What do you usually need to pick up in disaster relief? Downed trees, building debris? I have never used a
grapple bucket, but seems they are a compromise. Buckets are good for moving loose material (gravel, sand, mulch, etc) and having a
grapple "thumb" on top may help a little in holding items in the bucket, but if you need to grab random shaped objects, or grab piles of limbs or debris, a bucket doesn't work too well. If those are the things you need to move, I would suggest a root
grapple instead of a bucket. It replaces the bucket (usually with a quick attach mechanism, depending on the style your loader has) and works great to grab piles of limbs, tree trunks, large rocks, piles of construction debris, etc. It has lower teeth to slide under things and a top thumb to grasp it. Look at the Markham Welding website and they show these under root grapples. Probably a light duty 48" or 60" would be ideal, and cost is about $900 to $1100 depending on size. Your quick attach style is important. I think they make them in John Deere style or skid steer style. Other companies make these (WRLong, etc) but the Markham is the best "bang for the buck". They are talked about in many threads here on TBN. Hope this helps.
