Buying Advice Looking to Purchase Our First Tractor

[JD 4520]

I have a 66 hp tractor with a 48” wide grapple. The grapple will handle anything the tractor will handle. The narrow grapple is much more nimble in the woods for movement. I would not recommend wider than the width of your tractor and keep the weight down, just less weight you can handle.
Just my two cents ...

 

[sea2summit]

Dealer emailed me this morning regarding some of my questions.

The grapple they sell is from W.R. Long, a company in Tarboro, NC.

I'm not sure which model the dealer is selling, but assuming he is going with the 72 inch, same width as the loader bucket, that unit weighs in at 665lbs for a single or 725lbs for the double.

This begs the question: What width grapple should I be looking at for a tractor with a ~66inch width? Do you match the width of the bucket at 72inches? Or do you go a bit narrower on the width to improve maneuverability?

The EA 66inch Wicked Root is 660lbs and costs $3,400 plus shipping.
The W.R. Long 66inch grapple is comparable in weight and cost.

I went narrower for a lighter grapple. There's grapples like the frostbite that are only as wide as the mounting plate, I like the concept and would work for most of what I do with it.

 

[Idahoagie]

We sealed the deal yesterday, and I had immediate "buyer's remorse". Not over the tractor. Just second thoughts on the grapple. The Kioti dealer also is a dealer for W.R. Long grapples. The package includes a W.R. Long OBG2-64 Long Bottom Grapple. From my research, I think a shorter grapple would serve me better, something along the lines of the Wicked 60 from Everything Attachments. So even though I'll probably have the tractor for over a month before the grapple shows up from EA, I went ahead and ordered the Wicked 60 and scratched the W.R. Long from the order with the Kioti dealer. Price ends up being almost the same.

Now just waiting for the tractor to be shipped from Texas.

 

[LilTractrThatCould]

Congratulations! One week down with 11 to go for me. Maybe we'll see each other at the freight depot? I'll be in the Blue Ram 2500..

 

[Idahoagie]

Congratulations! One week down with 11 to go for me. Maybe we'll see each other at the freight depot? I'll be in the Blue Ram 2500..

Yeah, but I was just notified that because shipping is to Washington I have to pay Washington sales tax. I originally went with WA because EA has a freight terminal there they use so shipping was $30 less shipped there than to my Zip code. Now I am looking to see if there is a private business in Idaho that will accept the shipment for me. If I can, it would save me about $45, which isn't much, and a whole day driving to/from Spokane.

Just another way the government has found to tax us.

 

[LilTractrThatCould]

Like I tell my kids, You Gotta Pay to Play! Time, money or pain.. If it helps I can let you know when the state patches the pot holes by my house. That way you know it went to a good cause. However Idaho got my tractor tax so I'll need you to engrave my name in the next sidewalk that goes in up your way. Deal?

 

[Idahoagie]

Well, I think I may have found a local business to have the grapple delivered to. We'll see. The $45 difference isn't that big of a deal, but it would be nice to avoid the drive into Spokane.

As for sales tax, WA may be higher than ID, but ID charges sales tax on groceries. So you saved a few bucks buying your tractor in Post Falls. Just don't shop here for groceries. Living close to the WA/ID border, we see a lot of ID plates at the Safeway in Newport, WA. We also see a lot of WA plates at the Super 1 in Oldtown, ID. These two towns are right across the state line from each other.
Why the WA plates at an Idaho grocery store? Because that store is also an Idaho Liquor Store. And Idaho taxes liquor and tobacco products at a lower rate than Washington.