IslandTractor
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2005
- Messages
- 17,101
- Location
- Prudence Island, RI
- Tractor
- 2007 Kioti DK40se HST, Woods BH
You would have had to clamped it in the middle if you had a single lid. Your grapple would have to opened really wide to do that.
Why is my logic odd? I was just saying I had never heard anyone say they did not like their grapple, or at least own up to it. I know you are always talking about your light weight, economy, single lid grapple, how much does it weigh? Do you know of anyone that complained about their 2 lid grapple and sold it to get one with 1 lid?
If you have the money to buy a Hummer for a grocery getter why no do it?
I am not talking about a skid steer grapple for a compact tractor. They are too heavy.
I don't see how a 48" grapple in most cases will lift as much as a 72" grapple. When I am cleaning up brush with my wide grapple I am not running my tires over it and have to worry about damaging a tire. I am not disputing that a small grapple is not useful. It would be nice at times to have a big one and a small one, just like in your tool box you have different screwdrivers for different jobs. If a 4' grapple is all need on a big compact tractor was it too much for you CK20? Did you wish you had a 3' grapple for it?
1) With regard to the photo you posted, I have lifted/clamped many many stumps like that. You highlighted a big root you presumably think would interfere with my getting a grapple closed on the stump. I doubt it would be an issue and if it was I would simply roll the stump a few degrees to get it out of the way. Never had a stump I could not clamp. Never. Period. Had a few that were too heavy to lift out of the hole but once I pulled them out I could lift and clamp them. Photo below of one such stump I had to pull out with the BH but was later able to move with the grapple.
2) Your logic is odd because you assume that everyone who spends the extra money for a heavier 2 jaw grapple would have been unhappy with a single arm grapple. In fact there are almost no unhappy lightduty grapple owners (aside from some manufacturing/fit issues). Also, the vast majority of grapple buyers are first time buyers so they really are just taking the dealer's word that the more expensive two jaw grapple is "best" for them. If someone tries a one jaw grapple and finds it too limiting then it makes perfect sense to get the bigger one. Most people operate on the principle of efficiency that holds that you use the tool that is adequate for the task rather than the biggest tool you can find. Why are more F150's sold than F350's? Most people don't need the extra size/weight/payload capacity so they are happy with the 150. Same point with the grapple only in this case selecting a light duty single arm grapple actually INCREASES the weight you can lift.
3) If you think it reasonable to select a Hummer to drive to get eggs at the grocery store then that pretty much sums up my argument against your position on the grapple issue.
4) I am sure you can do the math on why a light duty 48" grapple can lift more. Using my tractor as an example, with a 300+lb grapple (manufacturer told me mine weighs 280lbs but I don't believe them) and a 2700lb lift capacity, I can still have about 2400lbs of lift at the pivot pins with my grapple mounted. If I chose a 72" medium duty grapple weighing 600lbs, I would have only 2100lbs of lift capacity remaining. With regard to how much brush can be held in the grapple, I will just say that I can cram in enough brush that I cannot see where I am driving. Brush is "sticky" and if I create an eight foot wide pile of brush I can pick the whole thing up at once. I can lift a bigger log than someone with a wider heavier grapple because I simply can clamp it just as well and have more net lift capacity to lift it. The place where a 72" grapple would do better is in scooping up lots of construction debris as it could sweep 72" at a time rather than 48", however, that doesn't translate into differences in clearing brush. When driving into brush, the 48" grapple clears an area wider than my ?66" wheel distance just like the prow of a ship pushes a bow wave. Brush is "sticky" so it gets dragged in front of the tractor and out of the way of the tires. Generally, I don't run over any brush because the grapple is full before I hit any brush with the tires.
5) My CK20 did just fine with this grapple as many of the photos I posed earlier show. To my knowledge no one makes a 36" grapple so I cannot tell you whether that would have done even better. The CK had a lift capacity of 1070lbs minus 300 for the grapple so net of 770 or so. That was a useful capacity but not nearly as useful as my DK net lift with the grapple of about 2300lbs.
Bottom line: the use of grapples on CUTs is a fairly recent phenomenon and to my knowledge there is virtually nobody who has done extensive unbiased research on what works best. Where is it written that a grapple should be as wide as a standard bucket?? Yet many dealers use that width and many CUT owners are sold more expensive and heavier grapples than necessary. I keep posting that the light duty 48" has been more than adequate and therefore potential grapple owners should think carefully about whether anything larger would do the job any better. I honestly think I can do more with the narrow light grapple and I have yet to see a similar sized tractor with a larger grapple do a task I cannot do efficiently too. If you want to have a Hummer because it makes you feel good that is one thing but it is not reasonable to conclude, based on a successful trip to the grocery store with your Hummer, that a smaller and less expensive vehicle couldn't have done the job just as well and more efficiently.
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