Xfaxman
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Yep, that is funny! :laughing:
Need help on Right Tractor For a Grapple.
- Thread starter AuburnAlum
- Start date
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Yep, that is funny! :laughing:
Snowback
Platinum Member
Re: Need help on Right Tractor For a Grapple.TLB
Yes - now I want one of those Divertos. Great looking machine!
As to the perfect grapple tractor question from OP, or rather perfect grapple/tractor combo, I think it really is the one you have or can get your hands on within your budget. (They're all perfect in their own way assuming you find a respectable loader and a machine with enough ballast.) I just picked up 17 acres that sound similar to yours. My plan involved bringing in a team with Forestry Mulcher and Skid Steer with grapple to mulch up stumps and also pile/burn tops and debris from recent pine logging. It was a war-zone and would have taken me years to clear up on my own during weekends. Mother nature may have beat me to it by that time. Having let professionals do some of the heavy lifting, I was able to keep my tractor budget lower and ended up with a machine that might not work on 50-100+ acres, but it should be great for my smaller tract, and maybe yours.
Once the first pass clean up was complete, I decided to get a smaller mid size CUT to replace my nimble Max 25 which might have done fine, but I had an excuse and thus ended up picking up a Mahindra 2538 http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default/files/tractor/pdf/22749 MAH542538 071015.pdf, and a 60" EA Single Lid Wicked Grapple Single Lid Root Grapple This setup nets out a little more than 3/4 of a ton of lifting capacity and I probably won't have too many loads that big to haul. You can go much bigger on machine weight and loader capacity, but this is just one viewpoint for you.
The picture above is in town, but what I have left at the micro Ranch is lots of brush, lots of remaining logs and dead fall that to need to be shuttled around, and a good amount of remaining yaupon to grub out. I have not yet been out to property to get crazy with it, but after picking up the unit today I spent a couple hours on my two suburban acres just playing around. I could not stop the machine or grapple, and was able to haul around some heavy and odd shaped stuff.
The grapple only weighs 380 pounds, but that box blade is +/- 700 pounds and I had it out as far on the grapple as I could to see if it would strain it. The thing didn't even groan. Nothing major, but that was indeed a good leverage test for not a huge machine without loaded tires, and no implements on the rear.
For the many trees and trails I have up north I desired the narrowest and lightest grapple possible that would still serve as a gauge for squeezing the whole tractor through openings. The 60" model fits the bill perfectly on many fronts for this particular tractor. (There are merits to both narrow and wide grapples, and you can find great discussions elsewhere in the forums. Also discussions on single vs dual lids which also each have their merits as well.) Again on the lid, single was perfectly fine for me and you can see it grasped the box blade firmly even when hanging out there.
Biggest consideration here in my opinion is having access to a great dealer who can service your tractor if needed, and get you parts when you break something that is not warrantied. The pics above could be of blue, white, red, green, or orange tractors and I bet all of the owners would be grinning as big as I am with my setup. I certainly don't have the biggest, baddest tractor/grapple combination, but for a very reasonable budget you can have something similar to that pictured and be able to move a lot of wood, brush, roots or whatever else you unearth. A plus with this setup is that it is still pretty agile at 60" max width front and rear. (Regular loader bucket is 66" for when you'd be moving dirt). It also handles a 6' Med Duty rough cutter nicely.
Good luck with your decision and stay safe working out there. It would be hard to make a bad decision on this one if you consider and incorporate the many helpful posts above. Let us know what you end up with!
Yes - now I want one of those Divertos. Great looking machine!
As to the perfect grapple tractor question from OP, or rather perfect grapple/tractor combo, I think it really is the one you have or can get your hands on within your budget. (They're all perfect in their own way assuming you find a respectable loader and a machine with enough ballast.) I just picked up 17 acres that sound similar to yours. My plan involved bringing in a team with Forestry Mulcher and Skid Steer with grapple to mulch up stumps and also pile/burn tops and debris from recent pine logging. It was a war-zone and would have taken me years to clear up on my own during weekends. Mother nature may have beat me to it by that time. Having let professionals do some of the heavy lifting, I was able to keep my tractor budget lower and ended up with a machine that might not work on 50-100+ acres, but it should be great for my smaller tract, and maybe yours.
Once the first pass clean up was complete, I decided to get a smaller mid size CUT to replace my nimble Max 25 which might have done fine, but I had an excuse and thus ended up picking up a Mahindra 2538 http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default/files/tractor/pdf/22749 MAH542538 071015.pdf, and a 60" EA Single Lid Wicked Grapple Single Lid Root Grapple This setup nets out a little more than 3/4 of a ton of lifting capacity and I probably won't have too many loads that big to haul. You can go much bigger on machine weight and loader capacity, but this is just one viewpoint for you.
The picture above is in town, but what I have left at the micro Ranch is lots of brush, lots of remaining logs and dead fall that to need to be shuttled around, and a good amount of remaining yaupon to grub out. I have not yet been out to property to get crazy with it, but after picking up the unit today I spent a couple hours on my two suburban acres just playing around. I could not stop the machine or grapple, and was able to haul around some heavy and odd shaped stuff.
