Grapple Time

[kattywumpus]

Received my Gator Grapple this afternoon. If you look closely you will notice a few modification. There are extra teeth on the thumb, between the fangs, and extra tines in rear of the grapple. It mounted to the Kioti QA the first time without any issue. No movement problems. I ordered it through Jeb Supply Co. They are on Ebay. I did confirm with Gator that they do direct business with Jeb. I sent Jeb several messages and they always responded quickly.

I needed to finish setting up the hydraulic, but hopeful it will be really for action in a few days!

 

[kennyd]

Nice! Did you pay more since it was not direct from Gator?

 

[kattywumpus]

Less, go figure. Gator said "Jeb" purchased a lot from them so Jeb must get a volume discount the best I can figure. The pictures are even the same as on Gator's website. Here's the ebay link:
60" SKID STEER LOADER GRAPPLE ROOT RAKE for bobcat, etc - eBay (item 360312523848 end time Nov-20-10 19:27:36 PST)

 

[IslandTractor]

Nice. I presume that hydraulic line is just sitting there awaiting installation. Cannot imagine wanting a line to loop out in front like that so that must be the case.

The baby teeth on the upper jaw are cute. Not sure exactly what they will do as little really falls out there but there might be a few occasions where they will help.

Did Gator drop ship?

 

[foggy1111]

I really like the extra bar stock shown in the "back" of the "bucket". I am going to add a few bars in the same location. If you do enough work in timber....sooner or later a branch can get to the front of your tractor and create a big scar (in my expereince). Nice work in planning for that issue.

I would think gator would put a bar or two across this area....but everyone is trying to save a buck I guess. Even JD doesnt fill in their grille gaurd properly. Never ceases to amaze me. :confused2:

 

[kattywumpus]

Nice. I presume that hydraulic line is just sitting there awaiting installation. Cannot imagine wanting a line to loop out in front like that so that must be the case.

The baby teeth on the upper jaw are cute. Not sure exactly what they will do as little really falls out there but there might be a few occasions where they will help.

Did Gator drop ship?

FedEX, me fork lift. Nothing dropped!

The hydraulic line came shipped that way. I still need to finish up the hydraulic plumbing.

""Baby teeth?" You're just jealous cause you didn't think of it first! I'm thinking of painting the teeth and fangs white and adding some eyes on top of the grapple for Halloween. :laughing:

 

[kattywumpus]

I really like the extra bar stock shown in the "back" of the "bucket". I am going to add a few bars in the same location. If you do enough work in timber....sooner or later a branch can get to the front of your tractor and create a big scar (in my expereince). Nice work in planning for that issue.

I would think gator would put a bar or two across this area....but everyone is trying to save a buck I guess. Even JD doesnt fill in their grille gaurd properly. Never ceases to amaze me. :confused2:

I been using my pellet forks to move some brush and logging waste. I noticed a couple of times branches or logs coming through the back of the forks when pushing into a brush pile. I figured the extra tines are a little more insurance against any possible damage. The extra bars in the back plate area and the "Baby Teeth" didn't cost that much.

 

[luckyme2010]

That is a fine attachment im jealous.Im getting 80 acres of pines cut next year and am hoping to have a grapple to clean up some of the mess the loggers leave behind. I have a fel with the up, down, bucket up, bucket down controller. What would i have to add to make the grapple open and close, another valve or does a grapple tilt at all and the bucket up and down open and close the grapple.

 

[kattywumpus]

That is a fine attachment im jealous.Im getting 80 acres of pines cut next year and am hoping to have a grapple to clean up some of the mess the loggers leave behind. I have a fel with the up, down, bucket up, bucket down controller. What would i have to add to make the grapple open and close, another valve or does a grapple tilt at all and the bucket up and down open and close the grapple.

Initially I'm just using the tractor's rear hydraulic remotes. I can operate the rear remotes from in the cab. There's a lever beside the FEL lever for each pair of hydraulic remote couplers. This valve can operate single or double acting cylinders. I'm in the process of running hydraulic lines to the front. This thread is a current discussion on grapple hydraulics: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...5933-what-needed-hydraulically-grapple-4.html There a lot of information and pictures in this thread.

 

[dstig1]

I notice the QA is backed up by the main tine on yours. I'm guessing this is a 60"? Because mine is 48" (from Gator) and that spot is wide open (mine attach right out at the ends) - and that is a key problem with it, I think. Nothing backing up the main part of the QA plate so a bit of flex and it can pop out - especially if it was loose (up and down) like when I first got mine. I had mine pop out the first time I used it, and then a couple more times, but not so much recently since I fixed the lower latch by getting rid of the slop (gap in the second pic) that was there.

Notice - nothing in front of the orange QA plate. I think it is too unsupported. Plus I have also seen times where brush pokes through and moves the QA levers around a bit. I watch that closely as that could also make it come loose. I agree, there should be more of a "grate" to the back of the unit to keep stuff from poking through.

This is the looseness I saw at first. Way too much gap (~5/16" or so) meant the latches could pop out under stress.

This was the fix from Gator that I did. I welded an additional plate on top to close the gap. It is just tacked in place in this pic. That helped a lot but I don't believe fixed the entire issue. I think there is a weakness in the design, but I'm hearing that nobody else has this problem. I have forks (Virnig - local place) and a bucket (Kubota), neither of which have problems staying put on the QA. That tells me the QA on the tractor is fine.

 

[IslandTractor]

I appreciate the concern about brush poking through the back of the grapple. I suppose it can happen but I've been operating a very similar open back grapple (Millonzi 48) for the past five years in brush clearing and I've never seen a piece of wood come out the back in a way that could hit my radiator. Again, I don't doubt it can happen but it must be a pretty rare event.

