Grapple Which type of grapple is best suited for...

[CJONE]

We are making progress on our single lid Wicked Grapple. I started a new thread about it here.
It should be ready for testing next week and available to purchase soon after that.

Here's an image from engineering:

View attachment 323713

Nice, I like the added bottom tines. Put some kind of grating on the back to keep limbs from poking through [I used bar walkway grating on mine] and it would be just about perfect.

 

[T Dew]

This thread helped me get what has been a life saver on the farm. After a lot of reading and making several posts I decided to go with the WR Long grapple, but that fell apart. I took a shot with an unknown, and I have been nothing but happy with the quality and construction thus far. I do not have any shots of it in action, but I also knew that without pictures it didn't happen. So, I'll attach a couple of pictures of it, and try to get some of it in action later.

 

[Midniteoyl]

What about the Long fell apart? The grapple or the deal?


Nice Dirt Dog

 

[BethelHntr]

tag..

 

[T Dew]

The deal fell apart. I still love their product, but I was unable to get what I wanted when I wanted it. In their defense, I am not sure if it was on their end or on my dealer's end of things. Either way, I came across this company that got the product to me very quickly. I was pleased with the solid construction, the oversized housings around the cylinders, the 1/2" steel teeth, and the 46 1/2" open height.

 

[TomSeller]

46-1/2" opening is awesome. I had not heard of this company before

 

[parkgt]

My 48" WR Long Grapple is a perfect match for my B3200 and the 80 acres of timber I am cleaning up as a recreational-hunting property.

After using it for several months I can't imagine doing what it has done any other way. Cleaning up the forest floor and building brush piles is almost effortless. It moves larger rock very well and it does a fair job of smoothing roughed up dirt back dragging.

I can go from bucket to grapple in well under 5 minutes attaching to the Kubota QA. Hard to pick a best attachment; but this one sure saves a lot of labor and does things that would be hard to do by ones self without constantly getting on and off the tractor.

If your on the fence about getting a grapple; then get over it and get one!

 

[Xfaxman]

... all around grapple work?

I'm in the "serious" stage of grapple shopping now, moving past the "oooh that's cool" and "I should get one someday" to "about ready to pull the trigger. :thumbsup:

There seem to be several different main designs. There is the "Rock Grapple," the "Root Grapple," the "Bucket Grapple", etc etc etc. Some have longer/skinnier bottom tines, some have shorter/stouter (and more) bottom tines, some have a solid bottom bucket, and then there is the dual vs single upper arm. I can understand the theory and philosophy between the different designs, especially having dual upper arms for uneven loads. However, in real-life application, are they really a big advantage?

I'm sure each design has it's special niche, but if I'm looking for the "jack of all trades" grapple bucket, which design will best fit "all around" use, including roots, brush piles, logging, boulders, etc?

Also, for size, I'm considering going no bigger than 60", since it's less weight, and smaller (so it fits better into places). Is there anything else I should consider in regards to width, as it relates to the different grapple designs?

Thanks in advance.

To the OP, what stage of grapple shopping are you in now?

This stage has lasted two months!

I always wanted to be a procrastinator, but I never got a round to it!

 

[TomSeller]

I always wanted to be a procrastinator, but I never got a round to it!

Right, why should you do today what you can do tomorrow?

 

[Furu]

Serious stage of a buying decision for me is normally 2-3 months of research so he must be getting close. The notional stage can be much longer as that involves justification of an idea and trying to justify the cost but not a lot of detailed research.
For some folks an impulse buy is something that they due on the spur of the moment. For others an impulse buy is something bought in less than a month or two from first seen or thought about to owning it. Of course as the price goes up the length of time to fit within the definition expands as well.
Now I know that for some folks that either have loads of money or view money much differently than others don't see it the same. Isn't diversity of ideas and methods grand?

 

[TomSeller]

Serious stage of a buying decision for me is normally 2-3 months of research so he must be getting close. The notional stage can be much longer as that involves justification of an idea and trying to justify the cost but not a lot of detailed research.
For some folks an impulse buy is something that they due on the spur of the moment. For others an impulse buy is something bought in less than a month or two from first seen or thought about to owning it. Of course as the price goes up the length of time to fit within the definition expands as well.
Now I know that for some folks that either have loads of money or view money much differently than others don't see it the same. Isn't diversity of ideas and methods grand?

My wife doesn't distinguish between these various types/stages of buying. She just buys.

 

[TSO]

LOL... I was ready to pull the trigger on the new EA 48" wicked grapple (they finally built it) but apparently my tractor is too big for it and I would void the warranty.

I'm still waiting for a true front runner. I'm not going to spend the money unless I'm sure...

 

[EverythingAttachments]

If there's a front runner that will build a 250 pound compact grapple and warranty it on a 45hp 5000+ pound tractor, I wanna see it.

The 54" and up wicked grapple was designed for, and will be a perfect fit for large compact tractors up to around 50hp.

