Which grapple?

[Hammy]

What brand and size of grapple do you have?

I have a Kubota MX5000 (50hp) and was offered a deal on a demo model Anbo grapple, 72" (GR-S). I think it weighs in at about 780 lbs. The lift capacity on my loader is about 2175 lbs.

From everything I've read, they recommend a grapple that is the same size as your bucket. I wouldn't mind going a little smaller to reduce the weight but this is a great price on this grapple and its exactly what I want.

Do you think leaving the loader with only 1395 lbs of lift capacity is enough?

Thanks,
Craig

 

[n8wrl]

I went with a 48" Millonzi and it has not disappointed. MUCH lighter than the larger sizes and plenty strong. Go for smaller!

-Brian

 

[SFish]

Hammy:

I got mine from Wiko.com because you can remove it by pulling one (long) pin and undoing two quick hydraulic disconnects. I find a grapple annoying when I am just doing dirt work. Mine is a narrow one that works fine for me when bucking brush, although I mostly use it to pick up logs. If you need it for professional purposes, or don't care about the extra expense, get a wide one.

Steve

 

[Hammy]

This is the deal. The ANBO grapple is the one I want. However, they have several different models and sizes.

At the Kubota dealer, they are offering me their demo 72" ANBO heavy duty grapple from somewhere in the mid $2000 range (the price needs to be negotiated). However, new they range from $3,200-$3,500 new. The new price depends on if its the medium or heavy duty model.

My problem is, the heavy duty model is twice the weight of the medium duty one in the same size.

370 lbs for the medium duty and 780 lbs for the heavy duty. My concern is using up that much of my loader's lift capacity, but the heavy duty model would be nice. If I get a new one, I would probably order the heavy duty in a 60" wide version.

Any thoughts?

Craig

 

[IslandTractor]

What brand and size of grapple do you have?

I have a Kubota MX5000 (50hp) and was offered a deal on a demo model Anbo grapple, 72" (GR-S). I think it weighs in at about 780 lbs. The lift capacity on my loader is about 2175 lbs.

From everything I've read, they recommend a grapple that is the same size as your bucket. I wouldn't mind going a little smaller to reduce the weight but this is a great price on this grapple and its exactly what I want.

Do you think leaving the loader with only 1395 lbs of lift capacity is enough?

Thanks,
Craig

Whoever is advising you to buy a grapple as big as your bucket must never have used a grapple for brush clearing in my opinion. No, you don't want to be left with 1400lbs of lift weight on a tractor that size. You don't want a grapple that big because it a) cannot hold any more material, b) is unweildy whereas a smaller grapple can be placed more precisely, c) the larger grapples tend to have two arms (complex, costly) d) with two grapple arms you have no grapple arm in the middle of the grapple which is exactly where you need it. If you want to grab a bush or small tree head on to rip it out you don't want to have an asymmetrical load on your loader. With two grapple arms on either side you don't have a choice but to do that. A single grapple arm allows you to snag the bush midline and lift or push without torquing your loader. Finally, e) a bigger grapple is heavier and that means less net load capacity.

I had a 280lb 48" single arm grapple (Millonzi 48LD) on my 21hp tractor and when I upgraded to a 41hp tractor with an FEL that lifts 2700lbs at the pivot pins, I just moved the grapple to the new tractor. Today I used that grapple to lift a concrete barrier that weighed so much my rear end got light despite 600lbs counterweight. I could not have lifted that had the grapple weighed 600-800lbs. I then stuck the grapple under a 9 foot bush clamped and curled it right out of the ground then took it away in one piece.

A 48" "light duty" grapple is more than adequate for just about any CUT FEL out there. It also costs significantly less than these premium grade grapples made of T1 steel. Compare about $800 to about $2500+ for some of these fancier grapples. They might make sense for someone with a larger skid steer who does construction demo all day long but the big expensive grapples are just a waste of money and lift capacity for someone clearing brush/trees with just about any size CUT.

 

[Hammy]

You make some very good points IslandTractor, thanks for the response.

I think I will go with a light/medium duty grapple. The thing I like about the ANBO is that it closes very tight, which gives the ability to pick up and rake small amounts of brush and such.

I wont sugar coat it though, it is expensive but hopefully it will hold up to the challenges ahead.

Craig

 

[RedRocker]

I liked the Anbo style grapple too, but the weight and cost forced me to look elsewhere. I ended up with Island Tractors 48" Millonzi too. I wish I could grasp smaller things, but I've figured out a mod to rectify that. I can guarantee you don't need heavy duty though.

 

[IslandTractor]

The "clamshell" style grapples do close more tightly than the "jaw" type and for some tasks that can be an advantage. The disadvantage of the clamshell is that the upper arm usually covers the entire grapple width which means you cannot surgically use the upper grapple arm to grab or rip something. Small logs are easier to pick up one by one with a clamshell but if you are picking up a bunch of brush or logs at one time it really doesn't matter as the material is crushed against itself and secures the load easily. I don't see why someone with a 2000lb loader capacity would be likely to pick up "sticks" so I don't think the clamshell is a serious advantage.

I've always liked the WRLong clamshell grapple though I've never used one. It is less money I think than the Anbo and considerably lighter. The Anbo is a fine grapple but is really built and designed more for a big skid steer as best I can tell. It is certainly overkill for a CUT.

