50" vs 54" Wicked Grapple

[KentT]

I'm getting ready to order a Wicked Grapple - and am torn between these two sizes. Going on a 30HP Power Trac with 1200 lbs lift loader, with a custom attachment plate. Based on my previous experience with a slightly smaller Power Trac and their proprietary grapple bucket, I was more often limited by how much brush I could get into grapple instead of the weight that I was lifting. Note that normal technique with a Power Trac is to get a huge bite of brush, lift it only about 3 feet off the ground and back up near the burn pile then lift and push the load onto it. The Power Trac lifting limits are actually the tipping point, inducing what's called the "PT. Pucker" - the hydraulics are actually far stronger than that limit.

So, I'm considering the 349 lb 54" grapple with a 37" opening instead of the 275 lb 50" grapple with a 30" opening. Note my Power Trac has a 56" width. I don't want to go any bigger than 54" grapple due to potential torsional twist on the relatively small (19" wide) quick attach plate.

1. Does anyone have direct experience with both sizes to compare?

2. To those with the 50" grapple, do you sometimes wish you could get a bigger bite?

3. To those with the 54" grapple, how often do find that you've "bitten off" more brush than your tractor can lift?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Theyre both nice and narrow. Big bite is best. You can always close it down a little in rare cases where you get interference.

 

[KentT]

For additional info, here's a couple of extreme examples of loads that I've successfully taken to the burn pile with the old, smaller 25hp gas Power Trac (800 lb lift) by dragging backwards to the burn pile then lifting/pushing the load onto the pile:




Here's a pic of the Power Trac proprietary self-centering quick attach mechanism, the width of the loader arms.