</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Another use I am thinking of is using one of these grasping buckets to reach up, grab a dead branch and break it off by backing up the tractor or just by raising or lowering the FEL.
Any advice about which to get, the grapple or the 4 in 1 bucket? )</font>
The only reason to get a grapple is if you have to move very large trees around since a 4-in-1 bucket can pick up just about everything you throw at it up to about 12" across or so.
I have both the 4-in-1 and a grapple. The 4-in-1 bucket has three teeth on each side to help hold stuff when it clamps and is also fairly effective at cutting limbs from trees like you mentioned... you just clamp down and then rotate the bucket dump back and forth to get through the limb. You are limited to the reach of the bucket which is why I'm considering getting one of those hydro tree limb cutters since you get another 6' higher.
You would also be surprised at how much better a clean up job you can do with your dirt/rock piles with the 4-in-1 as opposed to a bucket alone. Buckets tend to just keep pushing that last bit around, but the 4-in-1 can close over top of the pile and get it all up. I would never live without one again and can't believe how I managed before.
The few times my grapple was used was when I was moving cut tree sections that where 18" to 24" across. So I would get the 4-in-1 unless you have to move things that large.
Any advice about which to get, the grapple or the 4 in 1 bucket? )</font>
The only reason to get a grapple is if you have to move very large trees around since a 4-in-1 bucket can pick up just about everything you throw at it up to about 12" across or so.
I have both the 4-in-1 and a grapple. The 4-in-1 bucket has three teeth on each side to help hold stuff when it clamps and is also fairly effective at cutting limbs from trees like you mentioned... you just clamp down and then rotate the bucket dump back and forth to get through the limb. You are limited to the reach of the bucket which is why I'm considering getting one of those hydro tree limb cutters since you get another 6' higher.
You would also be surprised at how much better a clean up job you can do with your dirt/rock piles with the 4-in-1 as opposed to a bucket alone. Buckets tend to just keep pushing that last bit around, but the 4-in-1 can close over top of the pile and get it all up. I would never live without one again and can't believe how I managed before.
The few times my grapple was used was when I was moving cut tree sections that where 18" to 24" across. So I would get the 4-in-1 unless you have to move things that large.
