</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Jim how's your grapple working out for you so far on the chase lounge rock bucket? I'll just bet the combination of the rock bucket/grapple is saving you lots of time & effort. You have a winning combination there my friend.
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Mike, I'm really enjoying my grap-rock bucket. I've had it long enough that I know several things it does well and several it does NOT do well. Simply put, it does not push over small trees (3" to 4") well.
Because the rock bucket has tines sticking out about 1' in front with no side-to-side support, the tines are easily spread and bent by small trees. As a result of bending two tines and then having to straighten them, I'm very careful now to only move brush or trees that have already been pushed down.
What this bucket does really great with the gapple is make it tremendously easy to grab brush in a pile and lift or move it from place to place. I pushed over a lot of small postoak and blackjack oak trees of 6" to 8" diameter and made several temporary piles by pushing/dragging the trees into a pile as I worked my way through the woods. When I was finished, I changed to the grap-rock bucket and moved the big trees I want to use as firewood to a pile. The smaller stuff I separated out easily and hauled it off to dump into a gully. Because the rockbucket tines are so long, it's like having pallet forks to slide under the brush and the grapple just becomes a movable thumb to grip. It really is close to having a huge hand with fingers and thumb that you can use like your very own hand. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Did I mention that the rockbucket still works great for just rocks too? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
In the future I may convert my joystick, but that is not an issue that's nearly as important as it would be if I only had a normal bucket with the grapple. Because of the long tines on the rockbucket, I can easily slip the bucket under what I want to lift and then leave everything in place while I close the grapple down. With a normal bucket you just can't get the same grip without being more "active" and pressing down or working to hold position while you close the grapple. The finger design of the rockbucket is definitely superior in that respect.
Anyhow, I haven't really made up my mind, but just as important for my application is that quick-attach plate. Being able to quickly go between the grap-rock bucket and my normal bucket in a matter of seconds is tremendous. I just can't tell you how pleased I am to have added that feature. It's like having multiple tractors because I can change attachments so quickly. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Having a toothbar bucket and a smooth cutterbar bucket to go along with the rockbucket just makes my work a pleasure. My "toolbox" is really filled with neat stuff that saves time and lets me do a nice job. I feel pretty darn lucky. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
