Texas Grapple Shootout

[txdon]

Tractor Legend it looks just like mine except yours is wider and orange. I had a blast with mine today popping out 30' cedar trees and a few dead oaks. If I leave the lids up after a few hours the left one will creep down a few inches, if I leave my loader up it will also creep down a few inches, it is perfectly normal.

 

[TractorLegend]

Thanks for the input- these things are a beast! It adds a whole new dimension to the loader. Highly recommended for folks tired of lifting boulders, digging roots & large shrubs out by hand and lugging brush piles about.

 

[JRL305]

I ordered a WR Long OBG2-48 and the third function kit for my B3200 from EA. I got the hydralic kit and installed it yesterday in about an hour. Just waitin on the grapple now. I have a lot of uncleared hardwood forest that is nowhere near as level as any of you guys property and I need to get between trees that are pretty close together. I've been loading the brush into my FEL bucket with a pitchfork. I'm getting too old for that. Pictures to follow when it's all working. Great thread BTW...

 

[IslandTractor]

I ordered a WR Long OBG2-48 and the third function kit for my B3200 from EA. I got the hydralic kit and installed it yesterday in about an hour. Just waitin on the grapple now. I have a lot of uncleared hardwood forest that is nowhere near as level as any of you guys property and I need to get between trees that are pretty close together. I've been loading the brush into my FEL bucket with a pitchfork. I'm getting too old for that. Pictures to follow when it's all working. Great thread BTW...

That is a great grapple for your tractor (actually for any tractor under about 50hp). I have no doubt it will serve you well. My WRLong diverter valve has been trouble free too. Good luck.

 

[94BULLITT]

That is a great grapple for your tractor (actually for any tractor under about 50hp). I have no doubt it will serve you well. My WRLong diverter valve has been trouble free too. Good luck.

I still have not figured out how a grapple the that is great for a small 32hp CUT would also be great for a large 50hp CUT:confused2:

 

[94BULLITT]

That is a great grapple for your tractor (actually for any tractor under about 50hp). I have no doubt it will serve you well. My WRLong diverter valve has been trouble free too. Good luck.

I still have not figured out how a grapple the that is great for a small 32hp CUT would also be great for a large 50hp CUT:confused2:

 

[TomSeller]

I still have not figured out how a grapple the that is great for a small 32hp CUT would also be great for a large 50hp CUT:confused2:

Small size matters. If you need to dig the tines in the ground, the wide grapples don't work out. Too many tines to penetrate. Smaller grapples can pick up more weight than wider grapples due to FEL lift capacity. I have wide and narrow grapples and can appreciate both. But if I had only one to own, it would be narrow.

 

[94BULLITT]

Small size matters. If you need to dig the tines in the ground, the wide grapples don't work out. Too many tines to penetrate. Smaller grapples can pick up more weight than wider grapples due to FEL lift capacity. I have wide and narrow grapples and can appreciate both. But if I had only one to own, it would be narrow.

What is small on a 50HP cut is large on a 30HP cut. I would have saved 86lbs by going with a 54'' grapple instead of a 72." That is not going to make or break me. Most of the time a couple of extra tines is not going to hinder you.

 

[IslandTractor]

I still have not figured out how a grapple the that is great for a small 32hp CUT would also be great for a large 50hp CUT:confused2:

Have you ever seen the size of the grapple used by monster excavators??? About three feet wide.

There is a prevailing myth that standard bucket size equals grapple size. That is basically wrong or at least only true in a small number of potential grapple uses. A wide grapple is great for scraping up construction debris or collecting loose firewood or sticks etc. A narrow grapple however has significant advantages in how much force can be exerted on a root when digging for example. Brush is "sticky" so a small grapple can easily grab so much brush that you cannot see where you are driving. Yes, the brush hangs out both sides but it is securely held anyway. A small grapple weighs less so you have a larger net lift capacity (important for big rocks and stumps). A small grapple is far more maneuverable and easier to store. A small grapple costs less. Plenty of photos to back these up if you like.

My $500, 300lb grapple is now in it's ninth year of operation. It has some battle scars but works as well as the day I first mounted it on a 20hp tractor. For the past seven years it has been mounted on a 40hp tractor with 2700lb lift capacity. Find me a 50hp tractor with more mass and lift capacity than a Kioti DK40. The same exact grapple I have has been used successfully without incident on a Kubota M59 as well so perhaps I should have said "under 60hp". You cannot break a grapple if you use it properly. Don't twist it. That is how to break any grapple with any size tractor.

 

[TomSeller]

Most of the time a couple of extra tines is not going to hinder you.

When I have my 74" wide grapple on my 10,000 lb tractor, I have a hard time digging the tines into the ground. When I have a 48" grapple on the same machine, I can dig deeper and focus the tines much better. Very handy when popping tree root balls out of the ground. If you are simply moving light brush, wider is somewhat better. I like my 74" wide grapple as it clears most of my different tractors' tire tracks when pushing into debris. But when moving piles, the narrow grapple affords more lift and effectively a larger load. Your manufacturer has less difference in weight between sizes than many others. I forget which manufacturer you have.