crazyangel
Gold Member
Circle A said:
Thats great to hear. I really want one but am unsettled on the width. What model tractor are you using it on?
Grapple what size grapple??
- Thread starter farmall 55a case
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Thats great to hear. I really want one but am unsettled on the width. What model tractor are you using it on?
Circle A
New member
Kubota M9000. I really wanted the 72" but for what I'm doing(clearing debris from old logging decks, wind rowing clear cuts, etc) it works great.
OP
farmall 55a case
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Where did you get it at?
Not Retired Yet
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I've got a 48" grapple and really can't say that a wider one would've any more help. I usually am moving trees, brush that I cut down (and occasional large rock). Wider would cause me to clip a tree at times as I work my way into the trees.
OP
farmall 55a case
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Yes I know what you mean ! I haven't given going smaller much thought! I planed on a six foot wide grapple but o don't really know now? I do think that I want the two down pressure arms I think I want one like this just not sure yet just not the one cylinder clam o think the shape of the bottom grapple would be much more useful!
MtnViewRanch
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Only comment that I will make at this time is to be sure to shop around. Prices vary a lot for basically the same piece of equipment. 
Missouri Pioneer
Gold Member
The bigger and heavier the grapple is, the less you can pick up. On my 55 hp LS, I'm most pleased with my WildKat 48" econo grapple. I can pick up everything I need to, which includes whole large trees. Call them for the best price. Review the prior threads re grapples.
crazyal
Super Member
I would ask questions about how any grapple you may buy is made before purchasing one. It seams to me that the companies who make them do not want to make too many different sizes so they have to make some compromises in materials.
As bad of a way to rate what size (not width) grapple would be correct most mfgs seam to use HP. I think I would avoid anything that's not rated for nothing less than 40ish hp. I don't know if you'll get as much life out of it before having to repair it if you end up with a grapple that's designed to be used on a 2500lb 25hp cut. It's no different than getting a grapple made for a large 15000 lb tractor. You need to find the sweet spot for your tractor.
As bad of a way to rate what size (not width) grapple would be correct most mfgs seam to use HP. I think I would avoid anything that's not rated for nothing less than 40ish hp. I don't know if you'll get as much life out of it before having to repair it if you end up with a grapple that's designed to be used on a 2500lb 25hp cut. It's no different than getting a grapple made for a large 15000 lb tractor. You need to find the sweet spot for your tractor.
Piston
Elite Member
Check out my thread on on grapple pics, it might be useful, if not mildly entertaining :laughing:
There are advantages to two grapple arms with the main disadvantage being weight. bottom line is you can do everything with a 48" grapple that you can do with a wider grapple. The only difference is you can typically do more, faster with a wider grapple and 2 grapple arms. The times where the extra weight and wider size can be a disadvantage, are when you are right at the limit of your lift capacity, and when you are digging with the grapple. You will be able to dig better with a narrow grapple, due to the fact that you are applying more force to each tooth that is digging.
I have a 64" WR Long grapple and wouldn't trade it for the world. I am more than happy with the product and customer service. There has been a lot of talk about Wildkat lately so certainly check them out. Be sure to check the weights. Mine is right around 500lbs, I want to say 485 from memory but I have a bad memory
I was clearing some land a couple weeks ago and long story short, I got more done, faster with my wider 2 arm grapple. I was able to knock several trees down, cut the stumps off (after ripping them out of the ground) and I could then carry 2 stumps per trip with one stump in each arm. These were smaller stumps from about 12"dbh trees. It cut my trips in half and when your carrying them a good distance this makes a difference.
For the larger stumps, you can only carry one at a time anyways, just like with a smaller grapple. Many people tried to talk me into the 48" grapple but I'm glad I went with the larger one, having said that, I have to agree that a 48" one armed grapple can do everything a 64" two armed grapple can do, I just think I save time with the larger one, mostly because I do a lot of tree clearing/stump moving, and a lot of firewood work. With my 64" flat open bottomed grapple, i can stack a lot more wood on there than the 48" would allow. It really depends on your uses. Since you mentioned digging, I would lean towards the narrowing grapple.
As far as clam shell vs. open bottom like the one in the pic you posted, I would go with the open bottom. I've used both of them and much prefer the style I went with, the OBG 2 from WR Long (or similar)
Sorry for the long winded post, keep asking questions.
There are advantages to two grapple arms with the main disadvantage being weight. bottom line is you can do everything with a 48" grapple that you can do with a wider grapple. The only difference is you can typically do more, faster with a wider grapple and 2 grapple arms. The times where the extra weight and wider size can be a disadvantage, are when you are right at the limit of your lift capacity, and when you are digging with the grapple. You will be able to dig better with a narrow grapple, due to the fact that you are applying more force to each tooth that is digging.
I have a 64" WR Long grapple and wouldn't trade it for the world. I am more than happy with the product and customer service. There has been a lot of talk about Wildkat lately so certainly check them out. Be sure to check the weights. Mine is right around 500lbs, I want to say 485 from memory but I have a bad memory
I was clearing some land a couple weeks ago and long story short, I got more done, faster with my wider 2 arm grapple. I was able to knock several trees down, cut the stumps off (after ripping them out of the ground) and I could then carry 2 stumps per trip with one stump in each arm. These were smaller stumps from about 12"dbh trees. It cut my trips in half and when your carrying them a good distance this makes a difference.
For the larger stumps, you can only carry one at a time anyways, just like with a smaller grapple. Many people tried to talk me into the 48" grapple but I'm glad I went with the larger one, having said that, I have to agree that a 48" one armed grapple can do everything a 64" two armed grapple can do, I just think I save time with the larger one, mostly because I do a lot of tree clearing/stump moving, and a lot of firewood work. With my 64" flat open bottomed grapple, i can stack a lot more wood on there than the 48" would allow. It really depends on your uses. Since you mentioned digging, I would lean towards the narrowing grapple.
As far as clam shell vs. open bottom like the one in the pic you posted, I would go with the open bottom. I've used both of them and much prefer the style I went with, the OBG 2 from WR Long (or similar)
Sorry for the long winded post, keep asking questions.
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swmich42
Bronze Member
The 66" EA Grapple I purchased 05/04 is due in 5/31. I will be using it initially to move rocks, but plan to move logs, brush, dig out stumps, and moving general debris. I am using this on a JD 4700 with a 400CX loader. Will let you know how it performs.