Grapple To grapple or to not grapple...

[Partsman2]

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[Partsman2]

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[Partsman2]

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[Partsman2]

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[Partsman2]

One more.

BTW - this is a 72" RGB from WR Long on a JD 4710 with a 460 FEL. This grapple weighs over 800 lbs. not counting the weight of the loader so you need some decent ballast on the back. The 48 BH works great.

Here is a link to their website - WR Long

I'll try to find some pics of the joystick control and the diverter valve setup.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

<font color="blue"> I think a grapple would make your job a whole lot easier </font>

Agree 100-110%

<font color="blue"> my experience with grapples on a FEL is not that great </font> I take this as referring to buckets with "thumb" grapples attached to them. Better than just a bucket, but not the real thing baby, uh-uh.

<font color="blue"> lots of stuff I try to pick up just doesn't work with the FEL bucket/grapple combo, and I waste a lot of time grappling air </font> See above.

<font color="blue"> would forks work better with a grapple for most things, especially long ungainly stuff? </font> A lot of the tree guys around here use, or used to use, forks. They do a lot, and have the advantage of being lighter and therefore giving you more net lifting power, but to me, using them on logs is like eating hot dogs with chopsticks. Ditto using them on brush, substitute "lobster" for "hot dogs". A (true) grapple is MUCH more productive for most tasks.

<font color="blue"> brush grapple [vs. bucket/grapple combo] .... If you are dealing with a lot of brush on a regular basis this is a must have </font> Absotively posilutely.

Other thoughts; Partsman, NICE setup. GREAT machine there! (for a JD). /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif The backhoe is an ideal counterbalance. I went with a deeper lower "jaw" since I wanted as much volume as I could get for carrying more logs at a time, and scooping up brush.. I can see where the shorter jaw would give you more leverage (curling/lifting/breakout force turned into root-ripping force) if that's one of your main tasks. My tractor is set up for residential tree removal and light logging, not land clearing, so I went another way. The Bradco is a darn good all-around grapple though, I recommend it highly. 800 lbs., rugged, strong cylinders.

I still like "dedicated" electric solenoids over diverter valves, just plain easier to use, fewer steps involved in operating the grapple. Productivity up, hassle down.

Lastly, a true brush grapple will have jaws that open very wide compared to a bucket/grapple combo. You can scoop things up, or open the jaws wide and come straight down on something, like a T-Rex grabbing some hapless victim by the head and having its way with him. Very satisfying.

Truly lastly - Partsman, the other machine I was seriously considering was a JD 5320. Nice, nice machine, and I hope you know I was just kidding earlier. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Partsman2]

CT Tree Guy,

I've got rhino skin so no problem. I have a buddy with the L5030 and we have a lot of fun ribbing each other about the colors of our tractors. Besides my wife has a BX2230 so I own orange too.

I should clarify that the diverter I am referring to is a dedicated electric over hydraulic solenoid switch that operates from a thumb switch on my joystick. Rocking the switch forward closes the grapple and rocking it backwards opens it. Very productive setup.

I had 2 huge yellow pines in my front yard die on me over the summer. A buddy came over a couple of weeks ago to help me persuade the trees to fall the way I wanted them to and to help me clean up the mess. When those things hit the ground it was like a bomb went off sending debris everywhere. With my buddy running the chainsaw and cutting everything in about 8' lengths I had the big logs and both debris piles moved and stacked into nice burn piles in less than 2 hours. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif In another hour we had killed a 12 pack /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

So I guess a down side of a true grapple is that they leave too much time for drinking beer and therefore could be detrimental to your health. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

The only problem with the BH counter balance is it limits my ground clearance too much and sticks out too far behind the tractor making it tough to maneuver in tight places. I am getting ready to order a big heavy duty box blade that weighs about 950 lbs. to use for counter weight. That should be plenty of weight with the 440 lbs. of wheel weights I already have and will be more useful when clearing brush. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RobA]

I have the same tractor as you (minus the cab). I am in the process of clearing my 22 acre property of trees and brush. Pushing fallen trees around with the FEL bucket and dragging them around with an ATV was very time consuming. Then I bought a WR Long grapple a few months ago. Haven't stopped using it since -it's a great tool.

If you have a couple hundred acres I would think you would get a tremendous amount of use out of a grapple.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Partsman -

Please forgive me for "preaching to the choir" about diverters vs. solenoids. The two are very often confused with each other, glad to see you have the solenoid. I have the same setup as you, rocker switch on the joystick handle, very sweet.

I hear ya about how much work a grapple can get done in short order. Maybe all grapples should come with discounts on fitness club memberships, or at the very least one of the "ab stimulators" that you could plug in while you're working on the resultant 12-pack. How's this for a slogan - "Develop a six-pack while you're enjoying a twelve-pack".

My bad for referring to the backhoe as an "ideal counterbalance". I had read other posts about the ground clearance issue, wasn't thinking. That box blade sounds like just the ticket.

Lastly, this is a pretty interesting thread on remotes vs. solenoids. I'd be interested to see what people think of it. Sometimes its tough to talk about things without ruffling a few feathers. I just try to be helpful and offer my observations as objectively and non-confrontationally as I can.

Remotes and Top and Tilt

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Better than just a bucket, but not the real thing baby, uh-uh. )</font>

Oh! My mistake. I thought the original question was about a grapple on a FEL bucket.