The 50" single lid will probably do just fine with a larger tractor and a responsible operator, like we, IslandTractor and others have said, BUT it was designed for and works perfectly with small compacts and subcompacts.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

If you match the grapple properly, you can abuse it like Ted did in the videos with no worries!!!!

 

[TSO]

If there's a front runner that will build a 250 pound compact grapple and warranty it on a 45hp 5000+ pound tractor, I wanna see it.

The 54" and up wicked grapple was designed for, and will be a perfect fit for large compact tractors up to around 50hp.

The 50" single lid will probably do just fine with a larger tractor and a responsible operator, like we, IslandTractor and others have said, BUT it was designed for and works perfectly with small compacts and subcompacts.

I'm not knocking you guys. I was under the impression, when we all started the conversation about a 50" single lid grapple a few months ago... that it would work on my tractor. I want a single lid grapple. That's why I was waiting for the build. I'm sure I could use it without breaking it... but I'm not going to spend $1300 and have it not warrantied. No biggie. I think that for a smaller tractor, yours IS the front-runner. But now I have to wait for something else take the lead. I think yours definitely looks like a better build piece than the WildKat, Versatech, etc... but again, I don't have unlimited funds to be a guinea pig on something that won't be covered if/when it breaks. Certainly, there will be a point when I will use it to the max capacity of my tractor, so I'll have to wait for something that can handle it.

 

[94BULLITT]

I'm not knocking you guys. I was under the impression, when we all started the conversation about a 50" single lid grapple a few months ago... that it would work on my tractor. I want a single lid grapple. That's why I was waiting for the build. I'm sure I could use it without breaking it... but I'm not going to spend $1300 and have it not warrantied. No biggie. I think that for a smaller tractor, yours IS the front-runner. But now I have to wait for something else take the lead. I think yours definitely looks like a better build piece than the WildKat, Versatech, etc... but again, I don't have unlimited funds to be a guinea pig on something that won't be covered if/when it breaks. Certainly, there will be a point when I will use it to the max capacity of my tractor, so I'll have to wait for something that can handle it.

Why do you want a single lid?

 

[TSO]

Why do you want a single lid?

I have watched video after video of both in action and I prefer the single lid. I'm already convinced. Don't want the dual lid.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm not knocking you guys. I was under the impression, when we all started the conversation about a 50" single lid grapple a few months ago... that it would work on my tractor. I want a single lid grapple. That's why I was waiting for the build. I'm sure I could use it without breaking it... but I'm not going to spend $1300 and have it not warrantied. No biggie. I think that for a smaller tractor, yours IS the front-runner. But now I have to wait for something else take the lead. I think yours definitely looks like a better build piece than the WildKat, Versatech, etc... but again, I don't have unlimited funds to be a guinea pig on something that won't be covered if/when it breaks. Certainly, there will be a point when I will use it to the max capacity of my tractor, so I'll have to wait for something that can handle it.

I would not worry about the warranty on a larger tractor myself. If 1/4" high strength is actually the same as 3/8 mild steel then I can testify it will withstand max lift and breakout with a Kioti DK which is about the same weight and loader size as the Mitsubishi you have.

You destroy grapples with lateral twisting forces, the same that will destroy your FEL. I seriously doubt that Anbo or WRLong would honor the warranty on a bigger grapple for damage that was clearly due to abuse. Mitsubishi will not honor the warranty on a twisted FEL either.

 

[TSO]

I would not worry about the warranty on a larger tractor myself. If 1/4" high strength is actually the same as 3/8 mild steel then I can testify it will withstand max lift and breakout with a Kioti DK which is about the same weight and loader size as the Mitsubishi you have.

You destroy grapples with lateral twisting forces, the same that will destroy your FEL. I seriously doubt that Anbo or WRLong would honor the warranty on a bigger grapple for damage that was clearly due to abuse. Mitsubishi will not honor the warranty on a twisted FEL either.

I completely understand what you're saying. However, when I asked, bottom line, if using that grapple on my tractor would void the warranty, EA said yes. So that means that even if I'm using it properly and not abusing it... and it breaks under normal use, then I'm out of luck.

 

[IslandTractor]

I completely understand what you're saying. However, when I asked, bottom line, if using that grapple on my tractor would void the warranty, EA said yes. So that means that even if I'm using it properly and not abusing it... and it breaks under normal use, then I'm out of luck.

Understood. I suspect they would cover the hydraulic cylinder or hoses and mount and don't see why they would not cover the lid except for twisting. The weakest part of the grapple which they are presumably concerned about is the bottom which has no moving parts and could pretty much only be bent by misuse (Twisting) or root raking with a big heavy tractor. By root raking I don't mean digging but rather the inadvisable practice of treating it like a bulldozer. Tractor FELs are not engineered like bulldozers and tractor grapples aren't either. Maybe they would be willing to specify that they'd cover the cylinder etc.

If it were me, I would ask 1) if they will produce the same grapple in 3/8" mild steel or 2) just buy the one they sell without the warranty.