Grapple Grapple research and tentative conclusion what may be best for me; what do YOU think?

[Rockgod]

I won't argue that 1/8 is not better than 1/4 inch but clearly there has to be some gap to avoid problems when mounting. Unless you weld or bolt something there will be play. The point with a grapple is that under load virtually all the pressure is on the top of the universal mount. The only time there would be any strain on the bottom would be going over bumps etc or when dumping the load. So long as the retaining pins are longer than the gap when locked the implement really shouldn't come out. I'd be more nervous with a 1/4 inch pin protrusion with a 1/8 inch gap than I would with a one inch protrusion and a 1/4 inch gap.

Too short of a pin would indeed be a bad thing. Luckly his appear to be just long enough.

He might be ok if he's super careful and centers his loads. With a loose fitting grapple I suspect twisting a loader arm would be much easier. Rarely are grapple loads perfectly distributed from one side to the other. Equally rare is a flat level field.

 

[dustinfox]

Too short of a pin would indeed be a bad thing. Luckly his appear to be just long enough.

He might be ok if he's super careful and centers his loads. With a loose fitting grapple I suspect twisting a loader arm would be much easier. Rarely are grapple loads perfectly distributed from one side to the other. Equally rare is a flat level field.

Is "he" me?

I'm thinking another possible concern would be grabbing a rock, stump, or pile of whatever and dragging it backward as opposed to lifting and transporting.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm thinking another possible concern would be grabbing a rock, stump, or pile of whatever and dragging it backward as opposed to lifting and transporting.

Yes that would put strain on the pins. Typically though we tend to lift and curl more than pull directly backwards. Again, with appropriate length pins it wouldn't matter.

 

[IslandTractor]

He might be ok if he's super careful and centers his loads. With a loose fitting grapple I suspect twisting a loader arm would be much easier. Rarely are grapple loads perfectly distributed from one side to the other. Equally rare is a flat level field.

I'm not thinking a "loose fitting" grapple would put any more strain or twist on loader arms than a tightly fit grapple. There might be a tad of slop but ultimately the forces on the loader arms would be within their design specs unless the load is huge and really off center. For practical purposes that type of "load" would be like hooking one end of the grapple under a root and lifting. Generally the loaders are strongly enough built that with a progressive load like that you will feel the tractor become unbalanced before you hurt the loader.

Unbalanced loads are not desirable but of course we all carry them in our grapples almost all the time. Except for shock loads on the grapple such as when hitting a big rock or stump with one side of the grapple while moving at speed, I'd be more worried about tractor stability than twisting the loader with a poorly centered load. I often reposition loads once I have extracted them if I think it is lopsided. Easiest way to do it is to just put the loaded grapple down, raise the upper grapple arm and lift a bit. You'll see immediately which side is overloaded. Then reposition the tractor and repeat until the load is reasonably balanced. With a big log sometimes I will do that two or three times until I'm happy but with most loads it isn't critical.

 

[Rockgod]

Is "he" me?

I'm thinking another possible concern would be grabbing a rock, stump, or pile of whatever and dragging it backward as opposed to lifting and transporting.

Exactlly, lots of things can go wrong at that point. Back dragging with a bucket is where I noticed the loose fit on mine. While in the cab I kept hearing this "pop" sound. Mind you I was in a cab with the turbo/engine going. Come to find out the right side carrier/loader arm kept popping out of the top of the bucket. This was with a 1/4-3/8" gap.



Edit: The right side slid down the bucket bracket, not completely out of the mount/bracket.

 

[Rockgod]

I'm not thinking a "loose fitting" grapple would put any more strain or twist on loader arms than a tightly fit grapple. There might be a tad of slop but ultimately the forces on the loader arms would be within their design specs unless the load is huge and really off center. For practical purposes that type of "load" would be like hooking one end of the grapple under a root and lifting.

How do you know all this for sure? Sounds like conjecture to me.

If you want a grapple moving all around on it's mounts then have at it. I'd rather have a tighter fit with these types of loads.

 

[IslandTractor]

How do you know all this for sure? Sounds like conjecture to me.

If you want a grapple moving all around on it's mounts then have at it. I'd rather have a tighter fit with these types of loads.

Your comments are conjecture. Explain your theory of how a jiggle in a grapple mount would strain the loader arms. I've given some basic physics principles and experience to explain my answer.

 

[Rockgod]

Your comments are conjecture. Explain your theory of how a jiggle in a grapple mount would strain the loader arms. I've given some basic physics principles and experience to explain my answer.

Common sense, would you drive around with loose lug nuts? Have I got scientific evidence? Of course not, and neither do you. If you wanna tell people everything will be fine then so be it. dustinfox and others can make up their own mind.

I'll say it again...

"If you want a grapple moving all around on it's mounts then have at it. I'd rather have a tighter fit with these types of loads"

 

[dustinfox]

Well it seems that Wildcat isn't taking this seriously. They asked me to email the photos but I never heard back from them.

 

[Glen Watkins]

Sounds and looks like the grapple needs a shim welded on the bottom. Did you ask Wildcat what they wanted to do to make this right? Maybe you got to line up a local welder to make this right. Sure Wildcat will cover the cost!