Update on the Grappler: I talked with Millonzi today, first Jackie and then the shop foreman Lenny. I was asking Jackie if they made a "medium duty" somewhere around 600 pounds that would be more suited for an M series tractor. She tracked down Lenny and he talked about how he had done just that for himself.
We talked about my uses and when I mentioned log lifting he said immediately that I would need some type of modified lite duty or the heavy duty. It seems that log lifting places a lot of stress on the sides, more than a regular light duty can handle. Log lifting also works much better if you have two arms clamping down on the log. Lenny has actually taken a light duty 60" and added another 1/2" to each side and some additional cross pieces and it could work well for my needs.
We also talked about their buckets with the sides cut out and two grappler arms. These would certainly be strong enough for my needs. For the 64" at 735 lbs. they come in around the same weight as the heavy duty. With the side cuts they work fine for log lifting, can still handle a good bite of brush. The main tradeoff is less visibility compared to the regular grapplers.
Right now I'm leaning toward a reinforced 60" light duty that would come in around 100-150 lbs. heavier.
- Mike
We talked about my uses and when I mentioned log lifting he said immediately that I would need some type of modified lite duty or the heavy duty. It seems that log lifting places a lot of stress on the sides, more than a regular light duty can handle. Log lifting also works much better if you have two arms clamping down on the log. Lenny has actually taken a light duty 60" and added another 1/2" to each side and some additional cross pieces and it could work well for my needs.
We also talked about their buckets with the sides cut out and two grappler arms. These would certainly be strong enough for my needs. For the 64" at 735 lbs. they come in around the same weight as the heavy duty. With the side cuts they work fine for log lifting, can still handle a good bite of brush. The main tradeoff is less visibility compared to the regular grapplers.
Right now I'm leaning toward a reinforced 60" light duty that would come in around 100-150 lbs. heavier.
- Mike