Which grapple? Landpride vs EA vs MTL for Kubota L3560LE

[CoolTech]

After much research including reading dozens of threads on TBN, I'm about ready to pull the trigger on my first tractor -- a Kubota L2501 HST. Since one of the primary uses will being clearing cedar brush (here in the Texas hill country we refer to juniper as "cedar"), I am strongly considering adding a grapple.

I too am in the market for a grapple and learning a lot from the replies in this thread.

My first tractor was a L2501. I liked it a lot but I also learned more about what was important to me. I'll share - maybe my concerns/issues are not at all applicable to you - but maybe some are.

Can't help but comment on the treadle pedal. It is easy enough to operate if you are sitting upright and facing forward. But, there will be many occasions when you are twisted around in your seat (connecting or disconnecting an implement, for example) and trying to operate the treadle pedal in these scenarios was very difficult for me. Try to simulate this next chance you get to sit on the 2501. Maybe it is not a big problem for others?

I found the exhaust exit on the 2501 to be positioned such that I was always breathing the fumes. Perhaps not a deal killer but this was a real nuisance.

Finally, the biggest lesson learned on the 2501. It has relatively weak FEL lifting capacity - perhaps especially when compared to other brands. A common mistake is to dismiss this - thinking that you do not have applications where you need the extra capacity... but you do. When you are using the bucket to scoop up heavier material (sand, rock, road base, etc) the technique is to slowly drive into the material and then lift/curl the bucket as it fills. If you have piles of this material enabling you to get nice full buckets - you will find that limited lift/curl capacity may often require you to stop or even back up a little before you can lift. I found this to be a little annoying (but I am admittedly spoiled by the almost unlimited capability of my Case 580M).

Anyway, my intent is not to bash the 2501 - as it is a very fine tractor. In my case, I moved on after 1-year to a tractor that had much higher FEL lift capacity, no treadle pedal, and no exhaust fumes in my face. It was really no harm/no foul because with Kubota's excellent resale value I pretty much got what I paid for it when I traded up.

 

[ScottHam]

Thank you all for the very helpful input. I truly appreciate all of the experience and insight you are sharing. FYI -- I just watched a Youtube video by Homestead Bandwagon where he does the same activities with each of a root rake grapple and a rock rake grapple. It was very enlightening.

 

[coobie]

After much research including reading dozens of threads on TBN, I'm about ready to pull the trigger on my first tractor -- a Kubota L2501 HST. Since one of the primary uses will being clearing cedar brush (here in the Texas hill country we refer to juniper as "cedar"), I am strongly considering adding a grapple. I will use it for moving and stacking piles of logs/branches/limbs/brush, as well as digging out smaller saplings and bushes. I imagine a grapple would also be helpful in pulling out old stumps and other miscellaneous tasks. The ground at my place is rocky, hilly and uneven, and the brush is thick. Based on my research, it seems that Landpride, EA and MTL all make great products that will get the job done. My question is regarding the style -- the claw type like the Landpride SGC06 with short bottom tines, or the root type like the EA Wicked Root or the MTL RG7 with longer bottom tines. It seems like the longer bottom tines would be more versatile and allow carrying of a wider variety of materials without crushing it, but the shorter bottom tines may be better for digging up bushes. I appreciate any thoughts you all have. Thank you.

I am very happy with my MTL grapple.Very stout heavy duty grapple.

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[coobie]

BTW - you would be well to consider modifying your grill guard also. Limbs, sticks and stobs have a nasty way of damaging your radiator - grill - battery. I had a local welding shop add this expanded metal to my OEM grill guard.
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Yes sir, good addition ..Front grill guard

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[2manyrocks]

Thank you all for the very helpful input. I truly appreciate all of the experience and insight you are sharing. FYI -- I just watched a Youtube video by Homestead Bandwagon where he does the same activities with each of a root rake grapple and a rock rake grapple. It was very enlightening.

Homestead Bandwagon mentions the potential danger of digging with exposed cylinder rods at 25:50 in that video. You can also watch how the cylinder rods are extended on the two different grapple styles he compares by watching the segments at 9 minutes and 19:08 minutes.

 

[oosik]

My weight charts - yes. I went on the internet and simply typed in - "log weight chart" and "rock weight chart". Up came these charts. Both give weight based upon several parameters. Log - type of tree - averaged diameter - length. Rock - type of rock - cubic feet of rock. For me it is simple. The only type of tree I have here - Ponderosa pine. 100% of all my rock is basaltic lava.

For the trees - you need the average diameter and length. I've gone even simpler. Any trees 24" in diameter or less are cut to ten foot length. Anything over 24" are cut to five feet long. That way anything I want to move is less than 2300#.

Rocks require that you calculate the cubic feet - length x width x depth. No need for the chart here. I have Alkaline basaltic rock here and it weighs - on the average - 235# per cubic foot.

So........ this rock weighs close to or at 3000#. It was an error on my part to move this. I had to move it a tad over half a mile. Kept it low - knuckle dragging and it took me 3/4 of an hour to make the move. If I ever get involved with something like this again - I will drag it. It is 4 feet wide - 2.5 feet high and 2 feet deep.

 

[2manyrocks]

I've read that the traditional method of moving large rocks was something called a stone boat or essentially a very strong wooden sled on runners. It's still a good method when the situation calls for it.

Red oak seems to be about the heaviest species of wood I'll be moving. Maybe I can paint some width & length reference marks on my grapple to estimate a safe load based on those charts.

 

[servmgr64]

For my needs I bought the EA 60" Grapple & the MTL tree/post puller. One to move the brush & the other pulls the stumps or even the whole tree. I use them with my L3560 & a box blade for counterbalance & find them both to be very capable attachments.

 

[2manyrocks]

FWIW, I had to pick up some limbs today that blew down in a recent storm. Made these pictures to show the amount of cylinder rod extension on my L2501. The cylinder rods are extended 13 1/8 inches in the first picture.

I personally wouldn't recommend trying to use this style of grapple with the upward teeth as a root rake to dig in the dirt with the cylinder rods extended.

In my limited experience so far, the upward teeth help hold material in the grapple, but make it a little harder to dump the material.

I have never used a clamshell/root rake grapple myself. I suspect there would be less cylinder rod extension, but I also suspect the clamshell/root rake design is more dependent on the grapple lid holding the material in the grapple.

 

[ScottHam]

The pics showing the rod extension is enlightening. Thank you. Regardless of which grapple I get, I plan to be very careful engaging the ground (if at all) after reading all these helpful comments. Seems like a stump bucket or something similar would be better for digging things out.....