carolina attachments

[kacole]

Has anybody got any experience with the carolina attachments grapple? I'm looking to buy and seen these they are a little cheaper than others that i've priced but they still appear to be put together nice. some first hand feedback would be great.

 

[kacole]

Here's a link Standard Duty Root Grapple - Carolina Attachments, LLC

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Weight is something that is not published, but would be a critical piece of info when choosing a grapple for a compact tractor, or any tractor in my opinion. My guess is that it is around 650-700 pounds.
The grade of steel is probably one reason that it is cheaper than some. For a MX5100, you be much better off with a 400 pound grapple in that same price range, made from a higher grade steel.
Travis

 

[HCJtractor]

Looks much like my old markham grapple. Design seem excellent. If you want to knock down trees like I do, I would opt for the heavy duty version. But for general,light duty moving of debris, the other should do well

 

[Wesley B]

According their website it's built from 3/8" A-36 steel, which is a very high quality steel commonly used for implements. They also have a facebook page with a few reviews, and all seem to be good.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carolina-Attachments-LLC/188485707984251

 

[jmc]

According their website it's built from 3/8" A-36 steel, which is a very high quality steel commonly used for implements.

Very high quality how? Not strength. Even some aluminum alloys are stronger.

 

[kacole]

Looks much like my old markham grapple. Design seem excellent. If you want to knock down trees like I do, I would opt for the heavy duty version. But for general,light duty moving of debris, the other should do well

well I will be knocking down trees with the grapple ive got about 15 acres of small trees (4-6") that needs to be cleaned up, I think it should hold up good, the heavy duty model weighs around 700lbs. I hope that won't take away too much lift away from my tractor, tractor data says my tractor will lift 2443lbs at the pins. I like the idea of the everything attachments lighter with better steel but even though it's stronger it's hard to belive that 1/4" steel will hold up but maybe i'm wrong. I also like the fact that on the carolina attacments they have guards over the cylinders

 

[HCJtractor]

I still would prefer the 1/2 steel model.

 

[TomSeller]

I have a grapple made of A36 and a Grapple made of T1, or so they say. The lower strength grapple has not bent, the higher strength grapple has bends in it with equal or lesser use. Go figure.

Beware of what you are told.

 

[Wesley B]

A36 is a top grade carbon steel alloy. The strength of steel is measured by it's tensile strength calculated in PSI(pounds per sq. inch). A36 has a tensile strength of usually 70,000-80,000 psi. It can vary between batches. So yes A36 is a high quality, high strength steel. A514 steel which is commonly know as T-1 steel, has a tensile strength of no more than 100,000 psi. So for implements and attachments, there is really no need for the added cost of T-1 steel. I've been a welder for 15 years and used more types of steel than most would even know existed. I'm not degrading anyone's product, but personally I'd much rather have 1/2" A36 over any grade of 1/4" steel.

 

[nc redneck]

WR Long is the gold standard for 4 in 1 and grapples. I would consider who made it and there history more than type of steel advertised. Once a part is cut, welded and painted who knows what grade. Wildcat is made local and a good first step down from WR Long. Wildcat some times dumps there excess inventory at Ritche Brothers auctions in Henderson NC.

 

[TomSeller]

I think some manufacturers are using higher strength steel to lower the overall weight in the interest of increasing the amount smaller tractors can lift. If you have enough lift, A36 works just fine for most users. Certainly good enough for logs and brush, what most TBN members use them for.

 

[Wesley B]

I'm local as well, and have worked for a few of the local attachment manufacturers. Anybody who's worked in the business knows that wildkat doesn't dump "excess" inventory to ritchie bros. They have a deal where they build and send truckloads to each ritchie bros auction. We also know that there are 3 companies locally that produce the best quality attachments available and carolina attachments is 1 of them.

 

[kacole]

WR Long is the gold standard for 4 in 1 and grapples. I would consider who made it and there history more than type of steel advertised. Once a part is cut, welded and painted who knows what grade. Wildcat is made local and a good first step down from WR Long. Wildcat some times dumps there excess inventory at Ritche Brothers auctions in Henderson NC.

How much does the grapples usually go for at auction

 

[jblac197]

Has anybody got any experience with the carolina attachments grapple? I'm looking to buy and seen these they are a little cheaper than others that i've priced but they still appear to be put together nice. some first hand feedback would be great.

I should have my grapple from them delivered any day now. I took the gamble because they were considerably cheaper than other manufacturers and still American made. I'll post again when I use it. Just hoping I didn't waste my $ because I couldn't find any reviews on them either.

 

[daugen]

I drove all the way across NC to pick up my EA rear blade and rake, and it was worth the drive.
Good stuff.
My WR Long solid bottom grapple was bought about 7 years ago, and oh my what a solid piece of machinery.
If it could talk, it would be saying "you ain't going to bend me"

Kacole, to answer your question, no, frankly never heard of them. I just studied their website, wide range of equipment all made in USA.
Kinda reminds me of EA about ten years ago...these two businesses are only 75 miles apart in the center of NC.
They should put an ad in TractorHouse and get a little more visibility.
Until then, I'd say EA was a safer choice simply because the equipment has been out there longer and if it breaks/bends, EA is good about re-engineering things until they are even stronger. Also smaller companies usually have much worse paint jobs on their equipment.

Have to keep in mind a grapple is a pretty simple thing. If you bend it, not crazy hard to fix, and cylinders are bolt on and off if you brutalize the thing. So if you did go a little lighter, and are handy, and worked your way into heavier and heavier loads, I think a lighter grapple would be fine.
My WR Long grapple is 200 pounds too heavy for the front of my L Kubota. Light is good, more payload.