Root grapple or chipper? Gonna buy a new toy...

[ray299]

Hi all, I'm clearing about an acre for a garden and more grass and sun. I have a lot of brush. I can move it with the forks, but it does take time. If I buy a chipper I can chip it all. If I buy a root grapple I can pick it up and pile it somewhere pretty easy without it dropping all over the place... And then I can use it to pull roots out which will be easier than using my rake and disc harrow...I'm leaning toward buying the third function valve (I have a mahindra max 26) and root grapple which would be about the seat cost as a 8 inch woodmaxx chipper... Anyone want to cast out an opinion? Help me decide?

 

[Oldoak]

The decision is yours alone to make. Me, I would buy the grapple. You would probably have additional use for the grapple after your original project is done. And I would rent a chipper if they were available for rent in your area.

When I trim my 3 acre orchard, I trim all the trees, windrowing all the branches in the same direction. Then when I rent a chipper, all my time is spent chipping, not trimming or gathering branches, which cuts down on the rental time and money.

 

[ericm979]

What will you do with the brush? If you plan on piling it up and leaving it to rot or burning it, then you don't need a chipper. Can you get the tractor to the brush? If there's a lot that is on slopes or in other areas that you can't reach with the grapple, you'll be pulling it to accessible areas by hand or with the tractor. That leaves less for the grapple to do. Can you pull up your brush with the grapple, or do you have to chain saw it and pile it first?

I have 10 acres of brush and another 10 of trees. Most of the brush is thick gnarled coyotebrush. The parcel is sloped so I can't drive a tractor over it wherever I want. (the pics I see here of people's land is always much flatter than mine). I can only go on the flatter areas or roads. We can't burn here, and coyote brush takes forever to decompose. While I could use a grapple, especially to move big poison oak bushes, I got the chipper first. When I'm done with my coffee I'll be unpacking the Woodmaxx that arrived yesterday. I bought a chipper vs renting because I can get that PTO chipper in places a trailer won't go. With my land I'm going to be chipping a lot, as long as I live here. We've got 70 inches of rain this year and stuff grows fast. Owning a chipper means that I can go do an hour or two after work without taking the 1.5 hour round trip to town to the rental place.

 

[Oldoak]

And there you have it. Two different scenarios. Two opposite replies so far. That is why only you can decide what the best option for YOU.

On another note, I know being allergic to poison ivory and poison oak, like I am, I wouldn't even think of running it through a chipper or burning it.

 

[bigtiller]

When I have to deal with brush, I don't use the chipper part of my chipper/shredder much at all, the shredder does 90% of the chip making. Either way, it is a lot of work! Sometimes I wish I had a grapple and a match.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Hi all, I'm clearing about an acre for a garden and more grass and sun. I have a lot of brush. I can move it with the forks, but it does take time. If I buy a chipper I can chip it all. If I buy a root grapple I can pick it up and pile it somewhere pretty easy without it dropping all over the place... And then I can use it to pull roots out which will be easier than using my rake and disc harrow...I'm leaning toward buying the third function valve (I have a mahindra max 26) and root grapple which would be about the seat cost as a 8 inch woodmaxx chipper... Anyone want to cast out an opinion? Help me decide?

What do you mean by "brush". If it is 2-3" saplings a chipper may be appropriate. If it is copses of 1" choke cherry, blueberry, forsythia, sumac, horsebriars and the like, a chipper shredder would be more appropriate. As you mention roots but not trees or stumps, I will assume it was pasture land not too long ago. I will also assume that since you have forks you also have a FEL. You might consider hiring a brush-hog to mow and chop, then use a tooth bar of some type on the FEL to bulldoze the debris somewhere convenient to let it rot or to pick away at it. You could then use the tooth bar to rip up the roots. A root grapple might be more efficient than the bucket and tooth bar but certainly costs a lot more. An acre is not a lot of land, but I do not know how much more land you have and what other projects you may have in mind.

 

[papa4fofox]

A grapple is a much more versatile attachment.....handle brush, pickup logs and stones, clear roots and rocks from the soil. Unless you anticipate a continuing need to chip brush I believe you will get a lot more use of a grapple. Designate a disposal site on your property and put your brush there with the grapple.

 

[ericm979]

On another note, I know being allergic to poison ivory and poison oak, like I am, I wouldn't even think of running it through a chipper or burning it.

Someone would have to be extra dumb to do that.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

Get the grapple, rent a chipper. You'd be amazed how fast a large chipper with a 4"-6" capacity can eat through limbs.

 

[Oldoak]

Someone would have to be extra dumb to do that.

Or some poor soul just simply not recognize it.