Need to build a brush pile mover

[DCS]

I need to build something to attach to the front of my tractor that will allow me to move a large amount of cedar brush and I am looking for ideas. I have been searching the forum, but have not really found what I am looking for yet. Any ideas? Pictures would be very helpful.

 

[Deerlope]

An ANBO grapple would work very well or a set of forks with a grapple.

 

[kennyd]

Search the word "grapple" and you will have HOURS of reading and TONS of pictures.

 

[IslandTractor]

Search the word "grapple" and you will have HOURS of reading and TONS of pictures.

Like this.

 

[DCS]

Like this.

That's close, but I am not putting a grapple on it. I am really looking for along the lines of a glorified pitch fork with some kind of a brush guard to protect the tractor.

 

[2YD]

I say go with a basic pallet fork attachment or even the ones that attach to your bucket. Longer the better I suspect.

When I moved to my new place (sans tractor) there were 7 white pine trees laying in the back yard from where the new mound system was installed. The de-limb'd pile of brush was quite large. A friend borrowed me his skid-loader with the bucket and pallet forks. The pallet forks were all I needed to get the limb piles off the yard and out to the burn pile as well as the tree trunks themselves. Yes some limbs would fall off but the larger pile itself was really easy to lift and move with the forks. Because of this I deleted a grapple from my wish list of attachments which probably saved me a $1k or so.

 

[mikim]

I really like my grapple for brush hauling cause it does keep stuff from falling ... but it also reaches in and pulls stuff out of piles. I can drive into the pile with it open, close it, and back out with a load. For bigger items in the pile causing problems I can use it like a hand and grab and reposition. You can't do all I do with a grapple using pallet forks.

 

[IslandTractor]

That's close, but I am not putting a grapple on it. I am really looking for along the lines of a glorified pitch fork with some kind of a brush guard to protect the tractor.

You will find that your brush pile is pretty unruly unless you clamp it or get off the tractor to tie it down to your forks. It is certainly possible to move brush with forks but you will find it is significantly less efficient. If you have a lot to move you might want to reconsider the grapple option. If you are concerned about hydraulics then consider the Westendorf grapple which operates by using the tilt/dump function of your FEL. If hydraulics are not the concern (eg if you have a rear remote already) then consider adding a bucket grapple. If you already have forks then you may want to check out www dot quickspade dot com as they sell a fork mounted grapple device that does use hydraulics but is cheaper than a real grapple and about the same cost as a bucket grapple.

 

[teg]

These are light duty - heavy logs have to be loaded first (near the bucket). Once I load it, I did strap it down and tighten it. It's a bit of a pain, you have to get off the tractor . I just can not afford a grapple. They are about 6 feet long (you can see the tips going under the brush while you are seated - extra bonus feature that wasn't planned) but it make the tractor extra tippy when fully loaded. If you need more photos... I have them at home.

 

[denmansoft]

I find my 4 foot pallet forks work pretty good. Sometimes I do have to get off the tractor to help the pile on so it stays. But it is simple and no where near the price of grapples.
Also take a look at Bro-tek's brush forks.

Bro-Tek: Tractor Add Ons