The grapple only weighs 380 pounds, but that box blade is +/- 700 pounds and I had it out as far on the grapple as I could to see if it would strain it. The thing didn't even groan. Nothing major, but that was indeed a good leverage test for not a huge machine without loaded tires, and no implements on the rear.
For the many trees and trails I have up north I desired the narrowest and lightest grapple possible that would still serve as a gauge for squeezing the whole tractor through openings. The 60" model fits the bill perfectly on many fronts for this particular tractor. (There are merits to both narrow and wide grapples, and you can find great discussions elsewhere in the forums. Also discussions on single vs dual lids which also each have their merits as well.) Again on the lid, single was perfectly fine for me and you can see it grasped the box blade firmly even when hanging out there.
Biggest consideration here in my opinion is having access to a great dealer who can service your tractor if needed, and get you parts when you break something that is not warrantied. The pics above could be of blue, white, red, green, or orange tractors and I bet all of the owners would be grinning as big as I am with my setup. I certainly don't have the biggest, baddest tractor/grapple combination, but for a very reasonable budget you can have something similar to that pictured and be able to move a lot of wood, brush, roots or whatever else you unearth. A plus with this setup is that it is still pretty agile at 60" max width front and rear. (Regular loader bucket is 66" for when you'd be moving dirt). It also handles a 6' Med Duty rough cutter nicely.
Good luck with your decision and stay safe working out there. It would be hard to make a bad decision on this one if you consider and incorporate the many helpful posts above. Let us know what you end up with!
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Re: Need help on Right Tractor For a Grapple.TLB
A very nice setup, both tractor and Grapple. Your rig is very similar in size and capability to my Kioti. You have a couple hundred more lbs of lift, and a slightly larger grapple. I will also testify that this size class with a grapple is a very capable setup.
A very nice setup, both tractor and Grapple. Your rig is very similar in size and capability to my Kioti. You have a couple hundred more lbs of lift, and a slightly larger grapple. I will also testify that this size class with a grapple is a very capable setup.
Snowback
Platinum Member
So after seeing my tractor/grapple setup above for future "finishing up" of the 17 acre cleanup I have, let me introduce you to the muscle that took care of the initial heavy lifting back in November. (I recommend at least considering some hired guns on the front end...) You can see the son walking with chainsaw, and then next picture was a second or two later.
This was www.keysandsons.com out of Houston. Best Father/Son team I have seen and fair beyond reason. They had a self propelled stump grinder, and also a Fecon mulching head for that Hi Flow skid steer. They handled a lot of piles like in this picture as well as a ton of deadfall, pine tops, and stumps throughout property. The son ran around with a chain saw and felled a number of dead pines that the loggers didn't want. I probably would have hurt myself had I tried to do it all myself...
Look at how close he gets to the burn pile here... I was getting worried, but they knew what they were doing. (I promise this is a real picture, unedited photo... he has the fully enclosed cab and said that he could escape out the back if necessary -
)They also worked well into the winter evenings. Here they had piled with the grapple and then switched to the mulching head while the piles burned down for the night. The son was busy grinding stumps with the mobile grinder.
That big bob cat with it's large grapple and mulching head was like watching a magician. The trees, and debris just disappeared! Stay safe with whatever you decide.
OP
AuburnAlum
Bronze Member
Re: Need help on Right Tractor For a Grapple.TLB
Very nice set up and thank you for the advice! All of the help here has ben invaluable.
Very nice set up and thank you for the advice! All of the help here has ben invaluable.
tractorshopper
Veteran Member
Some great advice and options out there. I think a 30-40 HP machine for your property would be plenty. Based on the photos of what you want to clear up, you could even get by with a SCUT in a pinch, but I'd be also thinking about what else you want to do with the tractor once you clear up the debris. I've had a Kubota L3800 (predecessor of current L3901) and think that would be plenty. I currently have a BX-2370-1 (SCUT) and am amazed what I can do with it. I know a CUT of any size or color would be plenty for what you want. Still, I'd be thinking about all future uses before coming to terms on what size and how much you want to spend.
I've picked up and moved heavier and larger stuff than this, although not to full height (as others have said weight/ballast is your friend). Also, I've rooted out trees, rocks, and brush in excess of anything I thought I'd be able to do. A larger size would do even much more. I can imagine if I had had a grapple on my L3800, knowing what I could do with that loader, that I'd be in heaven with that size machine for grapple work if that was all I needed it for.
I've picked up and moved heavier and larger stuff than this, although not to full height (as others have said weight/ballast is your friend). Also, I've rooted out trees, rocks, and brush in excess of anything I thought I'd be able to do. A larger size would do even much more. I can imagine if I had had a grapple on my L3800, knowing what I could do with that loader, that I'd be in heaven with that size machine for grapple work if that was all I needed it for.