Remotes for Grapple Use

[Lunk]

Just don't wrap the long hoses around your neck and I think you'll do just fine.

You have probably already thought it through but you do need to be careful routing the hoses from the rear remote up to the grapple. I suppose there are alternatives but this is what I did: from rear remote down and over the left rear axle, under the operator station (lots of zipties to keep the hose tight against the bottom so they don't snag anything), then up the left FEL post and forward along the left loader arm to the torque tube. If you are neat you will weld a mount for the hose/fitting on the torque tube. If you are a slob like me you will use zipties to hold the hose to the torque tube.

I used a lawn hose to do a dry run to make sure I left enough for gentle bends without having too much extra hose. Once you have that measurement you just need the fittings and couplers and you're RTR.

Great minds must think alike, for I've already got the garden hose chosen for my mock-up, thawing out in the basement.

I am a slob, so therefore zip-ties will be the order of the day (for now). They will be the "highest-quality" zip-ties that money can buy though...Or maybe I'll look into those hose clamps with the rubber on the inside that someone in another thread was talking about....

Thanks for all the help.

Lunk

 

[IslandTractor]

Lovely heated discussion here....

Actually I think it has been pretty civilized. Go to the oil and lubricants section if you want "heated". Ironhorse is taking a different point of view but I don't see the discussion turning sour at all.

 

[IslandTractor]

I am a slob, so therefore zip-ties will be the order of the day (for now).

I also used zip ties temporarily for about two years (and then I traded the tractor in). I got tired of cutting zipties when I changed implements so I eventually used nylon cord and just tied the hoses to the torque tube. Talk about being a slob... Worked perfectly though and had the advantage that if I ever snagged a hose the zip ties would break rather than busting the hose.

I've attached one photo. I have others of the whole set up but am too embarrassed to show them. Let's just say that duct tape played a crucial role as a chafe protector and that I never got around to trimming the zip tie ends. However, it worked like a charm for two years and that the installation time was less than 20 minutes.

 

[Steve_Miller]

A piece of 3/16" flat bar and a couple of fittings. first pic was my CK20, second is my CK30.

Steve

 

[IslandTractor]

A piece of 3/16" flat bar and a couple of fittings. first pic was my CK20, second is my CK30.

Steve

Neatnik. Your mother probably never had to hound you to clean up your room, right?

Nice simple solution. I kept waiting to find the perfect bracket to weld into place. When the loader cracking issue surfaced I didn't want to touch the torque tube so stuck with my temp solution.

 

[srs]

A piece of 3/16" flat bar and a couple of fittings. first pic was my CK20, second is my CK30.

Steve

Steve, I was just wondering how much extra hose you need to allow the loader to be lifting to its maximum height without kinking or stretching the hose? Is this ever an issue with your setup, which by the way looks very impressive.

 

[IslandTractor]

Steve, I was just wondering how much extra hose you need to allow the loader to be lifting to its maximum height without kinking or stretching the hose? Is this ever an issue with your setup, which by the way looks very impressive.

Lifting doesn't take extra hose. Dumping is what stretches the hose the most. Make sure the grapple side has the extra hose. I keep mine out of the way by looping it with a bungee cord so it stays out of harms way when slack but can stretch easily to allow the grapple to close when in the full dump position.

 

[srs]

Lifting doesn't take extra hose. Dumping is what stretches the hose the most.

Steve, thanks for the info.

 

[Steve_Miller]

Steve, I was just wondering how much extra hose you need to allow the loader to be lifting to its maximum height without kinking or stretching the hose? Is this ever an issue with your setup, which by the way looks very impressive.

I think my hoses were either 36" or 39" long. They haven't broke yet so I guess there long enough and haven't snagged on anything. They just dangle around (knock on wood) and I haven't tore them off. I also use the outlets for the front mounted blade I geared up.

Steve

 

[IslandTractor]

I think my hoses were either 36" or 39" long. They haven't broke yet so I guess there long enough and haven't snagged on anything. They just dangle around (knock on wood) and I haven't tore them off. I also use the outlets for the front mounted blade I geared up.

Steve

It is a good idea to have the couplers on the torque tube mount face forwards rather than sideways. That means if you ever do yank the lines by snagging on something that the couplers will more likely disengage rather than tearing or bending the hose fitting.