The WICKED Root & Debris GRAPPLE!!!!!!!

[N2DFire]

No plans, since the 50" single lid grapple is rated for small compact tractors that are 35hp and less.
Currently, you can go to the 54" single lid for less than $200 and get 37" of opening.

The 50" weighs 255 pounds without the intermediate slats installed and 274 with them. Slats are included, but can be easily removed.
The 54" weighs 349 pounds.
Travis

Thanks Travis!

Now I have more points to ponder. LOL

On one hand ...
Most of what I foresee us doing would be more "Bulky" than "Heavy" (brush, root & briar piles, etc) in which case going with the lighter weight 50" even with the smaller opening width would save loader capacity. (Kioti CK35 w/ KL130 Loader - 1155lbs @ pins).

I can always "smoosh" the stuff I plan to move or make more trips - I can't create extra lift capacity when I go to move something I hadn't planned on.

On the other hand ...
How much difference would 75-95 lbs of "on paper" lift capacity really mean in the real world?
And is that really enough to outweigh the ability to get a bigger "bite" on said bulky stuff?

Oh well - first I gotta talk the old man into letting me "hack" into the hydraulics of his new tractor to add the 3rd function. LOL

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Man those units are SEXY!!

Thanks! If she thinks your tractor's sexy, put a Wicked Grapple on it and see what happens!!
Hey, we may wanna trademark that! :laughing:
Travis

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Can you confirm, or deny, that ya'll are working on a double lid design with a removable bar that would allow both lids to act as one?

Nothing like that in the works. We're staying with the current designs for now.

I'm not gonna mention this because I recommend it, but if you look closely at the lids, it would not be hard for someone to temporarily join the lids together. Notice there is a square tube and a round pipe.

Travis

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks Travis! Now I have more points to ponder. LOL On one hand ... Most of what I foresee us doing would be more "Bulky" than "Heavy" (brush, root & briar piles, etc) in which case going with the lighter weight 50" even with the smaller opening width would save loader capacity. (Kioti CK35 w/ KL130 Loader - 1155lbs @ pins). I can always "smoosh" the stuff I plan to move or make more trips - I can't create extra lift capacity when I go to move something I hadn't planned on. On the other hand ... How much difference would 75-95 lbs of "on paper" lift capacity really mean in the real world? And is that really enough to outweigh the ability to get a bigger "bite" on said bulky stuff? Oh well - first I gotta talk the old man into letting me "hack" into the hydraulics of his new tractor to add the 3rd function. LOL

FWIW, I would go with the lighter grapple with the CK and heavier with a DK or NX. Unless brush is the only thing you intend to grapple, it's best to maximize net lift capacity for the bigger rocks, stumps and logs you're going to deal with.

While there is little doubt that 37" is more convenient for squashing brush, it is not difficult at all to compact piles of brush so it will fit in a 30" opening. Remember that a single bite of brush is rarely a load worth transporting so typically we make little piles of brush where we are clearing and transport only every two or three or four grapplefulls. As brush is "sticky" you don't even need to get the whole pile inside the grapple jaws to transport it. You'll quickly master the "push and roll over" technique to compress brush. To do this, open grapple in front of pile with bottom tines at ground level and push into the pile to compress it. As you compress moving forwards, you slowly "dump" the grapple face forward over the top of the pile until you are compressing down on it too. At the point your upper jaw is about parallel to the ground, simply clamp the upper jaw to hold the compressed wad of brush in place and lift. Takes a bit of practice to master and also to judge how big a pile to start with but it is a very efficient way to maximize the per load amount of light brush for transport. Key point is that taking a bite of brush from its natural state will virtually never be as well compressed as if you use the two stage method of piling and then compressing for transport.

 

[Xfaxman]

--------------- Can you confirm, or deny, that ya'll are working on a double lid design with a removable bar that would allow both lids to act as one?

Why would you want that?

I have a double lid grapple and see no reason to pin them together, what am I missing?

 

[Carhartt Cowboy]

Why would you want that?

I have a double lid grapple and see no reason to pin them together, what am I missing?

Nothing really comes to mind right off the bat. I was going over the choice of one lid or two. Seems like if you can connect them together you have the best of both worlds. And if a situation, not thought of right now, does comes up....then you would have the capability.

 

[k0ua]

For what it's worth, if I had a ck 35 I would definitely go with the smaller lighter grapple. It is what I have on my DK35se and my lift capacity is several hundred lbs more than the CK.

 

[IslandTractor]

Nothing really comes to mind right off the bat. I was going over the choice of one lid or two. Seems like if you can connect them together you have the best of both worlds. And if a situation, not thought of right now, does comes up....then you would have the capability.

After ten years of grapple use I'm still trying to figure out what two lids do other than cost more, weigh more, and block the view more than a single lid. In ten years I've never wished I had two lids and never had any trouble at all grappling all manner of objects. I'd no more want two grapple lids than two thumbs on each hand. I do just fine with one but am open minded if someone can explain why two thumbs or lids are better than one.

 

[KenB2920]

Nothing like that in the works. We're staying with the current designs for now. I'm not gonna mention this because I recommend it, but if you look closely at the lids, it would not be hard for someone to temporarily join the lids together. Notice there is a square tube and a round pipe. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/attachments/435636-wicked-root-debris-grapple-20150721_141556-jpg"/> Travis

Genius !!!! No need for this yet but it adds an extra tool for the tool box....

 

[TomSeller]

[QUOTE="IslandTractor]I'd no more want two grapple lids than two thumbs on each hand. I do just fine with one but am open minded if someone can explain why two thumbs or lids are better than one.[/QUOTE]

Good analogy. A grapple is kind of like a hand with the fingers below and the thumb above when grabbing something. I haven't needed two thumbs on one hand before.