Grapple Titan Grapple - It's killing me

[IslandTractor]

Another thing that is killing me is that I haven't plumbed in the hydraulic lines from the rear remotes. I wanted to get it on the tractor so I could see what all I needed. Here is a picture of the front hydraulic ports on my Woods loader

The grapple came with 1/2" flat face couplers so I will have to change either the couplers on the grapple or the couplers on the tractor. Those 1/2" flat face couplers are massive and I'm worried about all of that weight hanging on the hard lines. The hoses that came on the grapple are over 7 feet long. With it tilted all the way down I only need 5 feet of hose.

Here are my questions:
Should I mount the couplers to a bracket on the cross member and run hoses to the hard lines?
Is two extra feet of hose going to get in the way? Should I get shorter hoses?

Thanks

It is unusual to have extra remotes hard plumbed to the FEL. That said, it looks nice. Is this set up to a diverter valve or electric over hydraulic?

Regarding how to hook up to the grapple, I'd base that on how much it costs. I'd also just connect the line directly from the grapple to your hard plumbed port without setting up another hydraulic fitting on the torque tube. No reason to have an intermediate line. Probably cheapest solution is to take off the whole hose system that come with the grapple. Instead get two approx. 6 foot lengths of 3/8 inch hose with the appropriate SAE or JIC connector on the hydraulic cylinder side and then put male Pioneer fittings on the tractor side. You will need to have enough line to allow full dump but not so much that you have loose line flopping about and in danger of snagging. What I do is to wrap a bungee cord around the middle of the line from the grapple and attach it to the torque tube. That puts just a tad of tension on the line and keeps it out of harms way. If you want to be fancy then instead of wrapping the bungee, install a two line clamp in the middle of the cylinder to tractor lines and attach the bungee there. Weld or bolt a small fitting on the torque tube to accept the other end of the bungee.

 

[BMW]

"It is unusual to have extra remotes hard plumbed to the FEL. That said, it looks nice. Is this set up to a diverter valve or electric over hydraulic?"


Neither, I ordered the front remote kit shortly after I got the loader so I would have it on hand when I got a grapple. I just installed the hard lines last night. The plan is to connect them to my rear remotes and put disconnects in the middle near the loader lift and curl disconnects.

Thanks for the advice, I'll add a bungee cord to my list of hoses and adapters.

 

[nickel plate]

With a starting place on the hydraulic system established pre-measure the hose run long and adding another foot, go to your hydraulic shop and buy the hoses with only the upstream fitting attached, take them home, insert up stream fitting, temp strap the hoses where you want them, mark and take back for the down stream fitting. You must have the next downstream terminal pre-installed to do it this way. I did this on each run and although it took more time several trips to the shop, it worked ou well.
As far as how many sets of QCs to use, take in to consideration at least the grapple and FEL removal.
I'm out of town until Sunday, I'll check back then. Take your time and do it right the first time. Good luck.

 

[IslandTractor]

"
Neither, I ordered the front remote kit shortly after I got the loader so I would have it on hand when I got a grapple. I just installed the hard lines last night. The plan is to connect them to my rear remotes and put disconnects in the middle near the loader lift and curl disconnects.

.

I'm confused. You have hard plumbed FEL lines that connect where to the rear remotes? Will you have hoses coming from the RR under the tractor and connecting to the hard plumbed lines near the FEL mount? Most RR set ups just run a single set of lines all the way from the rear to the front. Simpler and lots cheaper in terms of fittings etc. If you plan to remove your loader frequently then I can understand the extra connections near the loader mount. I had that setup (two sets of hoses) on my first tractor. I found it was not worth it though as it required four extra quick connects, four extra hose fittings and basically just added $$$ for something that I basically never used.

 

[jmc]

Should I mount the couplers to a bracket on the cross member and run hoses to the hard lines?

I would. All that weight cantilevered that far out will fatigue the tubing eventually. Also, sometimes (most times) you have to push really hard to connect the couplers, especially flat-faced ones. Keep that in mind when you determine the spacing between couplers on your bracket. If they're too close, you can't get a good grip on the second one when you connect it.

