Need help with Grapple 101...

[PapaPerk]

What is the smallest tractor you can put a grapple on? I think I understand that it is an attachment you put on the front end of a tractor that already has a front end loader and that it needs an extra/third hydraulic hookup.

We have 46 acres that we just purchased and plan to visit on weekends until we get ready to build and move. There is a K-line trailer there for storage so I'm wanting to get a small tractor I can use to help do some of the clean up chores we have but I want it to fit into the K-line that has a 90" opening. We don't really want to buy the JD5085M that my beloved is coveting until we are on the property full time and have a barn built to store it in. I was looking at a Kubota BX2360 with a FEL and small brush hog but then the other half said it would be nice to have a grapple. We don't want to move anything huge, just brush piles and maybe a 4" diameter tree we cut down off the dam.

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

Thanks,
dawn

The BX is too small for 46 acres. Get a bigger tractor that will fit in your storage unit and be done with it. Then later you can buy another even larger tractor when the need arises. Once you start working you will quickly have larger and larger equipment needs.

Check out the JD that someone mentioned above and the Kubota MX5100 4wd HST with Loader. Either would probably be a perfect first tractor for 46 acres. Kubota has great 0% financing deals.

Also a set of quick attach pallet forks may work well for you instead of the grapple. It's amazing how much brush you can move with pallet forks. Basically like a giant pitch fork. Plus they are handy for moving all sorts of stuff around the farm. And with the quick attach you can switch from bucket to forks in about 30 seconds.

Good luck!

[IslandTractor]

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Also a set of quick attach pallet forks may work well for you instead of the grapple. It's amazing how much brush you can move with pallet forks. Basically like a giant pitch fork.

Pallet forks are great for a number of tasks but they really don't hold a candle to grapples when moving or ripping out brush. I own both. No comparison.

[ENG18LT]

An MX5100 would be a good starter machine for that property. Try to find a used one for now and then when you get settled sometime down the road it won't hurt as much when you trade up to a cab model. Good luck to you.

[daschluck]

I don't post a lot, but when I saw yours I just had to add my .02. I own a new Kioti CK20HST. I just bought it this spring. Not a big tractor for sure, but it is a beast. I bought it from Michigan Iron and Equipment in Morrice Michigan (Great people!) They also build implements there, and I bought a quick attach grapple that they built. I love it so much that I have yet to put the bucket on it. The grapple has been on it all summer. I live on 10 acres of woods, so I have hauled a lot of downed trees with it. The largest was probably 40 feet long and 8-10 inches in diameter. Hauled it around the property like it was a popsicle stick. Needless to say I am very impressed with this little tracor's power. Disclaimer: I do have the backhoe on it, which makes a great counter weight. I have torn out a bunch of brush, lifted large stumps and hauled them away. It is 48 inches wide. MIE builds them right in their little factory. They also build a pretty mean snow blade which I just got. I would recommend them highly. Here is a picture. Here is there website

Michigan Iron and Equipment, Kioti Tractors, Kioti Implements, Kodiak Attachments, Befco, Hound Dog Attachments, Dk Series Tractors, Central Michigan

[PhysAssist]

Pallet forks are great for a number of tasks but they really don't hold a candle to grapples when moving or ripping out brush. I own both. No comparison.

As may be so, but pallet forks, while still able to pick up brush piles that are too big to see around, are also versatile for lifting MANY other things.

Grapples are good for grappling, i.e., grasping/ lifting logs, brushpiles, stumps and rock, but NOT pallets, plows, mower decks, etc,etc,etc.

I would very much like to have a grapple for our place, but given the number of ti es we have used our forks to move very large sized and amounts of logs, brush, pallets full of soil, rocks, our splitter, our mower, and various other things around our place, I would never trade the forks ($149 delivered from Yankee Warehouse) for a $1300- 1500 Grapple...

BTW, unless the OP (Ms. Dawn) plans to till and farm their entire acerage, the ability to:

1) fit the tractor in the trailer
2) fit the tractor into tight spaces between trees and in other tight areas
3) buy a reliable easy to find replacement filters, etc for tractor
4) buy serviceable, but relatively low priced implements to perform a variety of functions

All support buying a compact tractor with loader, and our Kubota B2320 would be a great choice, escpecially for a noob with no prior tractorchops.

It has low fuel demands, serviceable specs and is easy to fit in close spaces like our small garage, tightly forested woods, and between the variuos closely spaced trees scattered throughout our cleared areas.

JMHO as a compact (not subcompact) tractor owner on a mostly wooded, hilly, cut up lot...

Thomas
No matter where you go; there you are...

[MRSDOUGLAS]

Thomas, you hit the nail on the head. We will not be farming the land, we are going for the forested look. I want to be able to move brush and not have to break my back doing it.

As may be so, but pallet forks, while still able to pick up brush piles that are too big to see around, are also versatile for lifting MANY other things.