 

[flINTLOCK]

One useful feature of the Anbo is it does nice job back-raking. I've been very happy with my medium duty unit. (60" I think)

 

[yekrut]

Others may be superior but I have a Millonzi 48" on my L39. The FEL has a load capacity of 2200lbs and its nice to have 1800 to 1900 lbs of lift left after the grapple. Obviously much depends on the application but for $710 (I picked it up - no shipping) you can't beat it.

 

[Pokeboater]

I have the Anbo grapple. It worked great at first. I would grab a pile of debris and would notice the tines would bend, but then they would spring back to the original position. After a few months, tines started bending and would not spring back and would keep the unit from closing. Being under warrantly, I called Anbo and they were pretty obnoxious about it. At first they told me my tractor was too big for the grapple (a JD 4720, funny when I called originally to get info on the unit they said it might be too big for the tractor). Then they basically said they weren't going to cover it period. I got my dealer involved who techinically bought the grapple from them. Long story short, the dealer heated and bent the tines back and put in steel reinforcements. I had to pay about half the cost (a couple hundred bucks) and either Anbo or the dealer ate the rest. Anbo specifically said that they denied any liability whether they paid any of it or not. After heating the tines they, of couse, lost their temper and most of them are bent again.

Unless you are doing really light work, I'd look at another brand that has stronger tines.

 

[IslandTractor]

I have the Anbo grapple. It worked great at first. I would grab a pile of debris and would notice the tines would bend,.

I wonder if this is related to the clamshell design where an asymmetric load could cause one end of the grapple to clamp on an object while the other side continues to try to close tighter and eventually bends the metal. If so then this is yet another reason for a simple single jawed grapple as there is less likelihood that any load would twist the narrow upper grapple.

The rationale given by Anbo in your case is pure BS. They chose the hydraulic cylinder size. Your tractor doesn't influence that at all.

 

[Hammy]

I ended up getting the ANBO GR-M (the medium duty) 72" wide. It is built very stout and weighs in at 370 lbs, which is what I was looking for. I like the idea of having one as wide as my bucket because I can cut in fire lines and work the brush along fences easier.

I'll post some pictures in a few hours.

Thanks for the responses,
Craig

 

[Hammy]

Here are some pictures of the ANBO GR-M 72".

Enjoy!

 

[civesnedfield]

Island didn't realize that you are now an official rep for Millonzi. Nice pic on their web page.

 

[IslandTractor]

Island didn't realize that you are now an official rep for Millonzi. Nice pic on their web page.

I bought the first one they sold back when they sold them on ebay. They saw the posts I made on TBN and asked if they could use one of them for their brochure. Cool! My 15 minutes of fame.

 

[air19]

Island,

I have read many of your grapple comments. Your latest replies on this thread bring up a couple more questions before I make my decision.

I'm about to trade my old Kubota M5030DT in for a new Kubota M7040. I want a grapple to move a lot of logs around and push back the edge of my fields where I need to grub out rocks, stumps. Harder work than just brush pile maintenance.

I wanted to ask you about your latest comment about 1 top arm vs. 2, where you argue that 1 is always best. For all my log loading work, I thought 2 would be much better to keep the log steady, with less tendency to tip.

I agree with all your comments about light weight, but with all my log moving, I am looking for a manufacturer who will beef up the sides where I expect most of the log tilting stress will occur. Would you still recommend the lighter grapples for a tractor as big as an M7040 given my hard use?

I'm looking at three options:

1. WR Long's new RBG2 60" with two arms, weighing only 365 lbs. Seems like a great combo, but maybe too light duty for my tractor.

2. Wildcat's 60" root grapple at 635 lbs.

3. A modified Millonzi 60" LD with beefed up sides increasing the weight to about 500 lbs.

Thoughts?

 

[air19]

Hammy,

I just looked at your profile and saw two pictures - one with your new AnBo grapple, and another with a bucket grapple.

Do you really own two now? When are you using the AnBo vs. the bucket grapple?

 

[Hammy]

air19,

I know I just got my grapple yesterday, but I have done lots of research. I have the 6 foot grapple made by ANBO, model GR-M. It has 1/2" outter tines and then 3/8" inner tines. This thing is very stout. Its upper arm goes across the width of the bottom grapple. Its just slightly shorter to fit between the outer tines.

The weight of the unit is 370 lbs which is amazing. It has an incredible amount of crushing force with the two 3000 psi cylinders on each end.

I was messing around with it about an hour ago and it did an excellent job at grabbing boulders as well as digging into the hard clay that is around here. I was able to break up the top 4" of clay as I raked it forward along the ground.

I'm not a salesman for them but I am happy with their grapple. I'm the guy that needs things to be heavy duty or they bust. They also make a standard and heavy duty model but they weigh about twice as much with 1/2" tines all the way across.

For what its worth, I like this unit but it is a lot more expensive.

Craig

 

[Hammy]

air19,

The bucket grapple was an ATI. It busted on me after about 2 hours of use. ATI bought it back and I upgraded to the AnBo.

The bucket grapple is a joke as fare as being able to pick things up. It will do it but not nearly as well as the grapple. You also have to deal with the open space in the bucket so picking up trees and such have to be longer then the width of your bucket.

Craig