Wildcat 84” grapple any good?

[Hay Dude]

Found a new 84” Wildcat grapple for $2,300 on FBM
Can’t imagine it’d be that great for that low a price, but anyone have one?
Going on a 130HP tractor.

I’m all for “buy once, cry once”, but this one seemed reasonably priced.

 

[Hay Dude]

Contacted seller. Asked questions.
One was if he’d send a picture of the manufacturers label.
He said they don’t put one on it, they weld a serial number on the unit.

Claims it’s made by Wildcat. I looked on their website, but don’t see one that looks like it.

Anyone venture a guess if this is a Wildcat?

 

[oosik]

If this is a picture of the actual unit he is selling - looks as though it's never been used. Why is he selling it. I can't tell but are the "joints" greaseable. In my looking around - grapples made for skid/steer or similar machines are usually built pretty heavy duty.

I assume this grapple is located too far away for you to go have a look/see.

 

[Hay Dude]

Did more research. Looks like its a Wildkat alright. “#2 Extremem Root Rake”

#2 Extreme Root Rake | MS Attachments

msattachments.com

Grease able pivot points.

I just don’t know if they’re any good. He said it weighs 925LBS and 84” wide.
The price seems excellent, but I don’t know if the quality is there.
Remember, I’m putting this on a 130HP 15,000LB farm tractor. So it’s going to have weight pushing on it.

 

[Molalla1]

Did you ask him if it has greaseable joints HD?

 

[Hay Dude]

Did you ask him if it has greaseable joints HD?

Yes.
And yes it does.

 

[Hay Dude]

Wait, I see differences. Look at the curvature of the lower tines.
The radius is smooth on the one for sale. The radius on the Wildkat brochure shows serrated radius.

I see some other subtle differences, too.

Maybe these are irrelevant or just slight design changes???

 

[Molalla1]

Yes, I see that . . . don't know, maybe they made some changes later on? Although the serrated one would take more time . . .

 

[oosik]

OK - so I went to the Land Pride site to check on larger grapples. FWIW - an 84 inch grapple - same type/design as my 60 inch grapple - lists at 1030 pounds. If material weight means anything - then that 84 inch Wildcat is a pretty darn heavy unit.

 

[Hay Dude]

OK - so I went to the Land Pride site to check on larger grapples. FWIW - an 84 inch grapple - same type/design as my 60 inch grapple - lists at 1030 pounds. If material weight means anything - then that 84 inch Wildcat is a pretty darn heavy unit.

Wildkat listed at 925LBs, so about 9% lighter.
The 84” Landpride I saw was 999lbs, but they make about 10 varieties of grapple, so maybe I saw something different.

 

[Hay Dude]

Somethin’s up. I just found another one at a local equipment jockey. It has serrated teeth on the radius and some labeling.
This guy at JM is usually about as affordable as it gets, but he’s $400 more than the other one.

#8022 84" Wildcat Root/Brush Grapple | JM Equipment

#8022 For sale is a brand new 84 inch wide heavy duty Wildcat root or brush grapple bucket. Comes with all of the hydraulic hoses and flat face couplers ...

jmequipsales.com

 

[Midniteoyl]

Wait, I see differences. Look at the curvature of the lower tines.
The radius is smooth on the one for sale. The radius on the Wildkat brochure shows serrated radius.


View attachment 858867


View attachment 858868

I see some other subtle differences, too.

Maybe these are irrelevant or just slight design changes???

Probably just design changes. I noticed that the 'Granite Grapple' for sale here by a vendor is a little different than the one I have.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Have you looked at MTL grapples? That is what I have on my skid steer and it is very well made and heavy.

 

[oosik]

My grapple is - SGC1560 @ 820 pounds. The larger one - SGC1584 is listed as - 1030 pounds. And, yes, - Land Pride has gone the way of several others - they have a myriad of different grapple styles.

Lets face it - teeth here/teeth there - makes next to no difference in how the grapple will function. And has been previously mentioned - could be a simple change in design.

However - I had a thought. The Wildcat you found at the local JM dealer is $400 more than the one listed on FBM. Could that difference be - shipping costs.

 

[mikester]

Don't buy without inspecting in person. Look at all the welds. Make sure everything is fully welded and gusseted.

If you are planning to push trees over that long fork design will be a PITA for you to fix when they bend splay apart.

Heavy implements made from thick mild is a waste IMHO.

 

[oosik]

That's the way I've always done it also - mikester. I've only been burned once. Not because of the quality of the steel or the construction. I didn't realize that a light duty disk harrow simply would not cut my ground.

The major reasons I bought the Land Pride - SGC1560 - short, heavy forks, well gusseted and made of AR400 steel.

It follows the old saying - Buy once - cry once. I bought the grapple & WR Long setup ten years ago. It's saved my back and legs countless times.

 

[Rustyiron]

That's pretty cheap. I paid about that for my 84" grapple over 25 years ago!
Lofflin brand out of NC. Dual "lids" and flat bottom which I'd recommend. I have "tweaked" the lids in this time but this was doing things that I shouldn't have. It's still fully operational.

 

[Hay Dude]

Don't buy without inspecting in person. Look at all the welds. Make sure everything is fully welded and gusseted.

If you are planning to push trees over that long fork design will be a PITA for you to fix when they bend splay apart.

Heavy implements made from thick mild is a waste IMHO.

Agree. I hate buying something you have to “be careful with” all of the time.

I’m not going to push trees over, just pick up large wads of brush, sticks & small logs.

The more I look into these grapples, the bigger the headache gets…..

 

[Hay Dude]

That's the way I've always done it also - mikester. I've only been burned once. Not because of the quality of the steel or the construction. I didn't realize that a light duty disk harrow simply would not cut my ground.

The major reasons I bought the Land Pride - SGC1560 - short, heavy forks, well gusseted and made of AR400 steel.

It follows the old saying - Buy once - cry once. I bought the grapple & WR Long setup ten years ago. It's saved my back and legs countless times.

I believe in buy once, cry once, too.
I might give Messicks a call and see if they have the Landpride in an 84”.
I bet it’s $4,000

 

[mikester]

That's the way I've always done it also - mikester. I've only been burned once. Not because of the quality of the steel or the construction. I didn't realize that a light duty disk harrow simply would not cut my ground.

The major reasons I bought the Land Pride - SGC1560 - short, heavy forks, well gusseted and made of AR400 steel.

It follows the old saying - Buy once - cry once. I bought the grapple & WR Long setup ten years ago. It's saved my back and legs countless times.

Here's what heavy 1/2" mild steel tines, poorly welded to 1/4" mild steel tube with unsatisfactory gussets looks like. I know it's 1/4" thick tubing because the grapple lid cylinder mounts tore a hole in the tube. I also discovered that the thick black paint concealed a 1/8" thick galvanized fence post tube holding the top lid together. That lid broke in half due to fatigue trying to grapple root balls.

This is why I ended up fabbing my own grapple using AR400 and twin lids. I found the single lid was ok for handling telephone pole like logs but struggled with everything else.

I also prefer the long bottom grapples now - if you have the loader capacity you can grab and carry more brush/logs etc. Could never hold more than a few logs on the old grapple.