Grapple model suggestions for cleaning out swales?

[jmc]

I've got 4 culverts under the driveway that plug up with tangles of sticks and leaves at their entrances. Sometimes those tangles fill up the swale for 10 or 15 feet upstream from the culvert. I've been using a backhoe or a root grapple but they're slow to maneuver on these small areas of difficult terrain.

I think it would be easier with a small log type grapple of some sort. Pull up perpendicular to the swale and drop the grapple down into the swale, oriented so that it closes along the direction of the swale.

I can position perpendicular enough that a rotary actuator wouldn't be neccessary if the grapple head was free to rotate to self align with the swale. If that style limited downforce, teeth would be better than a crossbar for penetrating a tangle wider than the open jaws. It would mount on a ssqa or maybe even a 3PH.

Hard to describe but below is a picture of this 900 foot long hill if that helps. Culverts are further uphill, draining the swale on the right, and running the water under the drive.

Any ideas for a lightweight grapple model to do this?

 

[cglaser104]

I'd go root grapple or 4in1 bucket perpendicularly to clean up.

 

[Smokeydog]

Hydraulic Thumb on a backhoe? I find a little settling basin in front of the culvert helps to keep them clear of sediment that needs periodically cleaned out.

 

[timbatrader]

I would be looking at building an area up stream of each culvert with posts driven into the ground across the swale but with easy access for the tractor to drive right in so when the catch area is full you can just push it clear with your bucket
it is much easier to clear a well shaped basin that you can drive into than to work close to the convert where normally movement is restricted and damage to the culvert likely if some debris have got into the culvert

 

[oosik]

I like timbatraders idea. Create a catchment area, upstream of the culvert, with easy access for your tractor.

 

[LouNY]

I have a similar problem and have not found an affordable solution to do the job neatly and quickly.
I offset, angle and tilt my back blade and try and just roll the garbage up on to the driveway and then
scrape it up with the loader bucket. Or get the tractor crosswise in the driveway and scoop it out with the loader bucket.
It can get tight in many places with the tractor being as long as the driveway is wide.
The backhoe is the easiest way, but you can only get a few feet before having to reposition.

 

[Hay Dude]

Probably one of the “European” side-shift backhoes would be the best piece of equipment thats somewhat readily available.
That way you can do ~10’ of ditch smoothly without moving.

 

[ponytug]

You could also sink a few pieces of pipe upstream, angled slightly upstream to snag debris in a more convenient clean out spot. I have seen just pipe, and pipe fastened/welded to a cross member.

I would go for whatever solution keeps your machine on the road. If you have a rain event going on, it is no time to be on a slope, or near one.

It may go without saying, but clean up in advance of rain events helps a lot, too...

All the best,

Peter

 

[jmc]

OP Here.

Over the decades, I've tried several suggestions offered here and they worked somewhat. If you could see my situation firsthand, you'd see the limitations. For example, the swale is deep and narrow so you can't open a root grapple or 4 in 1 bucket enough to get much of a bite. Some spots have no place to seat one of the backhoe stabilizers.

A rotatable brush grapple would probably make short work of it all. Priced some online this week and was surprised how much they've gone up in price since checking a few years ago. Hard to justify for occasional use.

The suggestions of encouraging the blockage to occur somewhere upstream where it's easier to remove is a good one. As is the reminder to clear any small blockages BEFORE the gully washers...

Thanks, guys, for the input.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I have a few ditches that need to be cleaned out. I was considering a FEL-to-3PT converter and then running my landscape rake off the loader so I could get down into the ditch and rake out the trash. I have a few areas like that where stuff is backing up in a very small stream as well and wondered if that combo would give me the reach and agility to drag the stuff straight out and onto the banks where I can just rake it into a pile and grapple it out from there or pile it somewhere.

 

[Woodstock Walt]

I have a few ditches that need to be cleaned out. I was considering a FEL-to-3PT converter and then running my landscape rake off the loader so I could get down into the ditch and rake out the trash. I have a few areas like that where stuff is backing up in a very small stream as well and wondered if that combo would give me the reach and agility to drag the stuff straight out and onto the banks where I can just rake it into a pile and grapple it out from there or pile it somewhere.

Guess I don't have any pictures, but I've tried that before with my 8' landscape rake and Titan FEL-to-3PH adapter plate. It does work very well for raking brush out of the ditches, but it has a number of drawbacks. For one, the tractor needs to be positioned perpendicular to the road, which makes for a very time consuming process clearing the ditches 8' at a time.

Also, using the FEL as opposed to the 3PH has potential to exert more force on the rake than it is designed to handle. The FEL is too heavy to use the float function and will bend tines and/or the frame of the rake itself, so you need to control the height manually with the loader controls as you back up to drag brush from the ditches.

And finally, the Titan FEL-to-3PH adapter plate is complete garbage. The base plate is made out of very thin, low-grade Chinesium and bows easily. The lower attachment points are very sloppy and don't have any position locking mechanism, allowing the implement to slide side-to-side when in use. I drilled some holes in mine and use pins to keep it centered.

I haven't found any other manufactures who sell a similar style adapter plate constructed from higher quality steel.

It works alright for lighter implements like my wood splitter, but the heavy 8' plow has bent the plate enough after just one season of use that I don't intend to use it again. I am going to fabricate a similar style adapter plate with a thicker base plate and better lower attachment points in the near future.

Just my .02 cents. It's a good idea in theory, but in reality in works OK at best.

 

[LouNY]

I have an adapter and have used my york rake on the loader. It did work some what, it was difficult to control the depth
the rake wanted to go.
If you have plenty of space to be square with your driveway ditch and still backup it would work,
you will be doing a lot of manipulation of your loader control both lift and lower and curl up or down.
If you have gauge wheels you'll need to remove them.

My adapter is a heavy SSQA plate and a quick hitch with a receiver added for good measure,
it is nice for moving equipment around.

 

[Smokeydog]

I had a too small, too low slope drainpipe under the road. Stayed plugged for decades. Unplugged several times with a pressure washer jet tip and rodding out but didn’t last long before plugging back.

Dug a basin a FEL bucket width about a 10” below the inlet. Line was plugged. Really just providing a pool to collect water to keep runoff from washing across the road. What happen is the drain line cleared itself and stays clear. Clean the basin of silt and leaves every couple of years. Daylilys around the basin help filter runoff. Volume or settlement of water keep the pipe clear?? Discovered solution more by accident than intentional.

 

[jmc]

@Smokeydog: Ive plenty of sticks and leaves upstream. I think when there's enough rain, everything floats down, eventually some sticks catch sideways across the inlet, and the leaves start piling up. I can't visualize a catch basin helping with floating debris. Maybe.

I'd worry about a catch basin making it easier for water to find it's way along the outside of the pipe and washing it out eventually. My culverts are sloped about 10 degrees. "Piping", somebody called it.

 

[Smokeydog]

Our main driveway is 1/2 mile, 300’ elevation change thru the woods with nearly 5’ of yearly rainfall. So picking up limbs, trees, mowing leaves and maintenance is constant. Finding out what works best where has evolved over fifty years of trial and error on a 300 year old road.

Some of the county road culverts have heavy pipe grills to prevent plugging.

Backhoe with hydraulic thumb are excellent pickers. Custom bucket or claw? May require outrigger modifications for your situation. Like the rubber pad extensions on our two. Most everything here is on a slope. We all would like a mini ex sometimes.

A ground hog now uses the culvert to hide from the dog if caught too far from the den. May contribute to keeping the pipe clear. Flocks of wild turkeys constantly scratching leaf litter along the driveway helps keep runoff paths draining. Friends helping neighbors.