Grapple W.R. Long Grapple

[m7040]

For my purposes a light grapple welded to the std bucket has worked very well and saved money as well as it is always there when i need it> It can do most things that the bigger clamshells can do.

 

[dknarnd]

While you are certainly right that it "doesn't eat up all your lift capacity" it certainly would eat up a very large portion of it. Looking at the 250TL loader for the 40/45hp NHs that have about 2000lbs lift capacity then adding a 665lb grapple is eating up a full third of that lift capacity and leaves you with only 1345lbs to work with. Compare that to adding a 280lb grapple which would leave 1720lbs. That is a pretty big difference, almost 400lbs of extra lift capacity. It wouldn't interfer with moving brush but it could certainly limit your ability to move rocks and trees.

WR Long's recommendation, that a loader with only 1300lbs lift capacity such as on a 35hp tractor should be fitted with a RGB60 grapple weighing 567lbs is nuts. That would leave you will only 633lbs of lift capacity or about what a Kubota BX SCUT could lift. That is hopeless if you are moving logs or rocks. I have a 48" 280lb grapple on a loader rated to lift 2700lbs and it has worked just fine. I can still lift more than a ton with that set up. Costs about half or less than the WRLong RGB too. I love the WRLong design but putting the heavier RGB versions on CUTs just does not make sense. The 48" or 60" RGB2 at 325/365lbs or the Millonzi at 280lbs makes a whole lot more sense for the vast majority of CUT owners who have loaders that lift less than 2500lbs.

I pondered over this for quite awhile also before buying and as you mention for my TC40 the recommended unit is the RBG but it's capacity goes upwards of 4,000 practically doubling my equipment capacity and its weight eats into a third of my equipment capacity. After a discussion with Nelson from W.R. Long I felt much more comfortable purchasing the RBG2 unit. Due to not knowing how the equipment is going to be used they tend to rate their products conservatively with the thoughts that they may be used as rentals or commercially where operators don't necessarily take care of the equipment because it is not theirs.

Since I am the owner and the operator I will learn to understand the limits of the equipment and use it within those limits, which I expect to be harsher on my equipment than I want to use it anyway. Also my thoughts are that if I do damage the grapple then I must be coming close to damaging my loader and would rather fix the grapple than my loader. If I had the RBG then my loader should get damaged LONG before I can hurt the grapple; again I would rather fix the grapple then the loader.

Actually Ando has a grapple that is very well suited for the 35hp 50hp tractors with loaders being lighter then the W.R. Long and stronger but twice the cost.

 

[dknarnd]

Here are a couple photos of the RBG2-60 just after the install was compledted.

 

[wedge40]

Here are a couple photos of the RBG2-60 just after the install was compledted.

Nice photos. I would be interested in what it looks like with the loader arms completely retracted. With the bottom of the grapple parallel to the ground.
Wedge

 

[dknarnd]

wedge...the last photo you kind of get an idea what it is like, I won't be back to my tractor until New Years so I can get better photos then.

It is not designed to scoop under debris and lift without grasping the objects. I don't think the float option on the loader would work with this grapple because the teeth would dig in. I haven't used it hardly at all other than to get a large stone out of the way and dug a couple of old Christmas trees out to test it.

 

[IslandTractor]

Well I picked up my RBG2-60 grapple today; have it sitting on my trailer waiting for my trip to the farm this next weekend. Only problem is I'm going up for the last weekend of hunting season so I probably won't get it installed on this trip and since it's Christmas time I probably won't be heading back up until New Years. Oh well my projects will still be there next year!

Look like you got your priorities realigned and straightened out.

Nice looking grapple.

Your photos show the clamshell style without a a load but in different orientations nicely so I thought I'd post similar shots of a traditional style graplle (Millonzi48LD) so folks can compare the two styles on the same thread.

 

[wedge40]

Look like you got your priorities realigned and straightened out.

Nice looking grapple.

Your photos show the clamshell style without a a load but in different orientations nicely so I thought I'd post similar shots of a traditional style graplle (Millonzi48LD) so folks can compare the two styles on the same thread.

Thanks for the clarification IslandTractor. I'll wait to see what WRLong looks like fully retracted.

Wedge

 

[dknarnd]

Look like you got your priorities realigned and straightened out.

check out the tractors and deer hunters thread and you will see that I really wasn't going to install it but I had a bit of good luck early in the morning that made it possible.

 

[dknarnd]

Believe it or not this weekend was the first I have had a chance to use my grapple for any good measureable amount of time. Purchased it in December and it has sit inside the barn ever since.

What I need to do is get myself a pocket size camera because I don't have any photos to show and I know everyone is going to ask. Anyway last Memorial day my brother decided to go around one of the fields and cut off all the low limbs so we can get close to the edge while brush hogging. Naturally he did not clean any of the limbs up so they have been there for a year. With the grapple I was actually able to drive along the edge and push/rake them up into piles for carrying away. Once I figured out the correct angle to place the grapple it worked pretty well and didn't pull up too much dirt.

Next I moved some 20 gallon barrel sized stones out of the way and made a new pathway into one of our fields. Worked pretty good at picking these up and placing them on the stone row.

Finally I carried several logs of various diameters and about 10' in length from the woods up the road about a 1/4 mile to my brothers house. Stacked them up so he can start cutting firewood for next year.

All in all I am happy with the grapple; one thing I know for sure is that the 60" version is perfect. Any smaller and I would not be able to see it well enough to place it properly when trying to pick up items in the woods. Any larger and it would be to large to manuver while working with it inside the woods.

 

[IslandTractor]

Another happy grappler. Glad you got a chance to use it finally. Don't forget the pictures.