Grapple New Grapple - pictures working - Light Duty Grapple Rake

[kennyd]

That looks like more than "light duty" work. Those are some pretty decent sized logs. Any indication the bottom tines were stressed or in danger of bending?

Thanks.

You must remember the Markham builds Skid-Steer implements, so their idea of light duty is a little different than ours. There is NO WAY you could hurt this thing on a CUT and have a working FEL afterward.

 

[scuvnut]

Michelle, I would suggest that you do a search on TBN for "grapple remote valve" and you will find a number of posts that describe how to do this. The main thing you need to determine first is what sort of quick connects came with the grapple. Markham sometimes sends flat quick connects which are not very useful for tractor owners. You need Pioneer style quick connects you can get from any tractor dealer or via the internet. You'll need to check that you have a set of rear remotes if that is what you are trying to use. I presume the JD5103 has at least one set standard and you can use those to control the grapple. You'll also need two lengths of 3/8 or 1/4 inch hydraulic hose (3/8 probably better) which are long enough to go from your rear remotes, over the rear axle, under the operator station, up the front end loader post and down the FEL arm to the torque tube (bar that connects the two sides of the loader). Use a hose to measure the length of hose and perhaps add a foot or two to make sure. Don't pull the hose tight as you need to have enough hydraulic hose to allow gentle turns without kinks. Once you have that measurement, just have a hydraulic shop make you up a hose with appropriate fittings for the pioneer style quick connects (1/2 inch is what will fit your rear remotes...you'll need to either match what ever is on the grapple or get new ones for both the grapple and the grapple end of the hose.

IslandTractor is correct - my Markham grapple came with 1/2 inch skid skeer couplings (Flushface Hydraulic Quick Disconnects).

Before I purchased the grapple, I had purchased a 4 in 1 bucket. It too came with skid steer couplings. To run the hydraulics on the bucket, I had purchased my hydraulic lines/couplings from Discount Hydraulic Hose.com. They were very helpful and had great prices.

Anyway, as my rear remote was an agricultural coupling (which I assume is the same as pioneer style), I purchased hydraulic lines that I ran from the rear remote (and might I say that IslandTractor is correct to add a foot or two - you can always hide the extra, but if they are too short you are SOL) to the front boom. I had purchased agricultural couplings for both ends and a set of agricultural couplings to replace the skid steer couplings on the 4 in 1

Then my grapple arrived, with skid steer couplings. Now, I had to buy a set of couplings either way and after discussion with my local friend who runs a tractor, decided to switch everything on the front end to skid steer couplings. I put the skid steer couplings that came with the 4 in 1 back on and purchased a new set of skid steer couplings for the end of the hydraulics on the boom.

The reasoning was that it appears that any skid steer type quick attach implement seems to come with skid steer couplings. I figure that if I rent an attachment for the front end, it likely is going to have skid steer couplings.

The downside is that the skid steer coupling is more expensive. The upside is they are easier to connect/disconnect and they don't leak any hydraulic fluid. The ags seem to leak a little each time I connect/disconnect.

Anyway, thats my thought processes. Oh yeah, my friend may be a little self serving...the front end of his JD is plumbed with skid steer and I'm sure he wants to use my grapple!

 

[davygp38]

This was a very informative thread. I am convinced that I should get the 48-60 inch grapple, rather than the hydro thumb, and I have no fear plumbing it myself, after your explanations

 

[IslandTractor]

This was a very informative thread. I am convinced that I should get the 48-60 inch grapple, rather than the hydro thumb, and I have no fear plumbing it myself, after your explanations

get the 48. No advantage to the larger one unless your main task is picking up construction debris.

 

[HCJ]

Get the 48" grapple, rather than the 60. I have the same 48" on a M 6800 Kubota but had Markham beef it up with 1/2" steel rather than 3/8. Cost a little more but my tractor is a little larger than an average CUT and believe me, I punish this grapple, mostly uprooting trees and growth along the river and roads. I have also dug out stumps and knocked down trees up to 6 or even 8". The narrower 48" is plenty wide for moving large brush piles, stumps, rocks and logs, and the narrower width is an advantage in digging out trees and uprooting them. It allows more focused pressure whereas a wider grapple would disperse the force and leverage over too wide an area. It also is lighter (allowing more lift capacity), cheaper, and only has one thumb and hydraulic cylinder whereas the 60" has two (I believe this is correct). I cannot see where a 60" would have any advantage unless on a skid steer or large tractor with much more powerful FEL lift capacity. I have cleared acres of brush with this Markham, and except for a few minor cosmetic bends in the spacer tines, it has performed flawlessly. I did route my hydraulics differently, by using a true third function electric over hydraulic valve from W.R. Long, but this adds about $700 to the installation, but the only advantage is ergonomic. Any of the 3 ways to route the controls would work and be perfectly functional. I researched all of this on this forum before I bought, and really learned a lot from several sources here. Island Tractor (a.k.a. THe Grapple Guru) is an encyclopedia of knowledge.

 

[HCJ]

I see that Island Tractor beat me in his reply! He types fast also!

 

[dangerdoc]

This was a very informative thread. I am convinced that I should get the 48-60 inch grapple, rather than the hydro thumb, and I have no fear plumbing it myself, after your explanations

Plumbing is not too hard, even if you need to add a valve to the power beyond.

One thing you should be aware of is that the compact grapples do not open as wide as you may expect them to. My brother has a Farm Hand hay grapple and he can pick up a brush pile as big as a truck. With my Markham grapple, I can move a respectable amount of material but it does not open much more than 3-4 feet, it takes a little finess to get over and under a pile that is bigger than the opening to the grapple.