Grapple W.R. Long Grapple

[jmc]

Jim,

I purchased the WR Long RBG66 for my tracked loader to clean up after using a tree shear. After a short session shearing smallish trees, you're bottled in and have to remove the downed ones before cutting anymore. Cleanup was fast with the grapple. So the good news is that both implements are efficient- the bad news is I spent more time hooking and unhooking hydraulic hoses than I did in the loader.

So then I sent away for the WR Long valve kit so I could mount the grapple on my Kubota L4330 to avoid changing back and forth. It works fine on the Kubota but it's heavy and probably sturdier than it needs to be for a compact tractor. It feels like you have a loader full of dirt, even when the grapple is empty. Recently I was using it with a 6 foot rotary cutter on the back and it had a tendency to "gallop" on rough ground like a tractor/loader/backhoe does when in road gear on the highway. Probably from all the weight overhang both ends of the wheelbase.

If I were buying a grapple just for the Kubota, I'd take a hard look at a lighter design as well as a narrower width. Advantages of a narrower version would be:

Weight and cost

cleaning up in tight spots like between trees

pushing force concentrated on a smaller area

same volume capacity as wider grapple, just more overhang.

John

Forgot to attach picture.

John

 

[IslandTractor]

I like the WR Long grapples. I know I am pigeon holed as the Millonzi guy but that is because of my experience with their 48" grapple. Before I bought it I lusted for a WR Long clamshell.

Most of these grapples will get the job done equally well. The main point is to match your loader to a grapple. If you have 2500lbs of lift capacity then "wasting" 300lbs on a larger or heavier grapple is no big deal functionally. If you have a 1000-1500 lb capacity loader you might want to think that through more carefully though. No one will ever be able to overload their grapple with plain brush and as far as I can tell all types of grapples (clamshell or traditional single arm types) hold the same amount of brush because brush sticks together. People seem to think that the clamshell will hold more brush but I don't believe that is true. I have posted numerous photos of my 48" grapple with so much brush in it that I cannot see where I am going. Logs also are the same for both grapple types. The clamshell has an advantage picking up loose "sticks", especially short ones as the upper jaw does help corral them like a rake. The single arm times also have some advantages for very specific tasks but in general both types can do all the jobs. No one has ever posted a photo here of a clamshell doing something that I cannot do with a single arm style and vice versa.

I think sometimes my diatribes against wider than necessary grapples are taken as anti clamshell. That is wrong. WR Long makes a very nice lightweight clamshell. I just don't see the need for grapples that approach the size of a tractor's standard bucket. You gain almost no extra load capacity and lose substantial lifting power as well as cash when you get a larger grapple. Wide grapples are most appropriate for skid steers doing clean up on construction sites. That is where the width makes sense, not on a farm or in the woods.

 

[jsborn]

Island
I like my wider long 66" grapple for brush clearing and bush hogging in the vines and honey suckle it allows me to push a wide enough path in the bush to clear my tractor. This allows me to see and feel stumps and other undesirable stuff before I am on top of it or worse yet in it.

I do however agree that some times the extra weight can cause lift problems.

 

[IslandTractor]

Island
I like my wider long 66" grapple for brush clearing and bush hogging in the vines and honey suckle it allows me to push a wide enough path in the bush to clear my tractor. This allows me to see and feel stumps and other undesirable stuff before I am on top of it or worse yet in it.

I do however agree that some times the extra weight can cause lift problems.

I understand. However, when I push my tractor through brush with the smaller grapple, it does the same thing. It grabs the brush in front and because that in inevitably intertwined with other brush it pushes a much wider area of brush than my tractor's track in front of me.

My standard technique in thick brush is simply to open the grapple, put the root tines into the ground or just on the surface and then drive forward until the brush "stalls" the tractor's forward momentum. That can be 5feet or 25feet depending on the type and density of brush. I then simply close the grapple, lift the FEL a bit and back out with a full grapple. I am sure the same technique would work with a wider grapple too of course but the wider grapple would likely "stall" the tractor in 4feet or 20 feet. I suspect the actual weight of brush accumulated would be about the same.

Photos show an area I cleared in half an hour on Saturday. The grassy area was not covered with brush but the "dirt" was covered in thick brush just as is seen in the background. Second photo shows a drivers view of what it looks like pushing into this brush before closing the grapple.

Again, I am pretty sure that both clamshells and "standard" grapples will function similarly in this setting. I don't think grapples can be equated to snow plows however so the "path" that is cleared is wide enough to drive through.

 

[dknarnd]

If my task would be to clear brush like Island is showing then I would not hesitate to get the Millonzi grapple but I'm not a big bush man. Sure I will be collecting some brush but it will be stuff laying around the edge of my stone rows after I go around and cut the low limbs and small trees. Most of the work slated for it will be picking logs for firewood and digging out and moving large rocks. There is other stuff like clearing out an old field of overgrown and diseased christmas trees and the possible one big job of cleaning up my old barn that collapsed. I would like to move a little of the barn at a time out to a burn pile starting this winter once we have a good snow cover.

