Grapple Bucket or 4way Bucket?

[Whisper35]

My wife has decided that I should get a grapple bucket for Christmas! What I want to know is if a 4-way Bucket would be more beneficial than a Grapple bucket?
I have a small firewood business and I'll be moving logs and brush piles around. It looks like I can use the 4-way bucket to pick up logs and brush as well as use it to move gravel/dirt.
Would it be better to get the 4-way bucket or should I just stick with a good grapple and use my standard loader bucket like I have been?

Any Suggestions?

 

[CurlyDave]

I have both a grapple and a 4-n-1 and for moving logs and brush I would choose the grapple over the 4-n-1 95% of the time.

For moving gravel, digging or back dragging the 4-n-1 is better, and it is good if I have to uproot a bush or a small tree, but a log of any size is a one at a time proposition and it not really easy to put it on a pile. With the grapple I can pick up several logs at a time and place them on the top, the back or there front of a stack with no problem.

With the grapple I can pick up a large log and buck sections 12", 18" or 24" long from one end and then the other to keep it balanced. The sections can fall on the ground, or if I want to move the sections to a splitter, I can buck them into the bed of a truck. I won't do this with the 4-n-1 because it is fairly easy to drop the log if I cut one end too short and it becomes unbalanced. If it falls out of the grip of the bucket then it is a safety hazard. The 4-n-1 does not pick up a log nearly as securely as the grapple.

 

[Whisper35]

Thanks for the info Dave. I think that I'd be better off with a grapple. I have a standard bucket and I can use it to move gravel/dirt like I have been.
The grapple is what I really need.

 

[jcummins]

Thanks for the info Dave. I think that I'd be better off with a grapple. I have a standard bucket and I can use it to move gravel/dirt like I have been.
The grapple is what I really need.

From my limited experience with 4n1 buckets....but quite a bit with a grapple....go with the grapple.

 

[techwrtr2]

I will pile on here and support the grapple. You get a much wider mouth opening with the grapple which for me is valuable as i am frequently using mine to move piles of brush. And it does that task admirably. Mine is mostly home made job that is pretty crude... but it does the job. Unlike most of the grapples I've seen, mine offers a flat surface that I can use for transporting stuff as well. I've used it for things like concrete blocks etc.

 

[TomSeller]

If I were to have only two attachments to my FEL, it would be an L bottom grapple and a standard bucket. 4n1s have specific applications, but not as many as a grapple in my opinion.

 

[94BULLITT]

I would go with the grapple also.

 

[terryknight]

love my grapple rake. tines on the bottom are longer than most rakes, but not quite as long as a true bucket also loved the 4 in 1 bucket on the old back hoe

 

[TomSeller]

love my grapple rake. tines on the bottom are longer than most rakes, but not quite as long as a true bucket also loved the 4 in 1 bucket on the old back hoe

Nice. Is that a Wildcat Extreme Root Rake Grapple?

 

[terryknight]

yes the 74" version