Grapple 48" WildKat grapple on order

[JFS2295]

Thought I'd throw up a picture of my little Ford 1710 with the 48" grapple and a Long pin-on to QA plate . This is as much as the little 1710's hydraulics can lift.



Most of the old Christmas tree clearing was done with my Allis HD-9B dozer, but there were a few stragglers where using the dozer would have damaged other trees so had to dig them out with the hoe can carry them to the back. This was an overgrown Scotch Pine.

 

[pane056]

Hello;

Yesterday I ordered this WK 48" grapple from Connie. She said the welders are off all week and it won't be until Monday before they will build it.
Is this Pin and Shim slop issue something I will have to deal with on a JD 300CX Quick Park loader?

Thanks, nicholas

 

[pane056]

Hello;

Ordered the Wildkat 48" grapple yesterday. After taking another look at the 300CX loader I'm wondering if I should have ordered the 60" from PalletForks.com or maybe the 66" from Wildkat.
It seems that the 48" might be a bit small

Any words from the Wise? thanks, nicholas

 

[k0ua]

Hello;

Yesterday I ordered this WK 48" grapple from Connie. She said the welders are off all week and it won't be until Monday before they will build it.
Is this Pin and Shim slop issue something I will have to deal with on a JD 300CX Quick Park loader?

Thanks, nicholas

If your JD has the traditional JD hook and pin arrangement, I would think you would not have any problems.. the problems are on the SSQA ones, some have had a lot of slop and needed the shims welded in. Pretty easy thing if you have a welder, about a 10 or 15 minute job including setup for a professional. As for the size, I am no expert, and I don't have one, ( I would like to have one!) but from what I have read, the folks that have the 48, and larger tractors seem to think the 48 is big enough. They think the larger ones belong on SkidSteers which have lots more lifting capacity.

James K0UA

 

[bigballer]

Hello;

Ordered the Wildkat 48" grapple yesterday. After taking another look at the 300CX loader I'm wondering if I should have ordered the 60" from PalletForks.com or maybe the 66" from Wildkat.
It seems that the 48" might be a bit small

Any words from the Wise? thanks, nicholas

it looks like the specs of your 3320 are similar to my 3400 and i believe a 60" would have been wasted on me. weight of grapple was concern for me. obviously brush is not too heavy but when moving logs or stumps around i would rather have lifting capacity over volume capacity and hte heavier/bigger the grapple the less left over for lift.. for me 48" is perfect. one thing i notice on mine is that the jaws only open to 36" where some of the others open further, this would be handy when trying to get maximum grab coverage like on a pile of brush but i have found that i can angle the bottom of the grapple such that the upper arm clears most debris and if really needed i can push and roll ahead to compact the brush a little more before closing that gnarly arm down on it..

 

[dustinfox]

Hello;

Ordered the Wildkat 48" grapple yesterday. After taking another look at the 300CX loader I'm wondering if I should have ordered the 60" from PalletForks.com or maybe the 66" from Wildkat.
It seems that the 48" might be a bit small

Any words from the Wise? thanks, nicholas

You should consider the lift capacity of your loader also. The 48" grapple from Wildcat weighs over 400 pounds so already I've used up a third of my lift with just the grapple. So far I have not had a single incident where I wished I had a wider grapple but I have had times when I wished I had more lift. I'm pretty much "maxed out" here.

 

[pane056]

Hello;

Ask the man who ownes one!! NUFF SAID. I will follow those before me and stick with the 48" I have on order.

Thank you very much. nicholas

 

[Red Horse]

Good move. I have a 4720 and the 48" works well from my perspective. I'm with those who say-"add grapple weight and subtract payload". If I were a pro landclearing guy it wouldn't work but then again I wouldn't have a 4720 either!

 

[gumshu]

Hello;

Ordered the Wildkat 48" grapple yesterday. After taking another look at the 300CX loader I'm wondering if I should have ordered the 60" from PalletForks.com or maybe the 66" from Wildkat.
It seems that the 48" might be a bit small

Any words from the Wise? thanks, nicholas

I was thinking about size too before I ordered mine... weight was something to think about. It was either the 48" WildKat or the 60" North American Implements. I went with the 60" because it weighs only five pounds more than the 48" Wildcat. It was a tough choice.

 

[pane056]

Hello;

After all of the input provided on this forum I decided to buy the Wild Kat 48".
It's benn at the local truck terminal for over a week waiting to be delivered.
Due to an unexpected hospital stay I called them to put delivery on hold.
It will arrive tomorrow.

thanks, nicholas