Another Satisfied Millonzi Owner

KB4330 · Sep 1, 2007

I took delivery of a new LD-48 grapple about 3 weeks ago. I made my choice after almost a full year of research and ultimately based my decision on the recommendations of the folks here that have them. I can say without a doubt I am glad I went with this unit. For what I will do, it is pretty near perfect.

I have not had a lot of time with it but have managed to move a few felled trees and move some RR ties from one part of the property to another. I also have a ton of brush and debris to clear so it will get a good workout in the next few days. The line of sight on this thing is perfect and you can pick things up with surgical precision as you can see in pics 005/006.

One question I had for any of you other Millonzi owners is that in pic 003, you can see that the middle two tines are cut/dropped lower than the other outside ones. Any ideas as to why they might do it this way? No real concerns, more just curious.

The only complaints that I have are more nitpicky than anything. First the hydraulic hoses are the exact same length and since the cylinder ports are about 1 ft. apart, it required me to either replace it or add a 1ft section to the end in order to have full loader function. Not a huge deal but it seems like an easy fix on Millonzi's part to make one hose a foot longer to compensate for the space between the cylinder ports. Second, the quick attach mount on the grapple and the width of the QA mount on my loader only has about 3/16" total clearance. Again, not a huge deal but all my other buckets have probably 1/2" total clearance. I'll just have to get better at hitting my target.

Here are some pics in no particular order. Enjoy!

KB

kennyd · Sep 1, 2007

That's awsome looking

crbr · Sep 1, 2007

Very nice.

I like your shed. Maybe a few pics of the shed if you please?

And a pic or three of these? ==> 3 Rear Remotes, 3rd function loader valve (from your sig line).

KB4330 · Sep 1, 2007

crbr said:
Very nice.

I like your shed. Maybe a few pics of the shed if you please?

And a pic or three of these? ==> 3 Rear Remotes, 3rd function loader valve (from your sig line).

Here you go.

IslandTractor · Sep 1, 2007

Welcome to the Millonzi club

. I have about a year and a half on my LD48 now and still find it about the most useful implement I own. I've barely had a bucket on the tractor since getting the grapple.

Regarding your questions and comments. I agree that it would make sense to make one of the hoses a bit longer than the other. On my first tractor that was not a problem for me as the hoses that connected to the grapple hoses were long enough that I never had an issue. On my new tractor the grapple hoses attach to connectors mounted on the FEL torque tube and I will need to replace one with a longer hose as I cannot fully dump without stretching the lines. John, Joe, are you listening...it would make sense to do exactly as KB4330 states...make the top hose a foot or 16 inches longer.

My grapple also has the two middle tines that have a longer "elbow" compared to the others. I presume this is to increase the strength of the grapple but that is just an assumption. It doesn't interfer with function at all.

Funny you should mention that the quick attach is tight. I like it tight as that prevents it from sliding left or right when you put sideways pressure on the grapple. (try not to do that but when you have a tree in the grapple and are trying to break it loose from it's roots by twisting it it is unavoidable). On my old tractor the QA was tight and I just learned to line up on the left side exactly so that it fit. No problems at all doing that. On my new tractor the QA on the FEL is narrower and there is about 3-4 inches space on each side. That I don't like as it allows the grapple to shift even after it is locked in place. That is a Kioti loader QA issue though, not a Millonzi grapple QA issue. As I recall, the Millonzi grapple QA is just about 44 and a half inches which is pretty much the "universal skid steer" QA specification.

Good luck with your grapple. Hope you find it as useful as I find mine.

I'm jealous of your shed. I keep mine in an old barn but there is barely room to walk around it and I need to leave buckets and forks etc outside. Maybe next year....

GIJOE · Sep 1, 2007

The two middle tines are cut with a "heel" (so to speak) to make it more stable when it is disconnected from the tractor. Without it, the grapple would topple backwards.

Joe

crbr · Sep 2, 2007

Thank you for the pics KB.... A nice looking playground you have there.

:tiphat:

KB4330 · Sep 2, 2007

IslandTractor said:
Welcome to the Millonzi club . I have about a year and a half on my LD48 now and still find it about the most useful implement I own. I've barely had a bucket on the tractor since getting the grapple.

Regarding your questions and comments. I agree that it would make sense to make one of the hoses a bit longer than the other. On my first tractor that was not a problem for me as the hoses that connected to the grapple hoses were long enough that I never had an issue. On my new tractor the grapple hoses attach to connectors mounted on the FEL torque tube and I will need to replace one with a longer hose as I cannot fully dump without stretching the lines. John, Joe, are you listening...it would make sense to do exactly as KB4330 states...make the top hose a foot or 16 inches longer.

My grapple also has the two middle tines that have a longer "elbow" compared to the others. I presume this is to increase the strength of the grapple but that is just an assumption. It doesn't interfer with function at all.

Funny you should mention that the quick attach is tight. I like it tight as that prevents it from sliding left or right when you put sideways pressure on the grapple. (try not to do that but when you have a tree in the grapple and are trying to break it loose from it's roots by twisting it it is unavoidable). On my old tractor the QA was tight and I just learned to line up on the left side exactly so that it fit. No problems at all doing that. On my new tractor the QA on the FEL is narrower and there is about 3-4 inches space on each side. That I don't like as it allows the grapple to shift even after it is locked in place. That is a Kioti loader QA issue though, not a Millonzi grapple QA issue. As I recall, the Millonzi grapple QA is just about 44 and a half inches which is pretty much the "universal skid steer" QA specification.

Good luck with your grapple. Hope you find it as useful as I find mine.

I'm jealous of your shed. I keep mine in an old barn but there is barely room to walk around it and I need to leave buckets and forks etc outside. Maybe next year....

Thanks, your pics and posts went a long way in helping me make my decision. As for the two middle tines, I figured it had to do with strengthening the tines in line with the grapple. The description that GIJOE gave also makes sense.

I think you are absolutely correct in regards to the fit of the grapple on the QA. It didn't dawn on me initially but having it tighter seems like a good idea given the ineveitable torsional loads it will be taking. Sorry to hear about your new loaders issue with that. You might be able to weld in some re-inforcement pieces on the grapple mount to snug up the fit, if that makes sense.

KB