Grapple grapple not what they said !

[beppington]

I have a general question about these grapples. They weigh in at 600# each. The bucket it replaced was probably fairly light by comparison. What do these grapples do to the useful loads on these tractors??? Seems like they really reduce what you can haul

That's what I was trying to say in my post #19 above ... The 1/2" steel is probably thicker than it needs to be, which is good for making it heavier duty, but bad for reducing the FEL's lifting & curling capacities.

 

[beppington]

My Kubota bucket (model "Square 72", "Quick Attach") weighs 331 lbs.

 

[Rockgod]

Ok , this is what happened, I bought a grapple on line and when it got here it wasn't what they said it was. They said it was made out of 1/2" T-1 steel . The weight of it is 600lbs.
Well, when it showed up it was made out of 3/8" steel, if it's T-1 I have no idea .
I called them up and asked about it , they said it was a mistake in the add and that they felt bad about it and would return $75 . That they don't make it in 1/2" only 3/8" .
The thing is I like the way it's put together even though it still is 600lbs. What do you think about 3/8" instead of 1/2" I only have the kubota L3240 with the 724 loader so it's not really that big of a tractor . I spent $1,375 for it and can't spend anymore than that on one .
So would you return it or not ? I don't want something I'm going to be bending up all the time. I've never used one but only once and wouldn't know if it would hold up. thanks!

If you think 600lbs is heavy, make it out of 1/2".

My Fabtech is made from 3/8" and it's pretty tuff. Dug out a small concrete wall, a few stumps, moved heavy logs, piles of trees/brush. Unless you're beating the snot out of it 3/8" should be fine Imo.

 

[MotorSeven]

I wouldnt be so hard on "rinky-dink" businesses website's, but rather judge them by their product. Some small family type businesses produce quality products but have less overhead than a big company. Their forte is their product and yes I have seen some very basic websites that are 10 years behind in technology.

I am currently purchasing a road grader from Grademaster. Their site is very basic and does not show good pictures of the grader I want. The salesman admitted he is not computer savy, so he actually had his daughter go take extra pictures for me and email them so I could see what I was getting. I had to smile when he told me all this, but darned if those pictures didn't arrive within 15 min. Some might see that as a negative, but I see it as a guy trying to make a living and getting the job done by using the resources he has on hand.

 

[TitanSkidsteer]

Good morning all! I wanted to post a quick reply about the thread above. I want to apologize to the tractor community for our mistake on our website regarding the tine thickness. We have corrected that mistake at Skid Steer Attachments Pallet Forks Hay Spears Bobcat Cat John Deere Mount Plate. We find that there is a fine balance between strength and weight and after years of fabrication we believe we have the perfect balance with our grapple attachments. If anyone purchases an item from us and it arrives and is not what they expected we will have it picked up and issue a full refund. Scott, thank you for allowing us to make this transaction right for you and we know you will have years of enjoyment out of using the grapple.

Happy Wednesday to all!

Bill

 

[beppington]

I wouldnt be so hard on "rinky-dink" businesses website's, but rather judge them by their product. Some small family type businesses produce quality products but have less overhead than a big company. Their forte is their product and yes I have seen some very basic websites that are 10 years behind in technology.

To me an @yahoo.com or @aol.com type email address doesn't inspire confidence. I wouldn't totally disregard them, but would need extra convincing in other ways. There may be very good reasons to have such an email address, but that's how I feel.

 

[crazyal]

Good morning all! I wanted to post a quick reply about the thread above. I want to apologize to the tractor community for our mistake on our website regarding the tine thickness. We have corrected that mistake at Skid Steer Attachments Pallet Forks Hay Spears Bobcat Cat John Deere Mount Plate. We find that there is a fine balance between strength and weight and after years of fabrication we believe we have the perfect balance with our grapple attachments. If anyone purchases an item from us and it arrives and is not what they expected we will have it picked up and issue a full refund. Scott, thank you for allowing us to make this transaction right for you and we know you will have years of enjoyment out of using the grapple.

Happy Wednesday to all!

Bill

I noticed you showed up yesterday as a sponsor. I did go to your site and looked at the 42" pallet forks (Something I may get this summer). Over all I liked the look of them and thought the price was very reasonable. I would say that you should include a little more information. It looks like the forks are solid steel and bent at a 90 but it doesn't say so. I like the zoom feature on the palletforks.com site.

 

[rambler]

To me an @yahoo.com or @aol.com type email address doesn't inspire confidence. I wouldn't totally disregard them, but would need extra convincing in other ways. There may be very good reasons to have such an email address, but that's how I feel.

I understand the telephone issue - lot of time can be wasted on one with tire kickers and such.

The email address as mentioned, kinda raises an eyebrow - not a big deal, but - oh, you don't have a real email address? Oh.... Like phone calls, emails can be even more time consuming, and filtering out the spam for a small-time outfit - oh boy, I do understand the problems. This customer service is not an easy balance.

I kinda prefer homemade, less-slick web sites, I like the mom & pop from the back shed type of business that implies.

Not having a physical location on the 'contact' area of a web site is always a deal killer for me. It means - to me - 100% scammer from overseas, I will not bother looking at a product if I can't fairly easily get a physical, snail-mail address for my records. So many legal laws are set up to use snailmail to work out issues, that if a company witholds a snailmail address/ location, I'm not going to bother to even ask any questions, I'll move on to another manufaturer and have done so with real orders in the past. Prices won't matter, if there is no location, I'm not a customer, not worth my time.

I see the original manufaturer of this thread is watching, and I was not in the market at this time for their product, I have nothing good or bad to say about anyone, it looks like they followed up very well. Got no axe to grind.

Just, for any manufaturer, how _I_ will look over their web site - aside from the actual product.

--->Paul

 

[dwhite]

I have the same grapple as the OP. While it is still new, I am pleased with it. I had to weld spacer bars so the bottom latch pin fit tight, but the owner (Bill) refunded the cost of welding. It is well made, heavy enough that I can't hurt it, light enough that I preserve lift capacity, wide enough for scooping up spoiled hay (a 48 would be small), has two cylinders to I can securely hold uneven items, and has greasable pins. Yes, the cost is higher than the WK econo, but look at the build difference.

 

[Willl]

I'm going to recant on the diss in my earlier post after reading others that have this grapple.

Mis adverts is a thorn in my side. This doesn't sound intentional.

Well made stuff is hard to find nowadays.