About to buy a grapple - your thoughts?

[buyerjohn]

I've read every grapple thread with great interest and know some of you have very good and strong opinions about which way to go.

Here's my situation: I live in MA and have rocky soil (as in very)...I've found the best way to grade (ultimate use is pasture/plantings) is to use the BB first to loosen the rocks/boulders (steep angle of attack with scarifiers all the way down), then to pick up the large rocks by hand or maneuver them into the bucket. Then I use the LR to finish up. This works very well despite opinions otherwise that the BB is useless in this part of the country. The worst part of this process is the largely hand moving of the rocks into the bucket or the one at a time difficult rock pick up with the bucket.

So, I'd like a grapple for a couple of tasks: first to clear and move debris, logs, etc and to move large rocks/boulders for stone wall building...it's a pain to try and move boulders into the bucket, sometimes by hand. Secondly, the grapple (I think) can be used to skim the surface to pick up the larger boulders that the BB pulls from the ground.

I'm leaning towards the 72" heavy duty grapple from CID (also know as Unlimited Fabrication, LLC) (Skid Steer loader Root Grapple Heavy Duty). My cost will be $1,660 plus $225 to ship it to MA from NC. The heavy duty grapple weight is 800lbs and my loader specs are 2800 lbs of lift at the pivot points (Kioti DK45s). Given that the regular duty grapple is 700lbs and is 3/8" steel vs 1/2" on the heavy duty, I figure it's a small price in weight to pay for the extra steel.

I know islandtractor swears by his millonzi 48" but my thinking is that its a bit small from my 45 hp. I like this grapple because of the protection it gives the cylinder assembly and the hoses are routed through the tubing with very little exposed. The Millonzi design doesn't offer this. I'm going to use the backhoe circuit. Hydro lines are already run from the rear of the tractor to the front which will make connection simple - I'll use the A/B lever in the cab to open/close the grapple.

Here are my questions:

1. what are the benefits/drawbacks of a clamshell design (wrlong) vs this design?
2. Do you foresee any problems with my intended use?
3. Is there a benefit to going with a slightly smaller grapple in terms of maneuverability? This grapple is also available in 63" and 66"...cost differences are minimal.
4. Any issues with using the backhoe circuit?

thanks, John. (need to change my user name as I bought!)

 

[IslandTractor]

Do you need a grapple or a rock bucket? Grapple tines are usually about 9 inches apart so you'll still be picking up lots of rocks with most any grapple. If you got a rock bucket you could add a grapple arm or two that would give you essentially a leaky bucket grapple that should do well for brush clean up too.a

Regarding size, you know my "small is beautiful" rant so I'll say no more. My loader is essentially the same as yours.

 

[amigauser]

I agree, for rock removal work you want a rock bucket.

This place has about the most reasonable pricing I have found. I am sure you could call them and get a price with a grapple arm added.

Rock Buckets

 

[buyerjohn]

I agree, for rock removal work you want a rock bucket.

This place has about the most reasonable pricing I have found. I am sure you could call them and get a price with a grapple arm added.

Rock Buckets

I should clarify, rocks to me are 12 to 24" across and weigh 50 to 100 lbs...the smaller ones are neatly collected by the landscape rake. I don't want to be limited by the sides of the rock bucket in terms of what I can pick up...or is that not an issue?

thanks

 

[amigauser]

If you are looking to pick up just one large rock at time, that is a couple of feet in diameter, than a regular grapple will work. I have used my RBG2 48" grapple to grab and move some fairly large rocks. From your first post I thought you wanted to be able to grab a bunch of smaller rocks at once, that is what a rock bucket is designed to do as it allows you to grab the rocks and leave the dirt/sand behind which falls through the cracks in the bucket.

My grapple is of the clamshell type which keeps the lifting point closer to the FEL arms. That way I can lift more weight than I could with a grapple that has a lifting point farther out. That is the main reason I purchased the WR Long design. It also allows you to drop the open grapple over something wthout curling the FEL much to grab objects. The other design like the Millonzi allows you to slide the grapple under things more easily which is difficult with the clamshell design. With your FEL capacity either type should work fine but the Millonzi style may work better for rocks.

I went with the 48" grapple due to weight but I am not sure what benefit a wider grapple would provide. If you are trying to get into tight spots with it, smaller is better. I would go with the smaller 63" one to save weight. It should work fine for moving rocks, logs, brush, etc.

I would spend the money on a true 3rd hydraulic function setup. I purchased the WR Long version. It is a very clean install and provides a new joystick handle with a toggle button to open/close the grapple. That way you can lift/curl and open/close the grapple without moving your hand from the joystick lever. If your tractor has rear remotes you can also use one of them to open/close the grapple but that would require running some long hydraulic hoses from the rear to the front of your tractor, not a very clean install but it would be functional.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

John, I can't really add anything that you haven't already read, just that I have the 81" version of the heavy duty model that you are looking at and have been quite satisfied with it.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[rvaitor]

I've read every grapple thread with great interest and know some of you have very good and strong opinions about which way to go.

