Brush Grapple Preferred Width?

[Snowback]

You have poked a bee's nest here. Lots of opinions on wide vs narrow and single vs dual lid. There are pros and cons to each setup, but any grapple is better than no grapple at all in my opinion.

A big consideration is to get a strong, but light grapple so as to maximize lift capacity. As to width, I have a mid size tractor and chose a 60" as it is my guage for fitting through tight spots in the woods and it provides a stable platform for moving long logs around without them bouncing around on a narrower unit. If my tractor was wider than 60" I would not have gone wider. In fact the 50" EA compact grapple would have worked fine for me and saved another hundred pounds. The really narrow models will let you grub roots and rocks with more force and precision, but so far my 60" has been small enough to get in and under any trees I've needed to remove.

Single lid was fine for me and I have hauled some odd shaped loads, but it has been mostly brush, stump and trees. The single lid is basically half as wide as the bottom of grapple and sits in the middle. Lots of good threads to read debates and pros cons of each width and lid type, so please do a quick search on that. There are also simply bucket bolt on systems, root rake grapples vs L shaped root grapples, varying hydraulic configurations, etc... The one nice thing about the type of grapple pictured here is that you can get the tines into the ground 4-5" and literally rake/grub out roots while the grapple rides on the round tube bars and and helps keep it from diving straight down. That would be a little harder with pallet forks, which do seem to work really well for many types of use as well. (Awesome pics Sawyer Rob!) You really cannot go wrong either way.

Here is a starter thread with a ton of discussion - http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/267492-wicked-root-debris-grapple-11.html

The pics below are a 60" Single Lid EA Wicked Grapple using an EA third function kit. (WR Long sourced) The Tractor is a Mahindra 2538 with 66" standard bucket and 60" width of tractor. I could not do without this implement. You have more weight and lift capacity, and would be happy with this type of setup I believe. If you do have it built locally, just watch the weight. This one is about 380 pounds and is engineered to be bullet proof with weight shaved in proper places. I have seen similar looking units that weigh 700 pounds +. Good luck! You'll love your grapple.

 

[k0ua]

I think snowback said it all. I really don't have anything to add.

 

[carmedic310]

My bucket is also 72.I tried a 72 in grapple on mine I thought it felt a little heavy once loaded so I ended up buying a 60inch works great

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Rob, that is impressive versatility no doubt. To be honest, I am still torn as to whether get a traditional brush type grapple or some form of pallet fork grapple such a cheap set of 48", 3000 or 4000# forks and the adjustable Add-A-Grapple shown in the link below for about the same or possibly less cost than a dedicated grapple and maybe have the best of both worlds. Or am I kidding myself that the pallet grapple compromise wouldn't sacrifice some functionality in certain cases as opposed to the function of dedicated attachments?
Thanks everyone for all your input thus far.
Rick

I can't see where a dedicated grapple will do anything that my set up won't do, (maybe in an individual specialized circumstance you could find something ?) but I see LOT'S of "every day" things, that my set up WILL do that a grapple won't...

I think it's important to buy a grapple made to go with the pallet forks, or you will give something up!

I know guys want the "meanest looking" grapple and others on this site ooow and aaaw over it, but looks doesn't make it work better, and I'm ALL ABOUT how it works and last, I don't care if some one else's look meaner! I'm just not trying to keep up with any yuppie neighbors! lol

SR

 

[rkaufmann]

I can't see where a dedicated grapple will do anything that my set up won't do, (maybe in an individual specialized circumstance you could find something ?) but I see LOT'S of "every day" things, that my set up WILL do that a grapple won't...

I think it's important to buy a grapple made to go with the pallet forks, or you will give something up!

I know guys want the "meanest looking" grapple and others on this site ooow and aaaw over it, but looks doesn't make it work better, and I'm ALL ABOUT how it works and last, I don't care if some one else's look meaner! I'm just not trying to keep up with any yuppie neighbors! lol

SR

I can see this is going to be a tough decision for me. Rob, can you elaborate on some things your pallet fork grapple will do that a regular grapple won't? I'm too all about best function, but must consider cost so I guess I'm looking for the best function overall for the price. Maybe I'm over thinking this whole thing, but it represents a major purchase for me. The meanest looking grapple is the farthest thing from my mind as well.
Rick

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I can see this is going to be a tough decision for me. Rob, can you elaborate on some things your pallet fork grapple will do that a regular grapple won't?Rick

Think about it... You can do EVERYTHING you can do with pallet forks, and pretty much EVERY THING you can do with a dedicated grapple...

Can a dedicated grapple do everything you can do with "pallet forks"??

SR

 

[rkaufmann]

Think about it... You can do EVERYTHING you can do with pallet forks, and pretty much EVERY THING you can do with a dedicated grapple...

Can a dedicated grapple do everything you can do with "pallet forks"??

SR

Well Rob I guess I can't argue with that logic. I will ponder this a little more and will post some pictures of what I'm getting when I make my final decision. Thanks everyone for all your input.
Rick

 

[KenB2920]

I have a 72" dual lid grapple. I like it and it works great. I would buy it again.

As for budget, I like the idea of the pallet fork grapple. Great concept that appears to work great. I already have forks but wanted / needed a grapple.

The only couple things I can think of that a grapple will do that a fork grapple won't are:

1) more breakout force with the grapple as the tips are closer to the machine and not 48" out. But then have a stronger machine than mine could negate this totally.

2) Having several ribs at the bottom keeps shorter / smaller sticks held in the grip as appose to falling through with only 2 forks.

3) the front of my "tines" stick out about 6" with a bar between them preventing digging deep into the earth. This is good for a couple reasons. A) it can break several roots at a time (as there are multiple tines) B) it works like a rake in forward and reverse leaving dirt behind and grabbing roots putting them in a nice pile for easy pickup.

4) I can't really put down pressure on my forks. (Some others can but mine and some others I've seen don't like down force)

If budget was an issue though, these pallet grapple would probably be my purchase. They look fantastic and would get most necessary work done.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Wider isn't better as far as I am concerned.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I got this one, simply because it became available, cheap! And I love it, except recently noticed that although I can pick up brush and stones, it won't pick up a pile of logs. Drives me nuts! They just get squeezed out til I only have one or two.

I also have the pallet fork with a grapple, but use it more for carrying hand-bombed brush.

My biggest frustration by far though, is trying to clean up the many slash piles in a harvested pine forest. I can't get my load out between the trees! A clam on a boom might work better.