Best/reasonably priced grapple?

[oosik]

Look at your weight lift charts in your FEL Op manual. It will give specific lift capacities at any/all lifting heights. My Land Pride SGC 1560 grapple is exceptionally heavy duty and heavy - 820#. However - in the five years I've had this grapple I've NEVER lifted anything to full height. For heavy - I lift & move large rocks and chunks of Ponderosa pine. With the grapple I can lift & move a rock or chunk of P. pine weighing 3000#+. This is because I never lift the load more than 6" off the ground. Limbs & brush do not count - they weigh next to nothing.

Understand what you will be doing with your grapple - know your capacities - purchase accordingly.

BTW - do yourself and your tractor a favor. Modify your OEM grill guard for added protection from limbs, stobs & sticks. Your radiator, grill & battery will thank you.

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[fried1765]

Mmmm... theoretically although most skid steers achieve higher hydraulic flow than your typical CUT. That means that if the attachment is designed for a skid steer it could be somewhat slow and/or weak when attached to a compact tractor.

Sellers of skid steer attachments sell all sorts of different capability attachments.
Because a manufacturer, or seller, has the words skid steer in their name, does not necessarily mean that all the items they sell are only suitable for skid steers.
I have a set of forks, that are sold as skid steer forks, but they are not excessively heavy, and are excellent on my L48.

 

[ovrszd]

Sellers of skid steer attachments sell all sorts of different capability attachments.
Because a manufacturer, or seller, has the words skid steer in their name, does not necessarily mean that all the items they sell are only suitable for skid steers.
I have a set of forks, that are sold as skid steer forks, but they are not excessively heavy, and are excellent on my L48.

This is purely my assumption. Skid steers were the first to use what we now know as Skid Steer Quick Attach bracketry that allowed attachments to easily be swapped. At some point it became acceptable to everyone to call that type of attaching system SSQA. Now it has nothing to do with a Skid Steer tractor. Just an industry standard term of description.

 

[fried1765]

This is purely my assumption. Skid steers were the first to use what we now know as Skid Steer Quick Attach bracketry that allowed attachments to easily be swapped. At some point it became acceptable to everyone to call that type of attaching system SSQA. Now it has nothing to do with a Skid Steer tractor. Just an industry standard term of description.

Good explanation!

 

[Branson Bob]

Sellers of skid steer attachments sell all sorts of different capability attachments.
Because a manufacturer, or seller, has the words skid steer in their name, does not necessarily mean that all the items they sell are only suitable for skid steers.
I have a set of forks, that are sold as skid steer forks, but they are not excessively heavy, and are excellent on my L48.

You're missing the point. Pallet forks are not a hydraulic attachment. The "average" skid steers has almost twice the hydraulic flow that the average "CUT" has.

I'm just trying to help you avoid making a mistake but suit yourself. I'm done here.

 

[4570Man]

You're missing the point. Pallet forks are not a hydraulic attachment. The "average" skid steers has almost twice the hydraulic flow that the average "CUT" has.

I'm just trying to help you avoid making a mistake but suit yourself. I'm done here.

I think most everyone knows you can’t run high flow attachments like a mower but what difference does a grapple make? First of there’s probably no difference in the construction second it’ll just open slower and still work fine.

 

[Branson Bob]

I think most everyone knows you can’t run high flow attachments like a mower but what difference does a grapple make? First of there’s probably no difference in the construction second it’ll just open slower and still work fine.

This was the quote I replied to:

"If your tractor has a skid steer loader attach plate (as most do) you can use ANY ATTACHMENTS BUILT FOR SKID STEERS."

 

[fried1765]

This was the quote I replied to:

"If your tractor has a skid steer loader attach plate (as most do) you can use ANY ATTACHMENTS BUILT FOR SKID STEERS."

OK....my mistake!
You can use MANY attachments built for skid steers.

 

[ovrszd]

OK....my mistake!
You can use MANY attachments built for skid steers.

Only limitation I know of would be hydraulic GPM on some of the more technical attachments.

 

[4570Man]

Only limitation I know of would be hydraulic GPM on some of the more technical attachments.

And weight of the attachment. Realistically you’re probably limited to 10 percent of skid steer implements to fit a compact tractor.