Here's my situation: I live in MA and have rocky soil (as in very)...I've found the best way to grade (ultimate use is pasture/plantings) is to use the BB first to loosen the rocks/boulders (steep angle of attack with scarifiers all the way down), then to pick up the large rocks by hand or maneuver them into the bucket. Then I use the LR to finish up. This works very well despite opinions otherwise that the BB is useless in this part of the country. The worst part of this process is the largely hand moving of the rocks into the bucket or the one at a time difficult rock pick up with the bucket.

So, I'd like a grapple for a couple of tasks: first to clear and move debris, logs, etc and to move large rocks/boulders for stone wall building...it's a pain to try and move boulders into the bucket, sometimes by hand. Secondly, the grapple (I think) can be used to skim the surface to pick up the larger boulders that the BB pulls from the ground.

I'm leaning towards the 72" heavy duty grapple from CID (also know as Unlimited Fabrication, LLC) (Skid Steer loader Root Grapple Heavy Duty). My cost will be $1,660 plus $225 to ship it to MA from NC. The heavy duty grapple weight is 800lbs and my loader specs are 2800 lbs of lift at the pivot points (Kioti DK45s). Given that the regular duty grapple is 700lbs and is 3/8" steel vs 1/2" on the heavy duty, I figure it's a small price in weight to pay for the extra steel.

I know islandtractor swears by his millonzi 48" but my thinking is that its a bit small from my 45 hp. I like this grapple because of the protection it gives the cylinder assembly and the hoses are routed through the tubing with very little exposed. The Millonzi design doesn't offer this. I'm going to use the backhoe circuit. Hydro lines are already run from the rear of the tractor to the front which will make connection simple - I'll use the A/B lever in the cab to open/close the grapple.

Here are my questions:

1. what are the benefits/drawbacks of a clamshell design (wrlong) vs this design?
2. Do you foresee any problems with my intended use?
3. Is there a benefit to going with a slightly smaller grapple in terms of maneuverability? This grapple is also available in 63" and 66"...cost differences are minimal.
4. Any issues with using the backhoe circuit?

thanks, John. (need to change my user name as I bought!)

I have 66" on my DK55c and have found that it is not practical to run through the ground (effectively sifting the rocks and debris). It is mostly a tool for picking up ungainly items. Big rocks and brush piles, irrigations hoses(don't ask me about that).

I can save time but also be somewhat tedious.

 

[buyerjohn]

If your tractor has rear remotes you can also use one of them to open/close the grapple but that would require running some long hydraulic hoses from the rear to the front of your tractor, not a very clean install but it would be functional.

ami - thanks for the detailed analysis. This is exactly what I have...I imagine I'd upgrade in the future once I get a feel for what I need.

I have 66" on my DK55c and have found that it is not practical to run through the ground (effectively sifting the rocks and debris). It is mostly a tool for picking up ungainly items. Big rocks and brush piles, irrigations hoses(don't ask me about that).

I won't ask...I don't want to sift...the largest rocks have been popped to the surface by the box blade, so i can either pick them up with the grapple or scoop up them with the grapple and keep going with the box blade.

I didn't understand your point about the clamshell design putting the load closer to the fel arms...isn't the load under both cases rolled backwards? Or is the load in the clamshell design "squeezed" further back in the tines vs the other design it is squeezed at the tine tips?

Interesting to note that wr long offers a bunch of non-clamshell models now.

What do others think about going smaller for greater maneuverability?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I have 66" on my DK55c and have found that it is not practical to run through the ground (effectively sifting the rocks and debris). It is mostly a tool for picking up ungainly items. Big rocks and brush piles, irrigations hoses(don't ask me about that).

I can save time but also be somewhat tedious.

Not sure how or what you are doing when you are trying to run your grapple through the soil, but I have had pretty good luck running with the leading edges in the ground about 6"- 8". This has worked good for me to clean out roots and the like. I don't have all that many rocks down in the soil. I might also have an easier time of it with the type of soil and size of my tractor.

 

[Glowplug]

Gotta love the grapple! The only thing I would have to say is to not overlook IslandTractor's advice for smaller. I purchased the MarkhamWelding heavy duty grapple rake for my Kubota M7040 with LA1153 loader. I bought the 66" version which weighs barely over 800# Now you're talking about a loader with a lift-capacity of 3700# at the bucket pivot point and a tractor width of 7-ft from outside tire to outside tire. And I feel I could've gotten some benefit from going smaller and lighter! Don't get me wrong, I love my grapple. It stays on my tractor virtually 100% of the time. But there is something to be said for IslandTractor's "small is beautiful" philosophy. I believe the large, wide, heavy-duty grapples would work best on skid steers with a lift capacity of several tons.

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