Smokeydog
Elite Member
54” EA wicked. Perfect for this size tractor. This is how we carry firewood to woodshed, then wood shed to house.
Grapple Sway my grapple decision. Homestead/CTA
54” EA wicked. Perfect for this size tractor. This is how we carry firewood to woodshed, then wood shed to house.
Midniteoyl
Elite Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2013
- Messages
- 4,911
- Location
- N. W. Indiana
- Tractor
- Kioti CK3510SE HST, Ford 3400, Gizmow ZTR, Simplicity 7016H
Mines on a Kioti CK3510 with ~1800lbs lift capacity, so a little more than yours, but the grapple itself is only ~400lbs @60" and my tractor doesnt seem to notice. Its made from AR400 or AR450. You are not gonna find many 60" grapples that weigh any less enough to make a difference and still be strong (*).
(*) There's at least one vid on youtube showing an early adopter of the Homestead grapple lid bending (while pulling on a stump) and Homestead refusing to help him out. Right afterwards the warning against using it to pull appeared on their site. Take that for what you will.
pgrimes
New member
Your scenario is exactly the same as mine. I wanted a light wt. but strong grapple to suit all my all-needs. I bought the EA with standard straight-out bars with a single top hold-down lid.
pgrimes
New member
Buy the EA compact wicked grapple and get to work. Review the videos that Ted has done on this grapple. He tries to tear everything up. In an older video he looks at the exact grapple he used in this video and he had only bent one of the back guards that are not the structural parts of the grapple.
I bought a 60in grapple similar to this one and have always regretted the extra expense I went to rather than buying this one. 50in will do everything that a 60in will do. Mine is 5 years old and has been put to the test. I love it, and I could not do the things I need to do without it! My wife agrees with that statement.
I posted a comment on the EA website but it may not be use today.
There are many manufacturers out there, bu
I bought a 60in grapple similar to this one and have always regretted the extra expense I went to rather than buying this one. 50in will do everything that a 60in will do. Mine is 5 years old and has been put to the test. I love it, and I could not do the things I need to do without it! My wife agrees with that statement.
I posted a comment on the EA website but it may not be use today.
There are many manufacturers out there, bu
Thank you for the heads up. I agree… the 400# range seemed to be the number where things got more rugged, fewer compromises. When I asked about the RK 60” on another site, many discouraged that kind of weight for my tractor, so I went shopping for lighter….
Thanks for the reply. Initially, I thought dual lid was the way to go, but again, got scared away by weight. I think my FEL capacity is close to yours. I assume you’re moving logs with it too. No problems with that weight? Might need to reconsider… oh man… here we go…
Midniteoyl
Elite Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2013
- Messages
- 4,911
- Location
- N. W. Indiana
- Tractor
- Kioti CK3510SE HST, Ford 3400, Gizmow ZTR, Simplicity 7016H
The number you're gonna want to go wit is the @19.7" forward spec since all your loads are actually forward of the pins (most use 24" forward, so even less capacity). I agree with the others here and think a good 48"-55" light weight grapple is more in line with what you need. My 2 top choices would be the 54" Granite Grapple or the 55" EA Wicked Root Grapple, personally. Both are light @ ~240lbs but tough. Stronger than your tractor can dish out, anyways, and you don't have much lifting capacity to waste on a bigger heavier unit. All it really means is maybe having to cut a log in 3 instead of 2.
I think the Granite Grapple will run $100-$200 or so more after shipping, but that shipping is right to your door instead of the local terminal (which is over an hour away for me). You do need to use your tractor and forks to get it off the truck though, no lift gate service. I actually just backed the truck up and 'tipped' the grapple into the back as I didn't have the tractor yet, since the grapple showed up in 3 days instead of the 4-6 weeks quoted.
But either grapple will do you good and give you a long service life. No worries.
I think the Granite Grapple will run $100-$200 or so more after shipping, but that shipping is right to your door instead of the local terminal (which is over an hour away for me). You do need to use your tractor and forks to get it off the truck though, no lift gate service. I actually just backed the truck up and 'tipped' the grapple into the back as I didn't have the tractor yet, since the grapple showed up in 3 days instead of the 4-6 weeks quoted.
But either grapple will do you good and give you a long service life. No worries.
JCoastie
Platinum Member
I have a 2020 60" Homestead Pinnacle Root grapple, the only weak spot I see is the lid, though I have not bent mine. I actually knocked my loader askew using the grapple and nothing happened to the grapple. Homestead realized the lid was a weak spot though and made it stronger in 2021, so I have no problem recommending it, in fact I was using it for about 5 hours today cleaning up moving trees and brush on my property.
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Right… so circling back to light weight being high priority and my original options… What do people think of the CTA? For the SSQA It’s only 210# (274/255# for EA), grade 80 steel (same as EA 50”) and about $400 cheaper than EA (shipping incl.) Not that the $400 makes a huge difference… I don’t mind paying more to get more.