Grapple Failure

94BULLITT · Mar 31, 2014

bhh said:
UPDATE:
I'm happy to report that Wildkat has generously offered to exchange the grapple, for which I am very thankful. I'll be updating my first post as well but have offered to incorporate any recent or future design changes to the grapple in this thread as well since this will most likely become resource for people using the forum to research a grapple purchase. Standing behind their product is a very good sign and using these failures as a tool to innovate and improve the product will be even better. Check back a little later for the details.

I'm glad they are stepping up and exchanging it for you. Is this one going to be a updater design?

CalG · Mar 31, 2014

bhh said:
UPDATE:
I'm happy to report that Wildkat has generously offered to exchange the grapple, for which I am very thankful. I'll be updating my first post as well but have offered to incorporate any recent or future design changes to the grapple in this thread as well since this will most likely become resource for people using the forum to research a grapple purchase. Standing behind their product is a very good sign and using these failures as a tool to innovate and improve the product will be even better. Check back a little later for the details.

And we all share your success!

As well as sharing the increase in pricing for these units "due to the costs of business".

Ain't free market socialism a wonderful thing! ;-)

bhh · Mar 31, 2014

94BULLITT said:
I'm glad they are stepping up and exchanging it for you. Is this one going to be a updater design?

Yet to be determined. I've requested details and hope to be able to relay good news of an updated design here. Reinforcements are easier to do before damage than afterwards so if not, I'll heavily reinforce before use but it would be great so see updated specifications as a new standard for this product.

LlamaLand1 · Mar 31, 2014

I am also glad to hear that they stepped up since I bought the same grapple and it just arrived a week ago. I have used it for a total of 30 minutes to move some downed tress around in the snow/mud and it seems to work fine. I do understand that it has limitations when compared to the heavier units costing double or triple the price. I was also concerned about having too much weight on the front after reading posts on this site so this model seemed a fair balance between price, weight & function.

bhh · Mar 31, 2014

LlamaLand1,
I used the grapple for about 20 hours or so before it failed and it worked fine as well prior to failure. I think it was the cumulative affects of the cylinder applying pressure to that top tube every time you clamp down on a load. Your machine is also a lot bigger and more powerful than mine as well so if I were you, I'd reach out to them and see if they will confirm the top tube thickness on yours is 1/4" thick. If not, I'd strongly encourage you to reinforce it prior to using it much as it is a much easier to reinforce prior to damage than afterwards. I am paying shipping charges, which I think is completely fair under the circumstances, but it is still an expense one wants to mitigate, not to mention the hassle of it all.

joshuabardwell · Mar 31, 2014

Might it be productive to install a separate pressure relief for the grapple cylinder? Replace the cylinder with a smaller one? Or is that just way overkill?

IslandTractor · Mar 31, 2014

CalG said:
And we all share your success!

As well as sharing the increase in pricing for these units "due to the costs of business".

Ain't free market socialism a wonderful thing! ;-)

You seem to have a bug up your azz about pressuring companies to 1) build decent products and 2) standing behind their products. The price a company sets should include consideration of the expenses associated with both. Do you think otherwise?

IslandTractor · Mar 31, 2014

bhh said:
UPDATE:
I'm happy to report that Wildkat has generously offered to exchange the grapple, for which I am very thankful. I'll be updating my first post as well but have offered to incorporate any recent or future design changes to the grapple in this thread as well since this will most likely become resource for people using the forum to research a grapple purchase. Standing behind their product is a very good sign and using these failures as a tool to innovate and improve the product will be even better. Check back a little later for the details.

I wouldn't be happy at all if they are just sending you another identical grapple. It will suffer the same fate. Ask if they have changed the materials or engineering.

IslandTractor · Mar 31, 2014

bhh said:
Yet to be determined. I've requested details and hope to be able to relay good news of an updated design here. Reinforcements are easier to do before damage than afterwards so if not, I'll heavily reinforce before use but it would be great so see updated specifications as a new standard for this product.

You should NOT have to do that. Either Wildkat has improved the design or materials or they remain a hazard.

In Russia people who bought a Lada new would, as a first order of business, literally take it completely apart and then reassemble it properly. I hope Wildkat is not using the same strategy as Lada.

joshuabardwell · Mar 31, 2014

IslandTractor said:
You should NOT have to do that. Either Wildkat has improved the design or materials or they remain a hazard.

I dunno. The grapple is six months out of warranty, and they could always argue that he had used it out of its intended envelope. Giving him a brand new one seems pretty righteous to me. If he doesn't like it, he can always sell it. He'll take a hit, and he's out shipping, but he should be able to do okay since it's new-in-box (metaphorically speaking). Lots of people buy Harbor Freight stuff, do a little improvement on it, and are happy with the results. Maybe this is the same kind of thing.