Grapple - Direct weld onto bucket

[CurlyDave]

One I am considering, along with the Millonzi, is Unlimited Fabrication

They have a nice standard duty 63" model

I have the Unlimited Fabrication rock bucket and am very pleased with it.

The one they delivered looks somewhat different than the one pictured on their website, but the differences are all improvements, so that is a no-cost plus. (Essentially they added bolt-on side plates to a heavier-duty root grapple, insteaded of the welded-on sltats for the sides. I can get a root grapple by removing the side plates, or leave them on for a rock bucket, a genuine two-fer)

 

[IslandTractor]

I have very hilly ground with lots of trees to dig out. Due to the hilly ground, I need to keep the front weight down

I have found my 280lb 48" Millonzi Light Duty Root Grapple to be very effective in hilly terrain. If you need to add a QA adapter that will add about 75lbs. Most of the weight on the grapple is down very low and it really doesn't weigh much more than a standard bucket (well maybe 80-100lbs more than a 48"bucket). I wouldn't worrry that much about the weight of the grapple for stability purposes but rather concentrate on keeping it low even when moving with a load. On a hill I sometimes let my loaded grapple "ski" in front of me or I drag it loaded on the ground until I get to flatter territory. Cannot do much better than that for stability.

I've posted before on the subject of how wide a grapple you need. Point is simply that you can pick up a 15ft tree just as easily with a 48" grapple as with a 72" version and can actually lift heavier things as the smaller grapple weighs less.

 

[PineRidge]

From a past discussion (I believe on this forum) I found a link to a grapple that welds directly onto the front bucket. I have searched for that dsicussion and can't find it. Anyone have a link or name of a grapple that welds onto the bucket?

I recently purchased a TC40DA and also purchased an Add-A-Grapple. Love 'em both. BUT, I have very hilly ground with lots of trees to dig out. Due to the hilly ground, I need to keep the front weight down and the Add-A-Grapple has extra weight I don't want. I am also looking for a 4' front bucket to further reduce weight and to help dig out the trees. I want the grapple to add teh least amount of weight and the weld on versions seems to offer this feature.

Seems the cost of the weld on units were in the $200 to $300 range. Since the Add-A-Grapple is >$500, I don't want to purchase that model and cut off the tabs to weld onto the bucket.

Any ideas welcome as always. Thanks guys.
KEG

You may want to check out this grapple. I regularly pull the pins and remove it from the 72" bucket by myself. It's a modified Andy Tatro grapple that we added a 3rd lift arm to. I also have a QA and 950 pounds of cast iron on the back of the TC-40D SS so it's solid. GRAPPLE

 

[adlertom]

My property is also hilly, and stability is a concern for me as well.

You seem to be focused on reducing front weight to keep your rear from coming off the ground. You might be better off adding weight to the back instead.

I always keep something attached to my 3PH for added weight. On my snowblower and box blade, I even added weight to the implement (hung some old manhole covers on the box blade, put old universal gym weights on the snowblower) for more counterbalance. I also mounted the extra weight as low as possible, to keep my center of gravity low.

Loaded tires are one solution, but a rear implement sits further back, and therefore has more leverage to counteract the front weight/load.

Another advantage of the rear implement is that you can drop it to the ground to serve as a brake, to keep the tractor from moving.

 

[daTeacha]

I live on hilly ground, too. With my 60" bucket on the DX29, I think the big thing the QA adds is not so much weight as additional length to the lift arms. Yeah, it's only a couple of inches, but that bucket is a long ways out in front of the front tires.

I have a block of concrete on the rear hitch of my tractor. I didn't build it, it came with the property. It measures about 3 feet high, about 2 feet front to back, and about 20 inches wide. There is a hole through it which I forced a 5/8 steel rod through, and a steel plate on top to which I welded a couple of pieces of large angle iron after drilling them. I figure the thing weighs about 900 lb and it does a lot to stablilize things. You could probably make one up pretty cheaply with some simple but well reinforced plywood forms. Put the hole in for the cross member by using a section of PVC big enough to pass a 3/4 or 7/8 steel rod through (I bend my smaller one from time to time), and use that for the lift arms to connect. You can set whatever you can come up with in the top for your top links. If I remember right, concrete is about 168 lb per cubic foot. You can save some cash and add more weight in less space if you fill the box with large field stones and work the concrete around them. They're more dense than the concrete.

In addition to the rear weight, I have 130 lb. of junkyard steel pieces that I welded up for each wheel. The weight on the sides does a lot more than the weight centered in the back for roll prevention, but the big weight in the rear makes the FEL work feel a lot more stable.

Before you get too carried away with the idea of digging up trees with the FEL, you should try just digging a couple of deep holes with the thing. A bucket is not a highly efficient digging tool unless you want a much bigger hole than you need. It may work with your sandy soil, but I really think you might want to check with a dealer about what is the best way to get those trees out without buying a backhoe.

Are you planning to save them, or just remove them? You could just cut them off and have the stumps ground down a foot or so.