The most vulnerable time in my experience is not loading the grapple but oddly when unloading especially when packing brush into big piles. Stuff that is already in the pile can sneak under the grapple when you raise the boom to add to the top of the pile.

 

[wedge40]

I notice the QA is backed up by the main tine on yours. I'm guessing this is a 60"? Because mine is 48" (from Gator) and that spot is wide open (mine attach right out at the ends) - and that is a key problem with it, I think. Nothing backing up the main part of the QA plate so a bit of flex and it can pop out - especially if it was loose (up and down) like when I first got mine. I had mine pop out the first time I used it, and then a couple more times, but not so much recently since I fixed the lower latch by getting rid of the slop (gap in the second pic) that was there.

Notice - nothing in front of the orange QA plate. I think it is too unsupported. Plus I have also seen times where brush pokes through and moves the QA levers around a bit. I watch that closely as that could also make it come loose. I agree, there should be more of a "grate" to the back of the unit to keep stuff from poking through.

This is the looseness I saw at first. Way too much gap (~5/16" or so) meant the latches could pop out under stress.

This was the fix from Gator that I did. I welded an additional plate on top to close the gap. It is just tacked in place in this pic. That helped a lot but I don't believe fixed the entire issue. I think there is a weakness in the design, but I'm hearing that nobody else has this problem. I have forks (Virnig - local place) and a bucket (Kubota), neither of which have problems staying put on the QA. That tells me the QA on the tractor is fine.

I had a problem with a QA plate that I bought off ebay and after some searching I found the Skidsteer QA specs. It took a while but I finally figured out the QA plate wasn't cut to the proper dimentions. This could be the same for you. Every now and then a jig get out of wack and Quality Assurance misses something.

Wedge

 

[rd_macgregor]

I got my 48" Gator grapple rake direct from the factory last spring. I had them make it with the extra spacers and 0.5" outer tines/plates. I've used it a lot to move and stack trees and brush. While working this summer, I somehow managed to slightly twist the grapple; though it doesn't affect its functioning, it is like looking at a crooked picture when I'm driving along (since the top of the grapple doesn't align with the FEL cross-bar)...irksome.
So far, this has been about my most-used tool...but I have a lot of woods and grown-over old fields that need attention.
I also can see how another vendor might be able to sell cheaper than the factory. I think I paid $1050 for my unit, but Melissa said I could get them for $750/ea if I bought five (I was tempted!).
BOB

 

[jgrreed]

I notice the QA is backed up by the main tine on yours. I'm guessing this is a 60"? Because mine is 48" (from Gator) and that spot is wide open (mine attach right out at the ends) - and that is a key problem with it, I think. Nothing backing up the main part of the QA plate so a bit of flex and it can pop out - especially if it was loose (up and down) like when I first got mine. I had mine pop out the first time I used it, and then a couple more times, but not so much recently since I fixed the lower latch by getting rid of the slop (gap in the second pic) that was there.

Notice - nothing in front of the orange QA plate. I think it is too unsupported. Plus I have also seen times where brush pokes through and moves the QA levers around a bit. I watch that closely as that could also make it come loose. I agree, there should be more of a "grate" to the back of the unit to keep stuff from poking through.

This is the looseness I saw at first. Way too much gap (~5/16" or so) meant the latches could pop out under stress.

This was the fix from Gator that I did. I welded an additional plate on top to close the gap. It is just tacked in place in this pic. That helped a lot but I don't believe fixed the entire issue. I think there is a weakness in the design, but I'm hearing that nobody else has this problem. I have forks (Virnig - local place) and a bucket (Kubota), neither of which have problems staying put on the QA. That tells me the QA on the tractor is fine.

When did you buy your grapple Dave??

-Jer.

 

[rd_macgregor]

By the way, I also ran hoses forward from the rear remotes. This works just fine, though the eight fittings really ran up the cost (I made it so I could disconnect the FEL at the cab). I love the SS flat-face fittings on the grapple rake. They seem to work a lot smoother for me than the Pioneer (?) fittings on the tractor, plus, because they come in male/female pairs, they always get hooked up the same way and they can be mated together when detached to keep them clean.
BOB

 

[nebraskasparks]

Hey fellas....I noticed some "orange" pieces of metal in some of your shots...are any of you having a tough time attaching your female connector from the grapple hose to the male receptor coming off a 3rd function valve? We've noticed sometimes it works just fine and other times we think we're going nuts. The service folks at Kubota say to hold the buttons over three seconds but that doesn't help quite often.

 

[dstig1]

I got it just after Labor Day - Sept. 8-9th.

 

[wedge40]

Hey fellas....I noticed some "orange" pieces of metal in some of your shots...are any of you having a tough time attaching your female connector from the grapple hose to the male receptor coming off a 3rd function valve? We've noticed sometimes it works just fine and other times we think we're going nuts. The service folks at Kubota say to hold the buttons over three seconds but that doesn't help quite often.

Sound like there might still be pressure at the connection. The easiest thing to do is take a piece of woods and press the ball in a little or tap it with a RUBBER mallet,to let the pressure out. This will cause a small amount of hydraulic fluid to leak out but you can get the connection made then.

Wedge

 

[kattywumpus]

Dstig1, yes it's a 60 grapple. Once connected I looked over the QA mount petty good and didn't see issues, but time will tell. I had the issue with brush moving the QA lever when I was using the forks. I more concerned with that happening, hopefully the extra tines will prevent this.

 

[kattywumpus]

but Melissa said I could get them for $750/ea if I bought five (I was tempted!).
BOB

We need a TractorByNet co-op!!!

I somehow managed to slightly twist the grapple.
BOB

That red earth is really tough on grapples, or was it a super size potato?!!