Grapples are good for grappling, i.e., grasping/ lifting logs, brushpiles, stumps and rock, but NOT pallets, plows, mower decks, etc,etc,etc.

I would very much like to have a grapple for our place, but given the number of ti es we have used our forks to move very large sized and amounts of logs, brush, pallets full of soil, rocks, our splitter, our mower, and various other things around our place, I would never trade the forks ($149 delivered from Yankee Warehouse) for a $1300- 1500 Grapple...

BTW, unless the OP (Ms. Dawn) plans to till and farm their entire acerage, the ability to:

1) fit the tractor in the trailer
2) fit the tractor into tight spaces between trees and in other tight areas
3) buy a reliable easy to find replacement filters, etc for tractor
4) buy serviceable, but relatively low priced implements to perform a variety of functions

All support buying a compact tractor with loader, and our Kubota B2320 would be a great choice, escpecially for a noob with no prior tractorchops.

It has low fuel demands, serviceable specs and is easy to fit in close spaces like our small garage, tightly forested woods, and between the variuos closely spaced trees scattered throughout our cleared areas.

JMHO as a compact (not subcompact) tractor owner on a mostly wooded, hilly, cut up lot...

Thomas
No matter where you go; there you are...

[PhysAssist]

Thomas, you hit the nail on the head. We will not be farming the land, we are going for the forested look. I want to be able to move brush and not have to break my back doing it.

Us too, and the tractor we picked and forks we bought were decided on only after reading and re-reading all the relavent posts I could find on TBN, OTT, and MTF, comparing prices, capabilities, and specs, asking many questions, and searching prices in as many locations, on and off line as I could find.

Ditto our 48"Gannon roll-over boxblade.

The only purchase we regret was the 2nd implement we bought (not counting the mower, FEL, and ballast box we got in the package from the dealer)- the Paumco multi-spade, which in my opinion is really designed either for a skid steer or a seriously big tractor.

We had to cut slots into the stake mounts (for load controlling upright 2x4's) on the Yankee Warehouse Heavy Duty Chain-on forks to mount it over our newest attachment, the BX-Panded Piranha Toothbar, but both were seriously worth every sheckel and any extra work.

Sure, every so often we wish for a bigger or more powerful machine, but then we have to get it to fit between some trees or into another tight spot, and we thank G-D and Kubota for our little orange monster.

Thomas
No matter where you go; there you are...

[PapaPerk]

Thomas, you hit the nail on the head. We will not be farming the land, we are going for the forested look. I want to be able to move brush and not have to break my back doing it.

Then look at the Grand L40 series tractors (L3240) or a used Grand L30 series. (L3130). They are compact but still large enough to manage duties on a 46 acre property. A BX is still too small in my opinion. Especially small in ground clearance.... which is a problem in woods. As mentioned above a B2360 maybe a good option... or one of the B series machines.... but they are still pretty small for 46 acres! I think the Grand L would be a perfect fit. Also Kubota has some cheaper L series tractors that may also work well for you.

Good luck!

[PapaPerk]

Then look at the Grand L40 series tractors (L3240) or a used Grand L30 series. (L3130). They are compact but still large enough to manage duties on a 46 acre property. A BX is still too small in my opinion. Especially small in ground clearance.... which is a problem in woods. As mentioned above a B2360 maybe a good option... or one of the B series machines.... but they are still pretty small for 46 acres! I think the Grand L would be a perfect fit. Also Kubota has some cheaper L series tractors that may also work well for you.

Good luck!

Also... get a set of QA pallet forks and try them for moving the brush... you may decide they are sufficient and don't need to spend the extra bucks on a grapple....

[IslandTractor]

Also... get a set of QA pallet forks and try them for moving the brush... you may decide they are sufficient and don't need to spend the extra bucks on a grapple....

Decent set of QA pallet forks costs $500-600 and is marginal for brush. Decent lightweight 48" grapple costs $900 and is the ideal tool for brush removal. Pallets are great for what they are designed for which ain't brush. Sure they can lift brush and if you balance everything just right and curl it will stay in place unless you hit bumps but pallet forks clearly cannot handle large brush piles which need to be clamped in position to travel. Pallet forks might well be fine for moving logs in a yard but again, if you drive over uneven or bumpy ground you are going to want to secure those logs with the upper grapple arm. I've seen pallet forks married to a grapple arm and that would work much better but then you have about the same cost as a regular grapple. Using the human hand as an analogous device, imagine piling objects onto your fingers and palm and carrying those around like a waiter carries plates. It works if you maintain perfect balance. Now imagine the same load in your hand but hold it in place with your thumb. Much better (which is one reason we have thumbs). You can also reverse your hand and pickup objects with your palm down so long as you use your thumb. That is what a grapple can do, either scoop (palm up) and clamp or "finger/thumb" pinch grasp objects. Forks are limited to straight open palm type lifting. Great for plates (and pallets), not so good for irregular or loose objects.