4&Limit=50&Old=allposts&Main=53650> Broken Thumb </A>

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=51204&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=thumb&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=5&Limit=50&Old=allposts&Main=51204> Thumb 2</A>

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=38641&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=thumb&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=5&Limit=50&Old=allposts&Main=38641>Thumb 3</A>
Al

 

[hayden]

Neat gadget. Any idea what they cost? I would guess it requires 2 additional hydraulic circuits, one for the jaw open/close, and one for the rotator. Is that right?

 

[RonL]

Hayden

Some thumbs require no hydraulic circuit. The thumb is swung down and held in place by a brace that is pinned further up the stick. The thumb remains stationary. The bucket works against the thumb.

RonL

 

[hayden]

Yes, the thumbs are very nice. From the picture of this grapple, it looked like the jaws were powered, but I'm not sure. It also looks like it can rotate which would be nice, but would also drive up the cost. I suspect the grapple is much more expensive than a thumb because of all the power controls.

Speaking of thumbs, how to they do holding their grip against a rock or other object where the gripping surface is flat and verticle? I'm specifically wondering how they do picking and placing large granite blocks to assemble a stone wall. Once you grab a block, does it maintain a tight enough grip to not drop the block while you swing it around, or do you need to maintain bucket curl pressure to keep hold of the object? Grabbing brush, stumps, or anything where you can get a grip around the object would be fine I imagine.

 

[atomichead]

I've been considering fabricating a thumb for my backhoe. I found a nice large picture of a production unit (can't remember the manufacturer) that I'll use as a guide.

As far as holding onto blocks, I would think it would work fine. Typical backhoe hyrdaulics maintain a constant pressure in the cylinders after you release the handle. This should be enough to hold the block, as long as it is not heavier than the b/h is rated for.

 

[Jim1764]

<font color=blue>Neat gadget. Any idea what they cost?</font color=blue>

Peter, I asked the same thing and got this responce,

"The combination of the rotator and grapple costs $ 1186. This includes the hoses between the rotator and the grapple cylinder. We will pay the freight to Mass.
Regards
Rainer Langstedt"

There is a local dealer for this product in New York State,

Northeast Implement Corporation
Mr Rainer Langstedt
P.O. Box 15
Spencer, New York, 14883

I further asked about the hydraulic hookup and recieved this today,

"You need a total of four hoses coming in to the grapple/rotator combination. Two lines to open and close the grapple and two lines to run the rotator.
Usually when people convert a backhoe to loader, they use the two lines which come to the bucket and add a valve for the rotator. In that case you will need a double acting valve and two hoses. One usually uses 3/8" SAE 100 hose. The valve and hose is standard stuff, availble at tractor dealers or from catalogs.
regards
Rainer Langstedt"

Jim