 

[clee4020]

I'm confused. You have hard plumbed FEL lines that connect where to the rear remotes? Will you have hoses coming from the RR under the tractor and connecting to the hard plumbed lines near the FEL mount? Most RR set ups just run a single set of lines all the way from the rear to the front. Simpler and lots cheaper in terms of fittings etc. If you plan to remove your loader frequently then I can understand the extra connections near the loader mount. I had that setup (two sets of hoses) on my first tractor. I found it was not worth it though as it required four extra quick connects, four extra hose fittings and basically just added $$$ for something that I basically never used.

I plumbed mine to my rear remotes. My Kubota dealer told me that he would order the 3rd function valve for around $1k. He also told me that they have seen a lot of electrical and corrosion issues with the 3rd function switch and wiring. He said that he ran his to the rear remotes because it was only about $200.00 in hoses and fiittings and that way you don't have to worry about the electrial issues.

Around here, it is not unusual to run to the rear remotes. Lot of people with hay grapples and brush grapples do that. I have 2 sets of rear remotes. I ran mine inside the fender and above the axle and put a set of quick connects at the mid mount so I can disconnect the loader if needed (like I did last night, b/c I find it easier to service the M9540 with loader off).

Some really like the 3rd function b/c you can curl, lift, and close grapple all at the same time. Honestly, my rear remote lever is just below my joystick and have no trouble. If I need to do all at same time I can operate joystick with left hand and close grapple with right hand. This is the first tractor I have owned with a joystick all others FEL have operated by a 3-way valve on old tractors mounted on fender that was plugged into rear remotes.

 

[IslandTractor]

I plumbed mine to my rear remotes. My Kubota dealer told me that he would order the 3rd function valve for around $1k. He also told me that they have seen a lot of electrical and corrosion issues with the 3rd function switch and wiring. He said that he ran his to the rear remotes because it was only about $200.00 in hoses and fiittings and that way you don't have to worry about the electrial issues.

Around here, it is not unusual to run to the rear remotes. Lot of people with hay grapples and brush grapples do that. I have 2 sets of rear remotes. I ran mine inside the fender and above the axle and put a set of quick connects at the mid mount so I can disconnect the loader if needed (like I did last night, b/c I find it easier to service the M9540 with loader off).

Some really like the 3rd function b/c you can curl, lift, and close grapple all at the same time. Honestly, my rear remote lever is just below my joystick and have no trouble. If I need to do all at same time I can operate joystick with left hand and close grapple with right hand. This is the first tractor I have owned with a joystick all others FEL have operated by a 3-way valve on old tractors mounted on fender that was plugged into rear remotes.

Don't get me wrong, I think the rear remote option has LOTS going for it. I used it on my first tractor and never had a complaint. My current tractor has a diverter valve that I installed (it was free to me) but frankly it has as many downsides as upsides compared with using rear remotes and would have pissed me off if I had actually paid for it. If you can drive four on the floor, you can use a rear remote to control a grapple. The only caveat is that some tractors have the rear remote control stick in inconvenient spots but if you can reach it naturally it will become second nature very quickly.

 

[clee4020]

Don't get me wrong, I think the rear remote option has LOTS going for it. I used it on my first tractor and never had a complaint. My current tractor has a diverter valve that I installed (it was free to me) but frankly it has as many downsides as upsides compared with using rear remotes and would have pissed me off if I had actually paid for it. If you can drive four on the floor, you can use a rear remote to control a grapple. The only caveat is that some tractors have the rear remote control stick in inconvenient spots but if you can reach it naturally it will become second nature very quickly.

I agree.

 

[BMW]

I'm confused. You have hard plumbed FEL lines that connect where to the rear remotes? Will you have hoses coming from the RR under the tractor and connecting to the hard plumbed lines near the FEL mount?

Here is a picture of the other end of the hard lines. As you can see, the ones with the red plugs don't have anything connected. That's why I'm asking for advice. I take you point about single hoses running from the hard line directly to the rear remotes. I don't remove the loader all that often so I'll take you're advice and do it that way. I'll just make sure it's clamped in a way that's easy to remove when I need to remove the loader.

Next question: Do I need to bleed the air out of the lines and cylinder after I get everything connected?

Thanks again

 

[IslandTractor]

No need to bleed air. Just check hydraulic fluid level after you have cycled the loader a few times. You probably won't even notice the difference.