Ok, all you guys with grapples can just kiss my...

[allen in texas]

Well, just kidding here. This past weekend I shredded and cleaned up a place of about 5 acres. Had lots of old dead trees that I pushed over and a lot of limbs that the, ahem, "neighbors" dumped on the property. I just bought myself a set of quick attach pallet forks and I figured they would be great for loading the limbs and trees into the big roll off trash container. NOPE!! I got it done but it was a pain in the rear. Ya cain't ever pick up a pile that would balance on the forks and I made several trips for one pile. Everything kept falling off and sometimes I only had one limb on the forks. So y'all can all just kiss my, well you know, and I say that in the most loving way.
It's gonna be a long, long time before I can justify a grapple. This was the first job that I ever had to deal with something like this and I hope the next one is a long way down the road.
just sayin'

 

[Egbert]

Yep - first time out cleaning up tree debris with forks was my last. Ordered my grapple from palletforks.com and love it.

 

[nybirdman]

Or add a thumb to your forks...

 

[k0ua]

You can attach a chain on the bottom bar of the forks.. stretch it out in front.. stack on all the brush.. bring chain up and over the "wad. and attach to top bar... Yes a pain but it works.. I have sometimes gotten a pretty good load to stay on without anything, But gotta say.. a Grapple is a heck of a lot better for gathering up the limbs, stuff them in the mouth of the grapple and carry them out too! The cost only hurts for a little while..

James K0UA

 

[farmall 55a case]

Here u go!



Just what you need for you forks!

 

[Bird]

The only time I did that job with my forks on my Kubota, it didn't go too badly, except for tearing the valve stem right out of the left front tire.:laughing: I didn't have a spare valve stem, but a neighbor did, so I didn't have to drive 20 miles to town for one.

 

[davel8257]

If the tree trunks and limbs pretty good size, I like the logging tongs and short length of chain. I chain the tongs over the top of the bucket with enough to drop down in front of the bucket. This lets the tongs swing and little and swivel around. I can drop the tongs on top of a log and with skill (err, make that more luck than skill), the tongs straddle the log and grip it. I can lift it up, drive off and then with more luck, let it down and break away -- all without leaving the tractor seat.

The tongs are also good for lifting up the ends of large logs and then sawing them up into pieces (which get tossed into the bucket).

 

[Piston]

It's gonna be a long, long time before I can justify a grapple. This was the first job that I ever had to deal with something like this and I hope the next one is a long way down the road.
just sayin'

It's funny how much our uses for tractors can vary from one to another. I could manage to get by without my bucket, but no way on god's green earth will I ever be without a grapple!

 

[West1]

This is what we use for moving light weight bulky brush and cut off tree tops.... Easy to put together with three pt 2x4x8' screwed to scrap plywood deck pieces etc.... The assembly is attached to the FEL with three 6 inch C clamps... Great for moving a lot of brush at one time.... And very cost effective....

 

[Xfaxman]

Everybody has to start somewhere. This is my first grapple, from four years ago, a hand squeezed grabber!


I still carry it in the cab of the Versahandler.