Grapple Kubota L39 TLB Grapple "Markham"?? WOW

[GeneD14]

It was suppose to be here Mon. but I got a phone call from the truck driver today. I was going to hook the forks to the L39 & use them to unload the grapple. My stuff was stacked on top of a 10' to 12' wooded crate in the middle of the truck, his pallet jack wouldn't move it. The driver couldn't get to the back of the truck for me to hook up. Said he would get a fork lift at one of his other stops to get my stuff down so it could be moved to the back of the truck. I called & he's on his way back to Baltimore, couldn't get a lift or the other places were closed. I had my hands right on it & still won't get it till Mon. It looks very stout, I think I'm really going to like it. Sad I was that close to using it this weekend & now have to wait, what a bummer.

Boy, that is really cruel and unusual punishment. It was at your house, you even got to see it, but you couldn't have it. I'm not a drinking man, but that chain of events could have weakened me.

 

[kennyd]

Same thing happened to me but I didn't let him leave. I had the driver back up to the big oak in my yard and I chained the pallet to the tree and had him pull the truck up nice and easy. This brought the pallet right to the edge of the truck. For future try this method, less work for you and the driver.

What back up to a tree Just pull it with the tractor...

 

[archeryantny]

What back up to a tree Just pull it with the tractor...

My tractor wasn't around and the truck had a lift gate.

 

[newbury]

Same thing happened to me but I didn't let him leave. I had the driver back up to the big oak in my yard and I chained the pallet to the tree and had him pull the truck up nice and easy. This brought the pallet right to the edge of the truck. For future try this method, less work for you and the driver. !

Yeh might work, where's your oak tree?

 

[SuperDuty335]

I think Markham makes a nice grappel but when looking at your pics their welding is not up to par ( looks like my welding). Whoever welded up that unit has little welding experience.

Still may buy one anyway and for most uses the light duty is perfect.

I agree. The welds look like a quick, high-temperature pass with a mig to save time. Otherwise, their products are built pretty stout from what I've seen in person.

 

[Goodluck w/ That]

I got it yesterday, perfect delivery as it should have been the first time. forks on the bottom, grapple on top, he rolled it to the back of the truck, we hooked the forks up & off everything came. The forks appear to be perfect. The grapple I had to change the hyd. disconnects to plug into the tractor, that was no surprise, I had planned on needing to do that. The grapple fits loose on my Q/A, I don't know that it will fall off but it has alot of movement in it. I may have to try to weld a plate onto it to tighten it up. The Grapple for a Light Duty to me is very heavily built. I think it will really take some major abuse on my part to bend or break it. I didn't have much time to play with it, got dark & cold, just wanted to make sure it worked, maybe this weekend. Anyone else have theirs fit loose on a Kubota?? or was their measurements alittle off when they built it?? I now have lots of trust in all those who recommended the LD, I was concerned but after recieving it, I wouldn't want anything bigger or heavier.

 

[IslandTractor]

My grapple fits loosely (side to side) on my Kioti adapter. The Kioti QA adapter is about 40 inches wide while the standard SS receiver plate on my grapple is about 44 inches. I don't like the way it occasionally slides with lateral force when in use but frankly it works just fine. I keep intending to weld a couple of little stops to keep it centered but I've never gotten around to doing it. Note that I am talking about side to side looseness, there should not be any play in the vertical plane and the grapple should be solidly locked in place.

 

[deputyrpa]

Also a heads up to anyone looking at buying a Markham grapple. If you call Markham they tell you $900 for the LD 48". But you can buy it from them on E-bay for $850. Saves you a quick 50 bucks. Gator Attachments is Markham. I bought mine for $850 then had it shipped to my door in south Bama for $120. $970 for this grapple is one heck of a good deal. I think for all the compliments i get on it I should have bought a couple more and sold them to my friends at a mark-up. haha.

I saw the eBay listing for the Gator grapple by Markham, and the description says it has 1/2" upper and lower tines. As stated on the Matkham website, the LD grapple has 3/8" tines. The eBay listing, however, matches the Extreme Gator Mini Rake description listed on their site. The odd thing is is that the pics on the Markham site for the LD grapple and the Extreme Gator are the same. Is there any other difference between the two, such as width? If not, the Extreme seems like the deal of the century at $850!

 

[IslandTractor]

Markham's Extreme Gator Mini rake is I believe quite different from their LD48 grapple. Based on recollection only, the mini rake is more of a stump grapple and is only 36 inches wide max. Useful for it's specific designed purpose but not nearly as useful as a standard grapple generally especially when brush is involved.

 

[Goodluck w/ That]

I think maybe their measurements are off, pulled a tape on my bucket & forks, measures around 15 1/2", the grapple is around 16". I welded a 3/8" piece of steel to the bottom of the Q/A as a filler. I found a piece of 1/2" but it seemed like it make it to tight. There is alittle play in it but I fell better now with the amount of movement it has in it. I picked up a few piles of brush & a stump, worked good, it opens up really wide. Our land is so soft right now, snow, ground thawing, then rain yesterday. You want to play but don't want to destroy place neither.
IslandT has lots of posts here & I appreciate his & others advice, I believe we think on the same level. The 48" LD Grapple should do plenty on the L39, large enough to pickup lots of stuff but small enough to manuver in tight areas. Plus I like it being light weight & not killing the loader lift.