Members home made attachments / improvements

[Roswelloperations]

thanks for the idea, i think i even have some chain link fence hardware around here somewhere

 

[rgs03833]

Hey guys,

Here are a few pictures of a leaf grapple that I had a welder make for my pt425. We have miles of street side areas that we clean in the fall for a mobile home community, as well as a couple hundred of their small lots to clean and maintain. I replaced my Billy Goat 25hp leaf vacuum with this grapple setup this past fall and I find it to be a better solution. As opposed to the leaf vacuum, the grapple doesn't care if the leaves are wet, or if the leaves have sand, stones, and sticks mixed in. Also the PT425 allows us to pick up debris in people's back yards without tarping. We used basically the same hydraulic setup as power trac's tree hugger attachment. As for the mesh it is just chain link fencing. I have posted a few videos on you tube of it in action. Just search for "PT425 Leaf Grapple"View attachment 252019

View attachment 252020

View attachment 252021

Me like Need good pix tho

 

[JimRB]

When I was a kid and the blessed EPA was formed, the city stopped allowing leaf burning in the fall. They drove around with vacuums to collect the curb side leaf piles. That sounds a lot more efficient that using a rubber tire loader to collect leaves. Blessed as the river caught on file a few more times then the mayor's hair but not much. Lots of "Why should we worry about hazardous waste?" back then. Not to say that the EPA is overreaching now. Is it not a law that any government agency has to grow every year, not stay static in scope and expense?

Do you have any more pictures of the attachment. How is the chain link attached to the frame?

Reminds me of the Tink Claw
MODERN LEAF REMOVAL IN BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN - YouTube

 

[MossRoad]

I will take a few more pictures when i get a chance, I have tried using heavy duty zip ties, wire ties, and also hose clamps to attach the fencing to the frame. However with wear and use all of these have broken off over time. It is something I have had to keep an eye on and replace when needed. I am open to suggestions on a more durable way to attach this.

Hog rings?

 

[Willl]

Reminds me of the Tink Claw

So in Michigan you just blow the leaves out it to the street and street crews come and pick them up ?

Sweet. :thumbsup:

 

[Roswelloperations]

Ok, so I have stripped the chain link fence off of the grapple and am preparing it along with my other attachments for their yearly sanding and painting. Here are some better quality pictures of the attachment. I plan to attach the fencing more securely while also leaving the center loose so it can flex with the hinges. I had to look up what hog rings are Mossroad, and those things look pretty solid too, thanks. I also plan on fabricating some type of wear plate that can go along the bottom rail to take the abrasion between the attachment and sliding along pavement like we do.

 

[KentT]

I also plan on fabricating some type of wear plate that can go along the bottom rail to take the abrasion between the attachment and sliding along pavement like we do.

How about using some thick corded rubber belting, or similar?

That would wear pretty well, yet be "consumable," doesn't rust, and provide some "squee-gee" type cleaning to get down close to the pavement to pick up wet leaves.

I used some from an old-school ag tractor PTO belt as a flexible deflector on my brush-cutter. It's holding up remarkably well... I must have over a hundred hours on it by now...

 

[cqaigy2]

So in Michigan you just blow the leaves out it to the street and street crews come and pick them up ?

Sweet. :thumbsup:

You do that here, you plug the storm drains and flood the whole block.

 

[Willl]

You do that here, you plug the storm drains and flood the whole block.

HeHe, I wish.

County would have a fit.

 

[Kent]

Ladder carrier pictures...with a coat of Rustoleum heavy rust primer and a coat of spray paint in New Holland Gray leftover from my previous tractor.

This is one time when you want to run at idle so the hydraulics are at their slowest lest you bash the ladder into the roof and do more damage than good.

In case you were wondering, laying the ladder (upside down) on the roof like this is how the roofing contractors do it around here, if close to the ground that is. Then they stake the bottom rung with a crow bar. Having the PT there is much more secure, for sure.

With the ladder being upside down, to extend the ladder I have to "curl" the whole thing back up over the cab. A little unnerving for sure with that much leverage up in the air like that...but it works as I had hoped...able to manage the ladder single handedly.

Using it up against a wall should be much easier, with the ladder pointed in the correct direction.