Grapple Very Dissapointed with MIllonzi Grapple

IslandTractor · May 23, 2008

The Borgford is a nice looking grapple but it also represents the sort of overkill that I think people need to consider staying away from. Yes, it is certainly well made...but who needs hi tensile steel in a CUT grapple? As I recall the price is somewhat north of $2000. It is considerably heavier than the LD48/OBG48 style grapples too. Almost 200lbs heavier for a 48 inch version which comes directly off your net lift capacity. The 60 inch "light" version of the Borgford weighs in at a beefy 600lbs...that is about a third of the lift capacity of a typical 40hp CUT FEL. If people were destroying their mild steel light duty grapples then perhaps the Borgford type could be justified but I have yet to see anyone describe more than cosmetic damage to a LD48 or show a photo of something that the Borgford type of grapple can do that I cannot do with the much less expensive and lighter LD48.

The Borgfords are really designed for skid steers and commercial use. That sort of loader power, abuse and duty cycle is just not what CUT owners are likely to dish out with their tractor so it just seems to me like an expensive and inefficient mismatch to put one on a CUT.

wkpoor · May 23, 2008

The Borgford is a nice looking grapple but it also represents the sort of overkill that I think people need to consider staying away from. Yes, it is certainly well made...but who needs hi tensile steel in a CUT grapple? As I recall the price is somewhat north of $2000. It is considerably heavier than the LD48/OBG48 style grapples too. Almost 200lbs heavier for a 48 inch version which comes directly off your net lift capacity. The 60 inch "light" version of the Borgford weighs in at a beefy 600lbs...that is about a third of the lift capacity of a typical 40hp CUT FEL. If people were destroying their mild steel light duty grapples then perhaps the Borgford type could be justified but I have yet to see anyone describe more than cosmetic damage to a LD48 or show a photo of something that the Borgford type of grapple can do that I cannot do with the much less expensive and lighter LD48.

The Borgfords are really designed for skid steers and commercial use. That sort of loader power, abuse and duty cycle is just not what CUT owners are likely to dish out with their tractor so it just seems to me like an expensive and inefficient mismatch to put one on a CUT.

Your close with the description. My 66"er weights closer to 800lbs. (even though they advertise it at 600) and cost 3500.00. I bought it for moving logs primarily and it actually does a very good job at that and works good for brush too. I still have better than 2500lbs pick up capacity with the grapple installed. Because it closes up tight I can pickup real small or up to 48" logs. I pick many items up with the tips of the fingers and can grab logs on there ends if I'm in an awkward place. The versatility is more than it may seem with that design. Its just like using your own hand to pick things up.

Charlesaf3 · May 23, 2008

Yep, that's a great thing about grapples. Same with the millonzi

wkpoor · May 23, 2008

My problem with the Millonzi is the huge hole when its fully closed up. What if you are picking up a 3" x20'log? The BoDozer's finger overlap almost completely allowing me to pick down real small stuff as well as large. And by overlapping I can really crunch loose brush. Also the cylinders are behind the structure and the hoses to the cylinders are run inside the main tube making for good protection. The only exposed hoses are from the loader arms to the grapple main frame.

Charlesaf3 · May 23, 2008

very good point.

I can solve that by grapping with the teeth points, but some sort of modification to allow what you describe is on my to-do list with the millonzi. But for the $700 I paid I'm still not complaining.

Rara Avis · May 23, 2008

And now we have come full circle for LIGHT WEIGHT GRABBERS...

Front-End Loaders by Westendorf: loader for tractor, shade canopy, wagons, manure & landscaping equipment.

wkpoor · May 24, 2008

I looked at the Westerndorf at the Louisville farm show and really like their design for moving logs but their fab work looked rather crude to me. Welds were rather rough IMO too.

IslandTractor · May 24, 2008

Just to be clear, the Westendorf is really not a full function grapple. You cannot curl or dump. It utilizes those mechanical actions to open and close the grapple jaws so the orientation of the grapple is always forward facing and fixed. It would be fine for moving logs around but clearly has some serious limitations. It would, for example, be very limited in stumping or root raking or picking up piles of debris. In addition, it costs more than the Millonzi LD48 so the only real advantage it offers is the ability to have a pseudo grapple with limited functions without needing to hook up hydraulics. That may well appeal to some folks and I don't mean to disparage the device but it really should not be discussed as a true grapple.

IslandTractor · May 24, 2008

wkpoor said:
My problem with the Millonzi is the huge hole when its fully closed up. What if you are picking up a 3" x20'log?

Having picked up at least a hundred of those size logs, I gotta say it is not an issue. For starters one doesn't usually pick up just one "log" of that dimension. If you are talking about picking up a 3" tree then the grapple closes tightly around the branches and compresses everything tight. If you really had a stripped 3inch log then you would pick it up in the middle, close the grapple jaw and go. In that scenario the "log" would not be held tightly (as it would with a clam shell) but would still be firmly contained and will not go anywhere.

More often with that size log/tree, you are going to pick up a whole bunch of them at the same time. In that setting the material just is crushed together and is held firmly.

The one setting where the clamshell really does have the advantage is when using the grapple as a saw buck for a small tree. In that setting the clamshell holds the tree just as you want. What I do with the Millonzi in that setting is just have some irrelevant extra wood in the grapple to allow me to crush the log of interest into a secure position and then I go ahead and saw away.

wkpoor · May 24, 2008

The one setting where the clamshell really does have the advantage is when using the grapple as a saw buck for a small tree. In that setting the clamshell holds the tree just as you want. What I do with the Millonzi in that setting is just have some irrelevant extra wood in the grapple to allow me to crush the log of interest into a secure position and then I go ahead and saw away.

That is something I do use from time to time. I like to save the limbs down to about 3" in size. We will hold them in the finger tips tightly with the whole branch out to the side with just something less than 12" being gripped in the grapple allowing us to completely buck down the branches in one pass. Same applies for larger logs too until they get big and long enough to tilt the tractor or won't stay in. Then I grab in a more balanced position till its sized down to hold on the end again.