Grapple Pros,Cons of single/double lid grapples? Opinions needed

[HKH]

I am going to be buying a grapple shortly. I have a 38HP CUT and will be using it for clearing brush, loading firewood etc.

What type would you recommend? Single lid or double. I have been looking at a single lid 48" and a double lid 60" one.

Weight is obviously a concern the larger I go, so I want to keep it as small as is feasible. My budget is 1K.

Thank you for any and all insights.

Merry Christmas

 

[sea2summit]

I went with single because it gives me half the number of pieces to break, I mean trouble shoot when something doesn't work, and should open and close nearly twice as fast.

It will be my first and it's still in transit so I could be totally speaking out of my butt.

 

[k0ua]

All I can say is my single lid works for me. There are a lot of folks with some well defended opinions on this subject. I don't think it makes that much difference. Others will beg to differ.

 

[EddieWalker]

For a small tractor without a lot of lift, weight should be your primary concern.

I have a double on my loader backhoe. Weight isn't a concern, for me it's more important to be able to get as much as possible on there and for it to stay there all the way to the burn pile. Having the two arms close separately allows me to hold an uneven load more securely.

What I've found to be more importantly is how will you connect your hoses so you can take it off and put it back on quickly and easily. I've tried two different brands of quick release fittings with horrible results. Now I just unscrew the hoses and screw in a plug when the grapple is removed. This has proven to be the fastest, easiest method for me.

 

[k0ua]

For a small tractor without a lot of lift, weight should be your primary concern.

I have a double on my loader backhoe. Weight isn't a concern, for me it's more important to be able to get as much as possible on there and for it to stay there all the way to the burn pile. Having the two arms close separately allows me to hold an uneven load more securely.

What I've found to be more importantly is how will you connect your hoses so you can take it off and put it back on quickly and easily. I've tried two different brands of quick release fittings with horrible results. Now I just unscrew the hoses and screw in a plug when the grapple is removed. This has proven to be the fastest, easiest method for me.

Eddie what kind of problems did you have with your quick connects.? I just have the "Ag" connectors on mine.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

At $1k just get what you can find.

 

[4570Man]

Two lids are better for fire wood. For brush it doesn't make much difference. What model cut do you have. Hp isn't a very useful number.

 

[HKH]

Two lids are better for fire wood. For brush it doesn't make much difference. What model cut do you have. Hp isn't a very useful number.

I have a Boomer 35. Lift capacity isn't all that, so I wanted to get the lightest grapple I could. Interesting comment on the firewood, I have not thought of that.

 

[2458n]

A grapple is great and you will like it. At a grand for budget you will be in the single lid market.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I'd think the cheap Tomahawk double lid grapples that are arround would serve you fine. Maybe a 60" one? Then again a 72" would hold more bucked and split. Fairly deep, flat bottom should be good for firewood. They go for $1000-1300 here on CL. Not much else in that price range and should be about as light as you can find.

And you are correct to be concerned about weight IMO.