Root Grapple choice for Mahindra 3016?

[Xfaxman]

Schneeky, since you are still researching, here is a company that has had good reports here on TByN: www.TheRakeShop.com / Root Rakes Grapples Attachments & Skid Steers

 

[Schneeky]

Schneeky, since you are still researching, here is a company that has had good reports here on TByN: www.TheRakeShop.com / Root Rakes Grapples Attachments & Skid Steers

Heyyyy. Nice lookin unit. Called and talked with them this morning, super nice and very helpful. Gave a very detailed breakdown of what they make for lighter tractors, exactly what they make it out of and why they do it that way. I was impressed. Cat said they could have one made-to-order in 3-4 days and ready to ship. Pricing was very competitive with the usual suspects.
What'r you guys opinions on grapple width? The older threads seemed to favor the narrower ~48". Sam sez they recommend getting something to match the width of your tractor. What say y'all?

Hat's off to ya Xfax. Gotta do my due diligence, but that may be a winner. d:^) Schneeks..

 

[davrow]

Pricing was very competitive with the usual suspects.

Yeah, but you're usual suspects vary by $500 - so... comparable in price to EA or the 'other guys'?

They look great - I'm still having trouble justifying the price of grapples (for as much use as I'd give them).

 

[Schneeky]

Yeah, but you're usual suspects vary by $500 - so... comparable in price to EA or the 'other guys'? They look great - I'm still having trouble justifying the price of grapples (for as much use as I'd give
them).

Depends on which "other guys" you're referring to. When I say something is competitive I try to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples best I can (which would be a LOT easier if I had a clue what I was talkin about). Design, materials, build quality, and last but not least, customer service, all factor in.
So it boils down to I hafta make as educated a guess as I can from the information I've gathered and what my particular goals are with this piece of gear in my current environment.
As it stands right now it's a 50-60" The Rake Shop root grapple.
If nothin else it's a sexy lookin sunny beach. d:^) Schneeks..

 

[murphy1244]

Try MIE for a Grapple.Error
I did. The link does work.

 

[Xfaxman]

Heyyyy.-----------
What'r you guys opinions on grapple width? The older threads seemed to favor the narrower ~48". Sam sez they recommend getting something to match the width of your tractor. What say y'all?
------------------

The width depends on what you will be doing with it. Narrow will pick up wide stuff.

This Gorilla Grapple is only 44 inches wide.


This dead tree is over 30 feet wide.


Found the balance point and carried these trees to the pile with the top tines up, not clamped to the trunk.


For the vines that you need to remove, wider would be better.

 

[Schneeky]

I'm thinkin mid 50's-ish will work. Prolly doesn't matter a whole lot in reality.
At least if you're not tryin to hoss stuff around. And I'm thinkin a loader on
a little Mahindra prolly ain't very well suited for that. So we'll try it with a
little more finesse. :wink: d:^) Schneeks..

 

[SPYDERLK]

Ahhhhh. Good information to have there, oh wise one! And I'm sure the included shipping is a factor as well.
I could see a definite advantage in the higher strength steel for something like this with the potential to get a l'il torqued on a somewhat regular basis. And having to adjust it to make it fit outta the box would be pretty annoying. I'm not familiar with SSQA attachments, but if they're anywhere near as sloppy as the 3pt quick attach seems like there'd be plenty of room to get it right the first time.
Even after reading all the threads I could find I'm still curious about the "digging" around the base of the tree with these and how that's done properly w/o torquing the grapple.
Thanks for the info, k0ua. d:^) Schneeks..

You could "dig" a little by going beside the tree base. The jaw always gets in the way and can be damaged head on. A tooth bucket affixed with a center jaw is more robust for the dual purpose. When somebody makes one that can fold the jaw completely out of the way it will be more versatile.
larry