PapaPerk
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2004
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- 2,404
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- USA
- Tractor
- Kubota L3830, Ford Golden Jubilee, 1939 Sears Economy, Polaris Ranger 400, Honda Foreman 450 ES, 2004 Dodge Diesel 3500
IslandTractor said: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.
I fully understand the mechanics of grapples... Trust me.
I'll have to find some pics of my inadequate pallet forks moving brush piles.