Help me pick best grapple for my tractor!

[Gordon Gould]

I’d love to know more about that frost bite grapple. Do you know the grade of steel? What size machine it’s rated for? Cylinder size? It looks well rinforced and I love the simplicity of the 3 point of contact design for logs and rocks. How is it for small stuff like piles of 2-3 inch branches?

I would have to research that but you probably can to. It is made in Latvia I believe and it is pretty rugged. Small wood ....



gg

 

[gladehound]

My main tines are 1/2? The in between pieces are less. Don稚 know what steel it is but probably nothing fancy. As far as impaling things, I can see that with hay bales but nothing else. I can scoop up anything. And my argument for a narrow one is it digs much better, when trying to uproot a 6 tree. Kinda like digging is easier with a spade than a snow shovel. But if you don稚 dig and only scoop, a wide one is fine. But my 48 will scoop up a bigger pile than you can see around. The other problem I would have with the unconnected tines is that when I knock down a tree, the first thing I do is push it from high. Then back up, plunge under the root ball, and curl up while inching forward. Those widely spaced tines would not allow that. The tree would wedge between them and bend them. I don稚 care what steel it is, for a big tractor will bend it.
As far as two thumbs, my narrower one doesn稚 need it. Once I grasp it, it goes no where. Now of course a wide grapple needs two.

I'm definitely going narrow and single lid. I do push over trees on occasion and my stump bucket is my favorite tool for pushing them over or digging out the ball if needed. However, if the tree is small enough to pry out of the ground in one motion then forks are my go to. It's amazing what you can pry out of the ground with a set of forks! I like to stick my forks about half way under each side of the ball and use the dump and lift function while driving forward to pry the other side of the ball out of the ground. I calculated that I'm getting something around 12,000 pounds of lift this way.

The tree in the picture came up in one motion...

 

[Xfaxman]

I’d love to know more about that frost bite grapple.
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Just type frostbite or favor into the Google Custom Search box at the top right of the page. Lots of threads on both.

 

[gladehound]

Just type frostbite or favor into the Google Custom Search box at the top right of the page. Lots of threads on both.

Thank you. Yes I have done that. It's surprising how little information there really is and how much time you can waste trying to find it. I'm now leaning towards the Frostbite grapple because the majority of my use will be handling logs and it is purpose built for that.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Thank you. Yes I have done that. It's surprising how little information there really is and how much time you can waste trying to find it. I'm now leaning towards the Frostbite grapple because the majority of my use will be handling logs and it is purpose built for that.

If you want any measurements or close up pics of a particular part let me know.

gg

 

[gladehound]

If you want any measurements or close up pics of a particular part let me know.

gg

Thank you! I wrote a company in MD that carries them with my specific questions. We’ll see what they come back with.

 

[Coyote machine]

I'd strongly second the Frostbite, which is in fact a knockoff with some minor improvements on the Igland GR-20 that I've had for years now, and have never bent any part of it; have added the extension feet on the lower 'arms' and find to be basically indestructible on my tractor.
I push it so hard at times I have to be real careful to not let an entire tree take over by its weight and position, and need to watch I don't allow the forces twist the loader and flip the tractor on it's side if something goes wrong.
The GR-20 is the AR400 steel, I can't say for sure what the Frostbite uses, but it looks identical to mine except for color. Mine is flat black, the Frostbite is grey.
Here's a video of it, and it's optional 'grab plate' (and arm extensions) to put between the two lower arms for picking up smaller items, rocks etc.
Igland GR2 Grapple - YouTube

I've also got Igland's winch, which is also a monster as far as strength and durability. I actually broke off the swedged cable end on one log pull that hung up the cable and snapped the end. Easily repaired with proper cable clamp positioning, but I would have liked to keep the original end; oh well...
I find the grapple on front, the Kioti KB-2485 hoe on the rear, with Mie's 'ripper tooth and hydraulic thumb give me everything I need to rip, tear, lift, uproot and destruct any tree, rock or most other ground items in the way or wanting to be dug or carried.

I'm confident you will NOT be disappointed by your choice in the Frostbite. It has bushings I've been told, that my GR-20 does not have. To date, the grease fittings have kept my grapple in excellent shape with no loose joints. I've had it near nine years to date and not one issue with it. I did add expanded metal to keep sticks from poking into my radiator, and added same to my Kioti front grill pushbar as double layers of protection. That has served well in both cases.:thumbsup:
Check my avatar. It shows the grapple pushing logs further into my burn pile. Not highly recommended- I've burned up both tie-rod rubber boots over the years from that over zealous act. :confused3:

 

[HCJtractor]

Thank you. Yes I have done that. It's surprising how little information there really is and how much time you can waste trying to find it. I'm now leaning towards the Frostbite grapple because the majority of my use will be handling logs and it is purpose built for that.

I agree the Frostbite looks ideal for handling logs, large rocks, and similar items. So if that’s your main use, I think if would work perfectly. What’s the cost of one?

But for others like me, who use the grapple for more ground engagement, like digging up stubborn root balls from pushed over trees, “skimming” the ground just below the surface to clear growth or scoop up debris, I think my style would work better.

The bottom line is to decide your main use and select style based on that. No doubt if you want to grab a log out of a pile precisely, the Frostbite looks about as perfect as you can get. Mine will do that but certainly not as quickly and easily as the Frostbite. But if I want to clear an area of privet and trees, my style will win. Both are great tools depending on your use.

I think you’ve made a good decision and will enjoy it. Post some photos if you get one.

 

[John_Mc]

I agree the Frostbite looks ideal for handling logs, large rocks, and similar items. So if that’s your main use, I think if would work perfectly. What’s the cost of one?

My Sundown GR40 was $1500. This did not include getting the hydraulics up to the front of the loader. I assume the Frostbite is similar.

 

[goeduck]

The Favor grapples are very well made with 1 thick AR400 tines. Your models price looks good, I assume it is the SCX 314? I did not see the weight

Favor SCX