That is why I like the Long or Anbo grapple. The Anbo would be my first choice but a 60" version is like $3k and it only weighs about 350 lbs. The Long 60" is around $2k and weighs in at abour 550 lbs. Now since I don't want that weight my only option is the 48" and they do not really recommend it for my tractor size.

Since I have not pulled the trigger yet the Millonzi is not out of the question.

 

[IslandTractor]

If my task would be to clear brush like Island is showing then I would not hesitate to get the Millonzi grapple but I'm not a big bush man. Sure I will be collecting some brush but it will be stuff laying around the edge of my stone rows after I go around and cut the low limbs and small trees. Most of the work slated for it will be picking logs for firewood and digging out and moving large rocks. There is other stuff like clearing out an old field of overgrown and diseased christmas trees and the possible one big job of cleaning up my old barn that collapsed. I would like to move a little of the barn at a time out to a burn pile starting this winter once we have a good snow cover.

That is why I like the Long or Anbo grapple. The Anbo would be my first choice but a 60" version is like $3k and it only weighs about 350 lbs. The Long 60" is around $2k and weighs in at abour 550 lbs. Now since I don't want that weight my only option is the 48" and they do not really recommend it for my tractor size.

Since I have not pulled the trigger yet the Millonzi is not out of the question.

I guess I just don't see how these much more expensive and heavier grapples have advantages over the simple ones. I can move rocks. I can pick up loose debris. I can haul logs. All that with a grapple that still costs less than $1000 and weighs 280lbs.

I do wish that those who own and advocate the Anbo's and other high priced grapples would post some examples of tasks that can be done so much more efficiently that it would justify spending three times as much and losing 200-500lbs of lift capacity. I'm not trying to start a grapple war just looking for evidence that these higher priced and heavier tools have a significant advantage.

I could design a task that would give an advantage to the clamshells (eg pick up short (18 inch) sticks of various sizes and shapes that are not in a pile) but those are not such common tasks for most of us. I could just as easily design a task that the standard Millonzi 48 type grapple could do better (eg be stable when unhitched so you can drive back into the grapple without it flopping over or simply working in tight spaces or just getting maximum lift capacity). All these types of grapples work well and no one seems to be breaking any of them. So, again, I ask, what is the demonstrated advantage of a $3000 grapple over the one I have?

 

[dknarnd]

Island...how did you get that stuff into a pile before you picked it up with the grapple?

Say you have to move a 20' log, without limbs, with a major diameter of about 12" and the minor diameter of 4" and all you can get ahold of to get it out is the 4" end. Then once it is out you are able to manuver around anywhere to pick it up and carry it 1/4 mile on a 20' wide path.

I agree the Anbo would be like buying a Porsche, nice to have but you can get from A to B safely with a Chevy also. The WR Long isn't that far out on price from the Millonzi since MIllonzi's price increase that I am hearing about on the boards. If you didn't have to go through a distributor for Long I would bet those two companies would be very close on prices. Distributors bug me, don't know as much about the product as what I can learn here but still make money on me!

 

[IslandTractor]

Island...how did you get that stuff into a pile before you picked it up with the grapple?

Say you have to move a 20' log, without limbs, with a major diameter of about 12" and the minor diameter of 4" and all you can get ahold of to get it out is the 4" end. Then once it is out you are able to manuver around anywhere to pick it up and carry it 1/4 mile on a 20' wide path.

1) That particular pile was debris from before I started using a tractor to clear land so it was a place I tossed limbs and dragged small trees I had cut up with a chainsaw. With a tractor and grapple I rarely if ever end up dealing with such small debris as I just pull out the whole tree intact and cart it off to the burn pile directly.

2) It is not difficult to do the tree moving project you describe with any style of grapple. You'd basically grapple the top of the tree anyway you could get a firm grip which usually means clamping on the trunk just where a branch comes off and then drag the tree into a clearing where you can unclamp and manuever to get a balanced grip point so you can safely lift and move the tree. I find I end up grappling whole trees about one third of the way from the bottom (wide part) to give me neutral side to side balance. The top of a tree is much more flexible than the bottom so in the scenario you describe I would keep my eye on the thick bottom and drive down that path without worrying about whether the top of the tree was hitting the occasional obstruction. Just keep the load low and drive carefully.

 

[PSDStu]

Just wondering if any of you who bought the RBG2-48 and Valve Kit could give me an idea of what they cost?

Thanks.

 

[dknarnd]

Well since you have to go through a stealer you are going to get a big variance in prices. On that particular grapple I have quotes from $1650 to $1850 plus tax & shipping. And the valve kit from $490 to $520 then you'll need a coupler set and lines to get from your power source to the grapple.

You'll have to see what your local stealer can do for you. I had to call about three from their stealer list before I even found one that knew who they are. This sort of stuff bugs the crap out of me when the buyer is more educated than the seller but they get to make a couple hundred on the deal from me anyway.

Guess I should add that I am probably going to go ahead and get the RBG2-60 model for my 16LA loader. It is rated a little light for my loader but in talking with them their suggested capacity is assuming that the equpment is going to be used either as a rental or commercial unit and we all know how well renters or workers take care of other peoples equipment.