snabity
New member
I live on about 4 acres of wooded property with approximately 20 acres of common area with horse trails, trees, and open grass. I finally decided to buy a 50 - 60" width rake grapple for my JD 3039R. My goal was to find a double grapple that would handle uneven loads and not be so heavy to limit lifting capacity.
When I started researching grapples, I went to the standard grapple companies, EA, Titan, Frontier, etc. I found their grapples to be very heavy with a single grapple for the width I wanted. I then saw an episode of Tractor Time with Tim, with Tim using a dual rake grapple with railroad ties on a JD 2038R. It looked promising.
I reached out to Tim at TTWT, and he sent me to Precision Mfg. I talked to Bill Reed, President of Precision, and he answered my questions. He told me the grapple I was interested in weighed only 261 lbs and made with AR400 steel. Even with this information, I was still skeptical of the weight, capabilities, and I didn't know much about Precision. I went back to the competitor's websites to compare again and started to waver on whether to get the heavy grapple and settle for one long grapple arm or stick to my specs. I decided to go with my original specs and ordered the Precision Mini 322DBL Rake Grapple with a double grapple that is 57" wide.
I had it shipped to my local JD dealer to install. The install was easy, and the JD dealer commented, "how light the grapple was", "impressed with the quality," and "it operates smoothly."
Now, time for the test. It performed better than I expected! I was like a little kid with a new toy. I didn't realize how many of the loads I picked up were uneven. The dual grapple functionality kept the unbalanced loads tight without falling out. I can't imagine doing work with a single grapple unless everything is uniform. The other benefit of the lighter Mini 322, I was able to pick up heavier loads at a time. Also, the grapple connected effortlessly on the JD tractor, making bucket changes a snap.
So, what are the negatives?
Precision grapples are not the most inexpensive grapples on the market retailing for $2495. They are priced similarly to other light-weight grapples that have only one hydraulic grapple arm. Also, I know it's minor, but I wished I could get the grapple in JD green. I saved $200 by using the TTWT discount code on Agfolks.com.
Overall, if you're looking for a light-weight, well built, dual rake grapple, the Precision Mfg. Mini322DBLSS double grapple is worth the look.
When I started researching grapples, I went to the standard grapple companies, EA, Titan, Frontier, etc. I found their grapples to be very heavy with a single grapple for the width I wanted. I then saw an episode of Tractor Time with Tim, with Tim using a dual rake grapple with railroad ties on a JD 2038R. It looked promising.
I reached out to Tim at TTWT, and he sent me to Precision Mfg. I talked to Bill Reed, President of Precision, and he answered my questions. He told me the grapple I was interested in weighed only 261 lbs and made with AR400 steel. Even with this information, I was still skeptical of the weight, capabilities, and I didn't know much about Precision. I went back to the competitor's websites to compare again and started to waver on whether to get the heavy grapple and settle for one long grapple arm or stick to my specs. I decided to go with my original specs and ordered the Precision Mini 322DBL Rake Grapple with a double grapple that is 57" wide.
I had it shipped to my local JD dealer to install. The install was easy, and the JD dealer commented, "how light the grapple was", "impressed with the quality," and "it operates smoothly."
Now, time for the test. It performed better than I expected! I was like a little kid with a new toy. I didn't realize how many of the loads I picked up were uneven. The dual grapple functionality kept the unbalanced loads tight without falling out. I can't imagine doing work with a single grapple unless everything is uniform. The other benefit of the lighter Mini 322, I was able to pick up heavier loads at a time. Also, the grapple connected effortlessly on the JD tractor, making bucket changes a snap.
So, what are the negatives?
Precision grapples are not the most inexpensive grapples on the market retailing for $2495. They are priced similarly to other light-weight grapples that have only one hydraulic grapple arm. Also, I know it's minor, but I wished I could get the grapple in JD green. I saved $200 by using the TTWT discount code on Agfolks.com.
Overall, if you're looking for a light-weight, well built, dual rake grapple, the Precision Mfg. Mini322DBLSS double grapple is worth the look.
